Oneida Members have proudly served as members of the military not only on behalf of their Nation, but on behalf of the United States of America. From the bloody battlefield at Oriskany during the Revolutionary War to the conflicts in the Middle East, Oneidas have stepped up to the challenge of protecting democracy and promoting peace.

Oneida Indian Nation Members please note:  We strive to keep this information up-to-date. If you have Veteran information you would like to share please email MemberAdvocate@oneida-nation.org.

Here is a look at some of our Veterans and their record of service:

 Civil War

  • Jacob Cornelius enlisted in the Union Army Company A of the 86th New York Infantry. Months after enlisting, on Aug. 30, 1862, he perishes in battle at Second Bull Run.
  • Aaron Antone (Turtle Clan), Co. 4, 16th N.Y.H.A.
  • John Arvin, 16th N.Y. Artillery
  • Abram Elm, Private, 8th New York Volunteer Infantry
  • Jonathan Jordan, actual last name was Jurden. When he enlisted, it was changed to Jordan.  b. 2/24/1840 – 1909. Son of Henry Jurden and Sophia Denny (Sophia, a daughter of Jennie Sconondoa, thought to be the daughter of old chief Sconondoa). Co. E, 98th Reg. NY Inf. Volunteers.
  • Martin Polison, 3rd N.Y. Heavy Artillery
  • Martin Powless (Turtle Clan), Private, 3rd N.Y. Vols.
  • Thomas Powless (Turtle Clan), 21st Reg. N.Y. Vols.

Spanish-American War

  • Chapman Schanandoah (Wolf Clan), served twelve years in the U.S. Navy. Claimed to be the first American Indian to have circled the globe with the U.S. Navy.

WWI

  • Ernest Miller, U.S. Army, Battery B, 21st Field Artillery
    • From the Syracuse Post Standard, 1919:
    • Private Ernest Miller, Battery B, Twenty-first Field Artillery, is now in France and his battery participated in some of the heaviest engagements of the war. Only a few of the original members of Battery B survived.
    • The Indians in the service have done good work as sharpshooters, sentries and scouts, anything that called for men of exceptional daring, and their accomplishments have called forth special commendation from commanding officers. (Article listed Ernest Miller, Edward Bread, both Gilbert Websters, Elias Sconondoa, Baptist Powliss and John Powless)
  • Sergeant Baptist Powliss, U.S. Army, Company G, 354th Infantry
    • From the Madison County Leader, October 25, 1917:
    • Baptist Powliss, of Oneida, a full blood Oneida Indian, was a member of the contingent which went to Camp Dix. He furnished fun for all. He said, “I’m not going to say good-bye to anybody, I’m coming back. Sheriff will send you a tooth brush made from the bristles of the Kaiser’s moustache.”
  • First Lieutenant John Powless (Turtle Clan) was a commissioned officer in the Army during World War I and continued to serve after its end as a machine gun instructor.
    • From the Oneida Democratic Union, April 10, 1919:
    • Lt. John Powless, a full blooded Oneida Indian, has re-enlisted in the Army.  He was recently discharged and came home with the intention of staying here but the lure of the army was too strong.  He was a machine gun instructor at Camp Hancock, Ga., and now goes to Ft. Slocum.
  • Elias Sconondoa (Turtle Clan)
    • From The Cazenovia Republican, April 24, 1919:
    • Anthony T. Burning, an Oneida Indian and son of Chief Alexander Burning, has enlisted in the navy as apprentice seaman. He is a grandson of Chief Skenandoah and has a half brother, Elias Sconondoa, now in France with the American forces.
  • Edward Bread, U.S. Navy
  • Anthony T. Burning (Turtle Clan), U.S.S. North Dakota, Navy
  • Moses Powless (Turtle Clan), Navy, USS Maine
  • Clarence A. Stabb (Turtle Clan)
  • Elmer Stabb (Turtle Clan)
  • Gilbert Webster (Turtle Clan), U.S. Navy
  • Gilbert J. Webster, U.S. Army, Company E, 313th Infantry

