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Ladies & Gents, this has been an ongoing project since Charles Gatewood’s death in the 1890s. He ended the last Apache war in 1886, while at risk of being killed by Apaches, Mexicans, and Americans. He did it without any bullets being fired, and yet he was at risk of being killed every step of the way.
Although promised, there have to date been no images of the September Gatewood/Geronimo talk in Tucson, Az., forthcoming. Fingers are always crossed. That said, this image is based upon a screen capture from the DVD of the talk that I just received from Mike Koury, who runs the Order of the Indian Wars. (art © Louis Kraft 2013)
A number of efforts for Gatewood receiving the MOH have been ongoing for years, but most have been little more than wordplay, which I’ve avoided. A few years back I teamed up w/a retired lieutenant colonel of the US Army to bring Gatewood winning the award to a realistic future, and that time has arrived. Paul Fardink is upfront and center with many of the key generals in the U.S. Army, and they listen to what he says. Paul’s lead will hopefully result in Gatewood receiving a long-overdue recognition for pulling off what I consider the most impressive event of the Indian wars.
My good friend, Paul Fardink, has been working on an article on Gatewood, and brought me into his world. He wrote and I advised and offered comments. He came up with a first class article and kindly added an interview of me to his text (fully half of his final article; an honor).
Magazine cover for the Winter 2014 issue of On Point, The Journal of Army History.
The article was accepted as a feature for On Point: The Journal of Army History (Winter 2014). Paul kept me in the loop and I was able to continue adding my comments, which Paul incorporated. He even allowed me an opportunity to rewrite, and when the final PDF of the article arrived from the publisher, I was able to add my corrections to this last proof and they were accepted. Ladies and gents, I’m looking at Paul’s article now—an article that is reprinting my best Gatewood map (from Lt. Charles Gatewood & His Apache Wars Memoir, 2005). Paul even shared half of the salary, even though I was little more than an interviewee granted editorial consideration. On Point took the interview answers and turned them into paragraphs—over half of the 8 pages of the article.
Map originally by LK in the On Point Winter 2014 Gatewood article by Lt. Col. Paul Fardink, retired, first printed in Lt. Charles Gatewood & His Apache Wars Memoir (University of Nebraska Press, 2005).
And better yet, Paul is leading the way into what I expect to be Charles Gatewood winning the first U.S. military Medal of Honor without amy bullets flying, a truly magnificent accomplishment!
That above statement said, Paul’s efforts are the kickoff to what is Charles Gatewood’s first quest for the MOH that actually has a chance of becoming reality. Today, I saw my copy of On Point: The Journal of Army History (a terrifically designed glossy publication) and final DVDs of my talk in Tucson, Arizona, in which I detailed Gatewood’s finding Geronimo in Mexico during the summer of 1886 on September 26, 2013, at an Order of the Indian Wars event (which I immediately sent to Paul for his next scheduled step in this oh-so-important process).
* My apologies, for “Who says they don’t raise cowgirls in Thailand and other stories of Sand Creek” is still my next scheduled blog. … Gatewood updates happened today, and I needed to make them public on the blog (and not elsewhere), and I didn’t want to drag my heels for anything on Gatewood and Geronimo is first class news (at least in my life).
Lt. Charles Gatewood receiving the Medal of Honor is long past due. Something g should be done to bring it to the attention to the ones who could make it happen.
Mike, I have attempted to obtain the Medal of Honor for Lt. Charles Gatewood twice in the past, and both times it was refused. The last attempt was in 2015 when I partnered with retired colonel in the U.S. Army.
On January 16, 2015, Paul Fardink, a retired colonel in the U.S. Army, visited Los Angeles for a major ceremony—the induction of a major general (retired) of the U.S. Army into the “Living Legends of American Aviation.” On this day Paul introduced me to this living legend, and he, during the Vietnam war, set in progress what is the U.S. helicopter service as we know it today, a major fight force for defense of our country as well as an attack weapon when necessary. Paul, the major general, and I enjoyed our time together.
