John Raymond Rice
Encyclopedia
Sergeant First Class
John Raymond Rice (Native American name: Walking in Blue Sky) (April 25, 1914 – September 6, 1950) was a United States Army
soldier killed in action
while leading his squad in Korea
in 1950. A Sioux City, Iowa
cemetery refused to bury his body because he was Native American
, touching off a national episode culminating in President Harry Truman ordering his body to be interred in Arlington National Cemetery
.
, also known as the Winnebago Indian Tribe, Rice was born in Winnebago
, Nebraska
, and had previously served in the United States Marine Corps
during World War II
.
During his funeral on August 28, 1951—at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa
—a cemetery employee noticed there were a lot of Native Americans among the mourners. After the military burial service, including the ceremonial three-volley salute, cemetery officials discovered that Rice himself was Native American. They stopped the actual burial, and made his non-Indian wife Evelyn take his body away.
According to cemetery officials, "Private cemeteries have always had a right to be operated for a particular group such as Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Negro, Chinese, etc., not because of any prejudice against any race, but because people, like animals, prefer to be with their own kind."
The following day, then-President Harry Truman publicly reprimanded the cemetery and the Sioux City town leaders. Rice’s wife was given a plot in Arlington National Cemetery
. The press, and local groups in Sioux City also lambasted the Sioux City cemetery.
Sergeant Rice was buried with full military honors on September 5, 1951, nearly a year to the day after he died, in Arlington National Cemetery between two generals.
Sergeant First Class
Sergeant First Class is the seventh enlisted rank in the U.S. Army, above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is the first senior non-commissioned officer rank...
John Raymond Rice (Native American name: Walking in Blue Sky) (April 25, 1914 – September 6, 1950) was a United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldier killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
while leading his squad in Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
in 1950. A Sioux City, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
cemetery refused to bury his body because he was Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, touching off a national episode culminating in President Harry Truman ordering his body to be interred in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Biography
A tribal member of the Ho-Chunk NationHo-Chunk
The Ho-Chunk, also known as Winnebago, are a tribe of Native Americans, native to what is now Wisconsin and Illinois. There are two federally recognized Ho-Chunk tribes, the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin and Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska....
, also known as the Winnebago Indian Tribe, Rice was born in Winnebago
Winnebago, Nebraska
Winnebago is a village in Thurston County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 768 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Winnebago is located at...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, and had previously served in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
During his funeral on August 28, 1951—at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Sioux City, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
—a cemetery employee noticed there were a lot of Native Americans among the mourners. After the military burial service, including the ceremonial three-volley salute, cemetery officials discovered that Rice himself was Native American. They stopped the actual burial, and made his non-Indian wife Evelyn take his body away.
According to cemetery officials, "Private cemeteries have always had a right to be operated for a particular group such as Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Negro, Chinese, etc., not because of any prejudice against any race, but because people, like animals, prefer to be with their own kind."
The following day, then-President Harry Truman publicly reprimanded the cemetery and the Sioux City town leaders. Rice’s wife was given a plot in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. The press, and local groups in Sioux City also lambasted the Sioux City cemetery.
Sergeant Rice was buried with full military honors on September 5, 1951, nearly a year to the day after he died, in Arlington National Cemetery between two generals.
External links
- Sergeant John R. Rice in "Notable People" on Sioux City History