WWII

  • By the age of 26 in 1945, Tech Sgt. Raphael Gonyea (Wolf Clan) was a veteran of numerous combat missions in the European theater. He had joined up in 1942 and became a gunner and radio operator on a B-24 Liberator, flying in 25 combat missions for the Army Air Forces (the braches were one during the war). During Raphael’s stint of duty his plane was hit twice. The first time was on his seventh bombing mission over Germany. The plane had to make an emergency landing perilously close to the front lines just before Christmas. His 25th bombing mission over Germany was even more dangerous. Once again the plane was hit by flak with the pilot attempting to get the hobbled plane back over Allied lines. However, it became necessary for the crew to parachute to safety in a small town in Yugoslavia. The same flak that hit his plane also struck his leg, leaving him with an injury that would lead to his Purple Heart.
  • Carl Altman, Army, 101st Airborne.
  • Leonard P. Babcock (Turtle Clan), Army.
  • Martin Babcock (Turtle Clan), son of Helena George: Private, U.S. Army Quartermaster group: WWII, serving in France.
  • Milton Babcock Jr. (Turtle Clan), Navy.
  • Harold Leslie Cornelius (Wolf Clan), Marine Corps.
  • Oliver Hill Sr. (Wolf Clan) was a private in the Army during the World War II.“He really didn’t say much of anything, actually he was told not to talk about it by the Army, and he stayed loyal to that,” said Clint Hill, Turtle Clan Representative. “The only thing I know is that he put up pontoon bridges and that he served in the Philippines.”
  • Ernest Jacobs, (Turtle Clan), Army.
  • Albert David Johns (Turtle Clan), Army.
  • Lyman (Jake) Johns (Turtle Clan), Army.
  • Martin P. Johns (Turtle Clan). A trained medic and captain in the U.S. Army, Martin earned his certificate for Defense Against a Chemical Attack and operated medium- to light-weight tanks. Martin landed in Normandy on Omaha Beach on D-Day plus 40. He served in the campaigns for Perrier, Versailles and Verdun in France and for Wiesbaden in Germany.
  • Stewart E. Johns (Turtle Clan), Military Police Bn, 9th Air Force.
  • Nelson LaFort, Army Airborne.
  • Theodore ‘Ted’ Phillips (Turtle Clan), Army. Ted was a staff sergeant in the Army, serving in World War II and the Korean Conflict. Born in 1925, he enlisted in the Army while in his teens and remained in active service until 1945. He was called up again as a reservist to go to Korea. Ted was on the medic ambulance crew that went into the concentration camps. He helped take the survivors out of the camps, bringing them to medical facilities. Ted was also a survivor of the Battle of the Bulge.
  • Exandine Shenandoah (Wolf Clan) was in the Pacific fighting the Japanese during WWII. Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1941 at age 18, Exandine saw action throughout the South Pacific including Guam and Guadalcanal.  Exandine was an MP, military police, with the rank of sergeant. While serving in the Pacific he contracted malaria, which plagued him for the remainder of his life.
  • Bernard E. Stabb (Turtle Clan), son of Lillian Burning:  b. 1915
    Oneida Democratic Union – May 1, 1942: “Private Bernard E Stabb, of the Anti Aircraft Division of the Coast Artillery, Fort Bliss, Tx, is home on a 15 day furlough with this family.”
  • Emerson Waterman (Turtle Clan), Army.
  • Ross Webster (Wolf Clan).
  • William Webster (Wolf Clan), Army.
  • William Winder (Wolf Clan), Marine Corps.

Pre-war Korea

  •  Art Jones (Turtle Clan) was drafted into the Army in 1948 at 18 years old, serving between 1948 – 1950. His stint in the Army was in Korea during a tense pre-conflict period. Stationed at an outpost on the 38th parallel between North and South Korea, Art was a medal-winning sharp shooter, putting his time in on guard duty. “There were 1,000 North Koreans along the border and there were 12 of us guys at the outpost with one round of ammo each,” said Art. “There were also a few South Korean troops, but it’s a good thing the North Koreans didn’t attack.”

 Korean War

  •  Theodore (Ted) Phillips (Turtle Clan) was a staff sergeant in the Army serving in World War II and the Korean Conflict. Born in 1925, he enlisted in the Army while in his teens and remained in active service until 1945. He was called up again as a reservist to go to Korea. Ted was on the medic ambulance crew that went into the concentration camps. He helped take the survivors out of the camps, bringing them to medical facilities. Ted was also a survivor of the Battle of the Bulge.
  • Keller George (Wolf Clan Representative) served in the Army in the Korean Conflict and later joined and retired as a staff sergeant from the Air Force where he was a radar operator. During his years in the service he served stateside and in Europe.
  • Charles “Chuck” Benedict (Turtle Clan), Army, 1955-1956, medical discharge – deaf in one ear after artillery discharged near him
  • Howard Luther Lazore (Wolf Clan), Army
  • Martin Powless (Turtle Clan)
  • Glen Wheelock (Turtle Clan), Army
  • William Winder (Wolf Clan), Army

