Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
By Doug Bradley
Just before the pandemic dislocated our lives, my wife and I were in Phoenix, Arizona visiting our son and daughter-in-law. Their big news at the time was the purchase of a new home, situated near the bottom of Piestewa Peak, the second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains after Camelback Mountain. The captivating Piestewa Peak is climbed thousands of times weekly by locals like my son and his co-workers — and by visitors like me — all of us seeking great views and a good cardio workout.
And in search of a worthy history lesson for occasions like Memorial Day.
Turns out that Piestewa Peak is named for Lori Piestewa, a member of the Hopi tribe, who was the first Native American woman in history to die in combat while serving in the U.S. military. Her death in Iraq in March 2003 also distinguished her as the first female soldier killed in the Iraq War. After Lori’s death, then Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano moved quickly to both honor a national hero and put an end to a controversial geographical name. Until Lori’s death, the mountain was known as “Squaw Peak,” a term that’s offensive to most Native Americans because it demeans women, particularly Native American women. No one would have called U.S. Army soldier Lori Piestewa a “squaw,” least of all members of the Army’s 507th Maintenance Company such as Shoshana Johnson and Jessica Lynch whose lives were saved by Lori’s heroism. According to Army reports, their Humvee was imperiled by a “torrent of fire” which Lori was able to evade by driving at high speed before being leveled by an RPG.
Lori Piestewa was not the only Native American female soldier to bravely serve her country and leave a lasting legacy. Until her death in January 2020, Sophie Yazzie, a member of Arizona’s Navajo nation, was, at 105, the oldest female veteran in the nation. On January 22, 1943, the 28 year-old Yazzie enlisted in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, which was eventually changed to Women’s Air Corps. After being sworn in with the Christian hymn “Rock of Ages” playing in the background, Sophie was shipped off to Daytona Beach, Florida, where she completed basic training. After boot camp, she was stationed at the former Foster Air Force Base in Victoria, Texas, 120 miles west of Houston. Sophie served honorably and was awarded the Women’s Army Corps Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and Navajo Nation Service Medal. She often attended military and veterans celebrations and always admitted to being “filled up with pride” when she was among her fellow veterans, celebrating their accomplishments.
Like the Yazzie family and many members of the Navajo nation, the Piestewa family has a long military tradition. Lori’s paternal grandfather served in the U.S. Army in the European Theater during World War II and her father Terry Piestewa was an Army soldier in Vietnam in 1966–67. My co-author Craig Werner and I interviewed several Native American veterans for our book We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War, and whether Hopi or Navajo, Blackfoot, or Ho Chunk, these brave men and women testified proudly of their service and sacrifice.
And of the rituals — like drum circles, water purification, or gourd dances — that helped them to heal…and get back home. Lori Piestewa’s memorial ceremony concluded with an Eagle Dance. Later, a rare joint prayer gathering between members of the Hopi and Navajo tribes, who have a centuries old rivalry, was held in her honor.
Regardless of the multiple generations of warriors, many Native Americans have faced racism and bigotry when they returned to the country they fought to preserve.
“There’s still a great deal of bigotry,” Cherokee nation’s Tom Holm told us. “We were practicing native singing at a public park one time, and a woman came up screaming, ‘You savages are calling up demons!’ She fell to her knees and started praying. The born-agains are not only woolly headed but absolutely ready to do us violence once again. I’m glad in a way because it strengthens the resolve to keep singing our songs.”
Native American vets like Tom Holm, Sophie Yazzie, and Lori Piestewa have a song to sing, a story to tell. We need to listen. We need to understand. We need to honor their commitment and service.
And we need to memorialize their sacrifice.
In the language of the native O’odham peoples, the indigenous Uto-Aztecan peoples of the Sonoran desert in southern and central Arizona, Piestewa Peak was originally called “Vainom Do’ag,” which translates as “Iron Mountain.” Indeed, America’s native American soldiers are as strong and tough as any. It’s about time we thanked them for their service.
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(Vietnam veteran Doug Bradley is the author of DEROS Vietnam: Dispatches from the Air-Conditioned Jungle and co-author, with Craig Werner, of We Gotta Get Out of This Place: The Soundtrack of the Vietnam War which was named best music book of 2015 by Rolling Stone magazine. His latest book, Who’ll Stop the Rain: Respect, Remembrance, and Reconciliation in Post-Vietnam America, was released by Warriors Publishing Group in December 2019.)
