Identity elements
Reference code
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Item
Title
D10547-11
Date(s)
- 1940-12-11 (Creation)
Extent
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
Capt. James G. Helmer, Commander of B Company of the 163rd Infantry of the 41st Division, a Montana regiment, poses for the camera on December 11, 1940 while at Camp Murray for military exercises. Capt. Helmer is a full blooded Sioux, by blood descent a chief of the tribe. His ancestors participated in the Custer Massacre at Little Big Horn in 1876. Of the 88 men in Company B, most of which hail from the Fort Peck Indian Agency in Northeast Montana, all but about 10 are Sioux. Three of four officers are Native American and most of the men have retained their Indian names. Capt Helmer enlisted in the company when it reorganized in 1922 and worked his way up through the ranks. The original Company B was also composed mostly of Native Americans and served bravely overseas in World War I. (T.Times 12/11/1940 p.1) TPL-10594
Helmer, James G.; Indians of North America--Sioux tribe; Montana National Guard, 163rd Infantry, Company B--Camp Murray; Ethnic groups--Indians of North America;