Comanche County, Oklahoma - Tahsequah Garden Memorial

The Memorial features a ground-mounted sign naming the Garden, identifying the individual Comanche warrior for whom the Garden is dedicated, his picture, and a biography of his military service. The sign is set between 2 large flagpoles flying the American Flag and the Flag of the Comanche Tribe; and a short pole flying the POW/MIA Flag, is placed to the rear (east) of the sign. These features are exhibited in a small, raised garden-like area, between concrete walkways adjacent to the Comanche Tribal Complex buildings. The grassy area has large decorative rocks, flagstones leading to the flagpoles from the primary entryway on the east, as well as mounting the sign and 3 flagpoles. The Garden is bordered on 3 sides by concrete retaining walls which are angled to accommodate the slope of the ground and provide a level site for the Memorial. The 4th (east) side is level with and bordered by a main Complex walkway. The Garden was dedicated on March 6, 2014, in honor and memory of Lt. Col Meech Tahsequah, who was missing in action and whose body has not been recovered. His body is the only Comanche veteran’s that was never recovered. The sign features a picture of Lt. Col Tahsequah on a background of bomber aircraft in flight, the official Seal of the USAF, the POW/MIA Emblem, Comanche Tribe Logo, and representations of the DFC, AM, and PH Medals he was awarded. An accompanying biographical narrative reads: “Meech Tahsequah was born on October 27, 1918 and was from the Walters (OK) area. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force on July 14, 1941 as an Air Cadet and eventually earned the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He trained as a pilot with the B-24D, B-24 and B-26 bombers at Fort Worth Army Air Field. During World War II in the European Theater of Operations he flew 31 missions logging over 300 combat hours. Lt. Col Tahsequah was part of the Ploesti raids and Tidal Wave operation. During the Korean War he was assigned to the 3rd Maintenance and Support Squadron. On December 6, 1950 he was a passenger aboard a B-26B Invader bomber when the aircraft ran out of fuel and crashed 30 miles north of Susa, near Tsushima Island, North Korea. The navigator who bailed out and made his way to friendly lines, said Tahsequah and the other crewmembers bailed out before crashing. It was thought at one time he was a prisoner of war as his name was used in December 1951 by Communist propaganda. His body has not been recovered. He was declared dead while missing in action on February 28, 1954. Lt. Col Tahsequah was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism twice, the Presidential Unit Citation twice, three Purple Hearts, three Air Medals, the Prisoner of War Medal, the American Defense and Service Medals (American Defense Service Medal and American Campaign Medal), the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 2 Campaign (Service) Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal with/2 Campaign (Service) Stars, the Korean War Service Medal, the United Nations (Korean) Service Medal, and the Senior Pilot Wings.” The sign was courtesy of the Comanche Indian Veterans Association (CIVA) and designed by Dustin C. Miller, Intertribal Visions.