For the record Paul had read my Gatewood/Apache writing and contacted me years back. This led to our efforts to obtain Lt. Charles Gatewood (6th U.S. Cavalry) the Medal of Honor. The U.S. believes that to earn the Medal of Honor a solder must be under enemy fire. Bull shit—pure Bull Shit! Gatewood pulled off what I consider the major event of the Indian wars, for he talked Geronimo and the warring Apaches to end the last Apache war in 1886. He did this by duping the Mexicans, by facing death and waking into the warring Apache camp, and finally by standing up to and threatening to kill U.S. soldiers if they attempted to murder surrendering Apache Indians. This was no small feat. … From what I learned on that day at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel (California) from several major and lieutenant generals is that Gatewood will never receive this honor. Gatewood’s actions were extraordinary and he is being snubbed. My opinion of this is unprintable.
Sorry about the delay replying to you, but I’ve cramming on completing my book on Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland during the Golden Age of the Cinema (1930s & 1940s). … My last blog was in April 2022.
Lt. Colonel Paul Fardink (U.S. Army, retired) and I have done everything possible to make this happen. I hate to tell you that it is never going to happen. Perhaps eight years ago that there was a major event at a Hilton Hotel in Southern California to honor two or three U.S. Army generals who were retiring. It was a three-day event (I think) and Paul, who was attending with his wife, invited me to join them for one of the banquets. I believe that the lowest ranked officers attending were colonels. Two of the generals present were Paul’s friends as he had served under them during his 20+ year career in the U.S. Army. One was a Lt. General and the other was a Mgr. General. The four of us spent a lot of time together at the event and Paul and I again brought up the subject of the Medal of Honor for Gatewood’s actions in Mexico in 1886, and his success in getting Naiche and Geronimo to return to the United States and be exiled to Florida. Both made it clear that since Gatewood wasn’t under fire while pulling off his major accomplishment, he would never be awarded the Medal of Honor, for only those under fire are eligible for this high honor. … I wrote two books on Gatewood: Gatewood & Geronimo (University of New Mexico Press, 2000) and Lt. Charles Gatewood & His Apache Wars Memoir (University of Nebraska Press, 2005).
I am a descendent of Lt. Charles B Gatewood. My grandmother married Dewitt Clinton Gatewood, Lt. Gatewood’s younger brother. I didn’t realize there were really people out there trying to get him the Recognition that he deserves. Thank you for your efforts. My Grandmother was Russie Mae Semones Gatewood. There was a sort of Gatewood family reunion in Gatewood’s hometown, where he was honored. There were a whole lot of Gatewood descendants there. I’m sure they would thank you too.
Thank you,
Diane Gainer Hawkins
Diane, it is unbelievable that you saw this post at this late date. The website was created in 2013, and what you saw was one of my early posts. … Actually there haven’t been any since 2021, but I hope to add a post in the near future (Of course I’ve been saying this for a while), but unfortunately there won’t anything about Lt. Gatewood in it. … I heard of him for the first time in a bookstore in Old Scottsdale, Arizona, while chatting with the owners who had become friends and signing a book of mine that had just been published. This was in 1995, and the conversation turned to film and how it could help or hurt book sales dealing the American Indian Wars (we discussed 1993’s Tombstone and Geronimo: An American Legend). They told that there was a Lt. Charles Gatewood Collection at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, Arizona (about half a block from the University of Arizona). At that time I also wrote for a software company, but the following month took a week off (wrapped between two weekends) and drove to Tucson from Los Angeles, California, to look at the Gatewood Collection. I was blown aware with what I saw and the following month again visited the Arizona Historical Society. This resulted in two books: Gatewood & Geronimo (University of New Mexico Press, 2000) and Lt. Charles B Gatewood & His Apache Wars Memoire (University of Nebraska Press, 2005). … Thank you for your thoughts about your relative. He was a magnificent human being. Louis