Vietnam

  • James Bigtree (Turtle Clan) enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1958. He was stationed in Vietnam as a corporeal and on Jan. 11, 1966 in the Quang Nam province he was wounded by hostile small arms fire and died from the resulting injuries. He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
  • Chip Isaacs (Turtle Clan) U.S. Army, served two tours of duty, from 1966 – 1969 in Vietnam as a staff sergeant in the Army. He was part of a five-man reconnaissance team that scouted out an area before ground troops would go in.
  • Robert Johnson (Turtle Clan)served in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam, as a member of a helicopter crew that was disabled while picking up injured and dead Vietnamese. The helicopter was hit after the pick up, but managed to land. They were rescued several hours later after reinforcements secured the area. Following Vietnam, Bob became a crew chief for a helicopter training unit and went on to become the number-one crew chief on the detail that maintained Marine One, the helicopter used by the President of the United States. Bob served under three presidents. “Where the President went, we went with him. All kinds of hours. Always had to be packed to go,” said Bob, who served under Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
  • Leonard P. Babcock, “Johnny” (Turtle Clan) served in the U.S. Navy.
  • Harry Brummell (Turtle Clan) enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduating from high school and retired after 21 years of service.
  • Clint Hill (Turtle Clan), Marine Corps
  • Gilbert Stout (Turtle Clan), enlisted in the Army in 1970, not long after his father, Gil Sr., who served in the U.S. Navy, passed away. Gil completed his basic training in Fort Jackson, South Carolina and his advanced individual training at Fort Gordon in Georgia. Gil was stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany with the 508th Maintenance Company as a Teletype Operator from October of 1970 to October of 1972, returning home after his discharge to be with his family.

Gulf and Iraq War

  • The date of Sept.11 has the power to evoke strong emotions. For Tom Jones (Turtle Clan) the day has dual significance. On that date in 1989 the then 29 year old joined the Army. Twelve years later the events that transpired on 9/11 — in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania — resulted in his personal involvement in the war on terror. “Three weeks after 9/11 I was in Kuwait and stayed for six months, then I went back to Germany where I was stationed,” said Tom, a chief warrant officer 2, working in air defense. “In April of 2003 I was back to Kuwait and crossed over into Iraq. It was scorching heat in the middle of a sand storm. It was horrendous; the sand can peel your skin off.” A tech expert, he tested and fired five patriot missiles successfully during the first Gulf War. The second time he was deployed to the region he was stationed on the border between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where his unit manned the sophisticated, computerized patriots. Tom works on the radar communications systems or as he refers to them “the eyes and ears of the patriot”. If the system should go down he reports it and then another unit picks up his units duties till they are functional again. Aside from his tours in the Middle East and Europe, Tom also served 13 months in South Korea.
  • Nichola Aregano-Diaz (Turtle Clan), corporeal U.S. Marine Corps, volunteered for a third tour in Iraq. A satellite operator in the service, Nichola has been discharged.
  • Daysha (Honyoust) Hatfield, Marine Corps, served in Afghanistan in 2004.

Others who have served:

  • Terry Altman (Turtle Clan), Navy
  • Keith Boylan (Wolf Clan), Marines, 1994-1998
  • Ed Bred (Turtle Clan), Navy
  • Brian Chapman (Turtle Clan), Navy
  • Edwin Crampton (Bear Clan)
  • Ken Dillon (Bear Clan) joined the Air Force at 18 and retired 20 years later in 1978 as a tech sergeant. He started his career as a radar operator until that job was phased out. He then went on to air traffic controller. During his stint in the Air Force, Ken served in Canada, Germany, Alaska and Michigan.
  • Alfred “Bud” Dilapi (Turtle Clan), Navy
  • William Eckhard (Turtle Clan), Air Force
  • David Ernenwein (Turtle Clan) Army
  • Carl Fogelberg (Turtle Clan), Army
  • Wellington George (Wolf Clan), Air Force
  • Duane Hill (Wolf Clan), Army
  • Shane Hill (Wolf Clan), Navy
  • Vince Holt (Turtle Clan), Navy
  • Eli Homer Jr. (Wolf Clan), Army
  • Kenneth “Looney” Homer (Wolf Clan), Navy
  • Robert Homer (Wolf Clan), Army
  • Stewart Homer (Wolf Clan), Marine Corps
  • Kalanisaks John (Bear Clan), Marine Corps
  • Donald Johns (Turtle Clan), Army
  • Aaron Kopp (Turtle Clan), Army 2003-2005
  • Heather Kuhl (Wolf Clan), Air Force
  • Will Kuhl (Wolf Clan), Army
  • Lisa Latocha (Wolf Clan) Army, 1990-1992
  • Irving “Johnny” Logan (Wolf Clan), Navy
  • Irving Lyons Jr. (Turtle Clan) served 20 years in the Army with stints in Korea and at bases throughout the United States
  • Jerry Majewski (Turtle Clan), Army
  • Mike Mason (Turtle Clan), Army National Guard
  • Patrick McCloud (Bear Clan), served twenty years in the U.S. Airforce
  • John Miles (Turtle Clan), Army
  • Robert Miles (Turtle Clan), Army
  • Ronald Overton (Wolf Clan), Marine Corps
  • Charles Patterson (Bear Clan), Navy
  • John Patterson (Bear Clan), Air Force
  • Mike Pedersen (Wolf Clan), Army
  • Ken Phillips (Turtle Clan), Marine Corps
  • Christopher Scott (Turtle Clan), Marine Corps
  • Richard Sequin (Wolf Clan), Marine Corps
  • Wilson Stevens (Bear Clan) Navy
  • David Wheelock (Turtle Clan), Army