The government of the Choctaw Nation maintains that the men were the first American native code talkers ever to serve in the US military.

The German forces proved not only to speak excellent English but also to have intercepted and broken American military codes.

The first combat test took place on October 26, 1918, when Colonel Bloor ordered a "delicate" withdrawal of two companies of the 2nd Battalion, from Chufilly to Chardeny.

A captured German officer confirmed they were "completely confused by the Indian language and gained no benefit whatsoever" from their wiretaps.

"New York, May 31.-When the steamship Louisville arrived here today from Brest [France] with 1,897 troops on board, considerable attention was attracted by a detail of 50 Indian soldiers under the command of Captain [Elijah W.] Horner of Mena, Ark.

Under the command of Chief George Baconrid, an Indian from the Osage reservation, they transmitted orders in Choctaw, a language not included in German war studies.

"World War II Navajo code talkers have become the subject of movies, documentaries, and books, but not the Choctaw.

The Navajo, with their history of opposing the United States in war, have proven in almost all aspects to be a more popular subject than the quiet, orderly, agrarian Choctaw Indians, who, in the early 19th century, adopted an American-style constitution and government, complete with elections and separation of powers.