Logan and his fellow Marines were forced to sleep in flooded foxholes, sheltering themselves from enemy fire with their heads barely rising above water. Each morning, they woke up submerged and skin wrinkled.
By June 1945, Okinawa had been secured, but Logan felt the war was far from over. It wasn’t until September that Japan formally surrendered. In the interim, Logan’s division was tasked with disarming Japanese troops in Tsingtao, China.
“The only thing we saw for two years riding ships from island to island were dead [Japanese soldiers] and dead Marines and dead Natives, and that’s all we saw for two years. You think that won’t run you crazy?” Logan says.
Of the 200 men in Logan’s company, only about 25 survived. The Battle of Okinawa had raged for 82 days, claiming the lives of 12,000 American troops and wounding 40,000 more.
WWII Veteran William Logan, 100th birthday celebration at the Choctaw Community Center in Poteau, OK May 21, 2025.
Charlie Neuenschwander
The Choctaws’ military contribution and legacy
Approximately 44,000 Native Americans served in the armed forces during World War II, and an additional 150,000 contributed to the war effort through agricultural and industrial services.
During World War I, the Choctaws were the first group to use their indigenous language as a military code, preceding the Navajos. Despite facing racial discrimination and not receiving citizenship until 1924, many men of the Choctaw Nation were eager to serve their homeland.
As a Native American in a predominantly white unit, Logan carried the legacy that the Choctaws established during World War I through his service.
Though he and his fellow Marines were from different backgrounds, Logan felt that the bonds he forged in the trials of war transcended racial identity. Even amid the chaos, moments of camaraderie emerged in the unit.
In a rare break from their demanding schedules, Logan recalls, he and his comrades tied a pig and several chickens to their company jeep, resolute to eat anything besides their K rations.
The only member of the unit with a mess kit—a portable set of cooking and dining materials—was their Native American comrade from the Apache reservation. He shared his kit with Logan and helped cut meat off the pig to cook for the rest of the Marines.
“He was long and tall. He just reminded me of Geronimo,” Logan said. “We had all kinds of people mixed up, and we didn’t have too much trouble with each other. Our lives and their lives depended on us getting along.”
In April 1945, Logan received the Purple Heart for his efforts in the Battle of Okinawa. He was also awarded a Good Conduct Medal and an Honorable Service Button. At almost 21 years of age, he was honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps.
Post-service life and legacy
After the war, Logan returned to his hometown of Albion, Oklahoma, where he married his wife, Estelle Miller. He found few job opportunities in the city and took on physical labor, building fences for the local store, while receiving a government stipend of $20 a week for a year.
Eventually, he returned to Oregon and worked in the logging business to save money and start a family. Once he had enough set aside, he sent for Estelle to join him there, and they had three children: two girls and one boy.
The Logan family spent about 10 years in Oregon before returning to their roots in Oklahoma. There the veteran found employment with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, serving the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma by building and repairing community infrastructure.
“For the Choctaw and them old houses, you could just throw a cat through the wall,” Logan said. “For one old man, when we had the final inspection on these nice brick houses, and when they gave this old guy his key to his house, he started crying. He said, ‘I never did figure I’d ever have a house.’ ”
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