Details

Storyteller: Travis
Tribe: Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Created: 2018
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Transcript: As a young child I always heard about stories of family members and relatives that had served in the military. My dad, after he graduated high school, enlisted in the Seabees and served from 1959-1961. He would tell us stories about the time he was in Cuba, or when he was stationed in Spain, building airstrips, as well as mischievous tales of a young man enjoying life, traveling to far away places. As I got older, I also heard stories about my dad’s brothers who had served in Vietnam and my dad’s cousin Steve Zimmerman who was a decorated soldier in World War II. I was later told that my middle name Steven was in honor of Steve and it became a source of pride as I got older, and I eventually ended up enlisting in the United States Army.

When I started to look at my family’s military service, I also started to realize that American Indians, as a whole, have served in extremely high numbers in every war or conflict that America has ever been in. I also started to recognize that here was an incredible story that needed to be told; my dad and his three brothers, from the small reservation of Grand Portage, in northern Minnesota, all served in the military during the Vietnam Era, and all came back alive to tell about it.

As I previously mentioned my dad, Terry Zimmerman, the oldest of four boys, served in the Seabees from 1959-1961. Although he never went to Vietnam, he served during that era and was in Cuba during the time that Castro led forces overthrew Batista and his followers. His brother Tim enlisted in the Marines in 1965 and was in Vietnam by the early months of 1966. About eight months into his tour, he received a Medal of Valor for saving an injured comrade and a few days later received a Purple Heart for an injury sustained during a firefight. Their younger brother Thane also enlisted in the Marines and was sent to Vietnam in April of 1967 and completed his tour in 1968. Four years later the youngest brother Tracy enlisted in the Army and served in Vietnam until November of 1972. Tracy was the only one to become a career soldier, as he served for 21 years and retired in 1993.

I know that this legacy not only influenced me to serve in the military, but my brother also served in the National Guards for over 20 years and won Soldier of the Year accolades as well as spending time in Iraq. I also had a cousin who served in the National Guards for many years and a nephew who was recently discharged from the National Guards. Each year during the Grand Portage Rendezvous Days Powwow we pay tribute to the Veterans in our family by dancing for them during the Veteran’s Song and we have also raised the American flag in the powwow arena in their memory. I have also paid homage to the veterans in my family by carrying in the flag and being a part of the color guards at other powwows. