Footlocker of Fortune

As he burst through the courthouse door, Cody jumped for joy as an immense sense of relief flooded over him. It had been 6 months since his great-uncle died and finally all the legalities were done. Cody Lightfeather is now the proud owner of his own home- his first! Which is perfect since just a month before he asked Mariah to marry him. He was sad to lose his uncle, Rod RedElk, but sometimes misfortunes can lead to good fortune. Passing on at the ripe old age of 96, his Uncle Rod had lived a good long life.

When they first opened the door to their new home, Cody and Mariah weren’t so sure about their plans. The house was old and needed a lot of work- roof, floors, windows, and definitely paint. Moving to the reservation in Lawton, Oklahoma far from the city life they had known was a gamble. But now Mariah and Cody had a chance to forge a new path, and a home where they could raise a family. Besides, here they were closer to relatives and they could learn more about their Indian heritage. After some deep thought, and some crafty remodeling plans, they decided to begin work on the changes themselves the next day.

It was a cool spring morning when they started to tear into the wall between the dining room and the kitchen, thinking to make it a more open space. Cody cranked the tunes as the sound of their slamming hammers beat into the aging walls. They even began laughing, striking out at their frustration as they bashed into the rotted drywall with wild abandon. When they got to the bottom of the wall by the kitchen door they found a surprise hidden there: an old Army footlocker. It was small but definitely World War II vintage, and had been there a long time since it was covered in thick dust. Once they pulled it out and wiped it off, sure enough there was a name on it- US Army Private First Class Roddy Elkson.

Who was that- could that have been Uncle Rod under another name? Why was it put there in the wall? They were curious and wanted to now what could be hidden in there. The locks were rusty, it would be so easy to break them. So they did- it felt like it took forever to jimmy those locks. When they finally were able to pop open the chest, imagine their surprise at what they found. Inside were gold ingots, coins, bars, and some very old cash. Best they could tell, the money and gold were worth at least $20,000. The only other things in there were a couple of pictures, an old uniform, and a little black book. The uniform belonged to a Roddy Elkerson of the 4th Infantry Division. They hastened to open the book, thinking it would give them a clue, but it was of little help. It was full of strange writings and a few drawings, but it was written in no language that either of them recognized. What could it be?

Mariah pulled out her laptop, and they began to research all they could: the 4th Infantry, exotic languages, and anything they saw on the footlocker's markings. But not much matched what they had found. There was some information on the 4th Infantry Division being active in World War II, and of them having an American Indian division. They also found that the 4th Infantry was involved heavily with D-Day. As they read further, they discovered stories of Native Americans code talkers working during the War. Could Cody’s Uncle have been one of those heroic men? Uncle Rod was a solitary man who never mention being in the Army or much about his younger life. Who else could know about Uncle Rod’s past? Cody thought back and remembered that his grandmother, Uncle Rod’s sister Nata, still lived on this reservation. Cody didn’t know her well- she was almost 100, but he decided to reach out to her. Perhaps she knew something about Rod's life and could shed some light on this mystery.

He found Nata’s number and called, hoping she would remember him. They only met once when he was a young boy. After exchanging cordialities, Cody reminded Nata that his mother was her daughter Una, and she was ultimately convinced he was indeed her grandson. Cody asked Grandma Nata if she knew about Uncle Rod’s past, and if he was in the Army. He told her of finding an old footlocker with some Army memorabilia, not mentioning the treasure inside. Also, Cody told her of finding the uniform with the name of Roddy Elkerson. She knew Rod had enlisted in the Army back in 1942 to join a group of Comanche radio operators. Grandma Nata said that many Native Americans had to go under cover to blend in with the other men. So they gave them names that seemed more”white” or common. While talking about Uncle Rod’s Army training, Cody decided to mention the black book. He said he didn’t understand the words, and read a few of them to her.

“That is an old version of the Comanche language, I recognize some of those words,” she eagerly exclaimed. “Perhaps you can bring that book to me so I can translate some of it. I remember the language, I was taught as a child.”

They packed up everything in their truck and took off for Grandma Nata’s. The scenes of reservation life they drove past were so different than what they had imagined. What struck them was the reality of how poorly these people lived. Most of the structures were shacks- barely a place to call home, and created in a time when they were forced to live here. How lucky Cody and Mariah now felt having had their freedom of movement in these modern times. There was an air of excitement as they entered Grandma Nata’s home: Cody seeing his grandmother again, sharing their finds, and the hope of discovering what might lie hidden within that book. After giving warm hearfelt greetings, they showed Grandma the footlocker and told her to be prepared for a surprise. Once they opened it, her eyes grew in amazement at the riches she saw! After the shock wore off, she eagerly went to look at the uniform and photographs. She recognized most of the pictures were of family- sisters, wives, parents gone long ago. Yet, what she really wanted to get her hands on was that little black book. She opened it and was astounded at what she found.

“It’s his personal journal,” Grandma Nata said. “Let me get my glasses. Mariah, you can transcribe for us on your laptop as I translate.”

The journal started with his enlistment after being recruited by Charles Chibitty, another man from this reservation. Once he got settled in at training camp, Rod was persuaded to join a group of American Indians involved with a secret assignment. They were using their Indian language as a code to hide their messages from interpretation by the Germans. Roddy wrote of spending the next year creating the code with other Native American soldiers before shipping over to Europe. As one of the code radio operators, he was dispatched to go on many difficult missions.

As his writing in the book continued, Uncle Rod described of being involved in many brutal battles and close calls. Rod recounted his encounters with such clarity that his stories were thrilling to follow. The uncertainties of war can make a split second decision a matter of life or death. He also drew pictures of some of the things he had seen there. Never having been further than the central plains of the US, Rod wanted to remember all he had experienced. The scenes of different countries, the people he met, the horrors of war were all sketched so honestly by him that they drew you into each page.

A few months before D-Day, Rod was called into Major General Barton’s office. He was told the Germans were trying to infiltrate their group and get the codes. The Army was trying to prevent such events from occurring, so they arranged a counter plan. Uncle Rod was chosen to act as a double double agent. He would meet with the Germans and pretend to be willing to be a traitor. Using his Indian heritage, he could present himself as an embittered recruit with a grudge because of being treated so poorly- a man who was ready to help the Nazis for the right price. After gaining their trust, he would give them an incorrect pre-arranged code to misdirect them from the real one until the big mission was done. It was dark espionage meeting underground with the enemy, but he was up for the job to help end this horrible war. Major General Barton had agents that had connected to a Nazi officer named Schneller, who had been fishing for an informer here in France. Eventually, Rod met up with Colonel Schneller in a small village near the German border to make the deal and arrange compensation. Over several months Rod acquired the gold and money in exchange for what they thought was a legitimate code. He earned the cache of riches while he kept the Germans traveling down the wrong coded path. After D-day came, the Nazis were aware of the falsehood, and came looking for Uncle Rod. Luckily, the Army got wind of the Germans plans and managed to return Rod home before the enemy found him. Roddy never told the Army about the money, he just had the footlocker shipped home. The journal went on to further mention how Rod had to evade Nazi spies all the way back to Oklahoma. The Nazis chased him from the trains across Europe, to the steamer ship to NY, and even across the plains of the US. There were several close calls, but he made it back home unscathed. He was able to hide out on the reservation, and returned to using his real name which threw the Germans off his trail. He was safe here and stayed hidden from menacing eyes for the rest of his years.

“Wow,” Cody said. “Who knew Uncle Rod had such exciting experiences, almost the Comanche James Bond. What a wildly interesting life he led.”

“Yes, I had no idea about most of this,” Grandma Nata said with a tear in her eye. “My own brother. No wonder he kept so quiet and to himself about the war. He couldn’t tell anyone.”

“Sooo, what about the money?” Mariah asked. “Do we get to keep it?”

“Well, it is passed the legal time limit in which the government can take anything,” Grandma Nata said. “I think we get to keep it all.”

Everyone got a very big smile. How wonderful and unexpected the events of life can be. Cody realized he had done the right thing to come here. He learned many things about his own family’s past, and now his future life here was secure. Cody, Mariah, and Grandma Nata became fast friends, and did what they could to help others on the reservation.

One never knows where you will find fortune, nor what you will find hidden in an old chest and a little black book.