We are soon approaching the observance of our Memorial Day,
a day to honor those who have died serving our nation during war. It is important that we reflect and honor
those who have served and given the ultimate sacrifice for our nation so that
their service and sacrifices will never be forgotten.
One of the sons of the Gila River Indian Community who gave
his life in World War I is Mathew B. Juan, a name known to all those who drive
past the Veteran’s Memorial Park which is named for both Ira H. Hayes and
Mathew B. Juan. Each year in February we
remember and honor Ira H. Hayes on the anniversary of his raising of the
American Flag over Iwo Jima in World War
II. This year we additionally want to
honor the memory of Matthew B. Juan on the 90th anniversary of his
death during the Battle of Cantigny, France on the 28th of May, 1918
and to provide some of the recently discovered history of his life. Much of the sources of this information have
been through researching of online archives of the Casa Grande Dispatch, the
Casa Grande Valley Dispatch and The Bulletin (of Casa Grande), communications
with the First Division Museum in Illinois, and other articles on the
internet.
Mathew B. Juan was born in San Tan in the late 1890s (exact
date of birth is currently unknown). His
parents were Joseph and Mary B. Juan and he had several brothers including
Antonio B. Juan and Sibley Juan and one sister. Mathew attended the Sherman Institute in Riverside, California where he studied agriculture. He
returned to the reservation and worked at the experimental farm for three
years. The newspaper articles described
Mathew’s love of sports and how he not only excelled in baseball, but also in
swimming, running, jumping, and taking honors in competition. Mathew also excelled in the Sacaton rodeos
where he won prizes in many events
including his specialty of calf roping. He was truly an outstanding athlete. On September 17th, 1917, the
Ringling Bros. Circus came to Phoenix for a show and after seeing the show, Mathew asked the manager for a job. Mathew was hired by Ringling Bros and he
again left the reservation traveling with the show. Then when the circus was touring in Texas, Mathew answered the call for volunteers to join
our military as the United States was now involved in the War being fought in Europe,
the First World War. Mathew sent a
postcard home to his parents “I have joined the army”. Records indicate that Mathew B. Juan used an
assumed name of Mathew B. Rivers to enlist as he was not old enough to enlist
without permission. All of his military
records are under the last name of Rivers and his first name is spelled either
Mathew or Matthew. After training in Texas as part of the Camp Travis Detachment #2, Mathew
was sent to Hoboken, New Jersey. Mathew boarded the S.S. Tuscania, a luxury ocean liner converted to a
troop ship bound for France along with over 2,000 other troops. On
the 5th of February, 1918, the S.S. Tuscania was torpedoed and sunk
by a German U-Boat with the loss of 230 lives. This was the first American troop ship sunk in World War I. Mathew was a survivor and continued on and
arrived in France where he was assigned to the 28th Infantry of the U.S. Army’s First
Division “The Big Red One”. The 28th Infantry regiment later became known as the “Black Lions” and the “Lions of
Cantigny”. On the 28th of May, 1918, the United States fought the first sustained
offensive battle of World War I at Cantigny,
France. On that day, Mathew B. Juan, was killed by
machine gun fire during the battle. Mathew was buried in France after the battle.
In 1921, at the behest of his family, his body was exhumed
and sent back to the United
States. For a second time, Mathew would arrive in Hoboken, New Jersey on his way to the Fisher Funeral Home in Casa Grande. On the 9th of April, 1921 over
1,000 people attended his reburial in his native ground at the Cook Memorial Church in Sacaton. The then governor of Arizona, Thomas E. Campbell, prepared a
speech to the Mathew’s family and the Pima Indians of Arizona honoring and
recognizing his heroic sacrifice for his gift to us and his country for the
freedoms which our country currently enjoys.
In 1927, the American Legion, Department of Arizona, voted
at their annual meeting to erect a memorial monument to Mathew B. Juan in
Sacaton and on Memorial Day, 1928, that monument was dedicated in what is
currently the Veteran’s Memorial Park. The monument was made entirely of native materials. During World War II and again on the 50th Anniversary of his death during the Vietnam Conflict, there were large
ceremonies conducted at the monument.
It is fitting this Memorial Day to again remember and honor
Mathew B. Juan along with all our other war veterans who gave the ultimate
sacrifice. Mathew B. Juan became the
First American Indian to be killed in World War I and also the First Arizonan
killed in World War I. In the latest
research it appears that after the war, there were additional reports issued to
recognize the efforts of soldiers who had fought in the battles. In the World War Records, First Division,
Index to Citations, it lists Mathew would be entitled to the Silver Star Medal
for “gallantry in action and especially meritorious services.”
We need to remember and honor all of our warriors on this
and all of our annual Memorial Days and continue to maintain their history to
pass along to all future generations.
From Gerald Gall, member Ira H. Hayes American Legion Post
84, Sacaton, Arizona
Home Tel: 480-840-6640
E-mail:
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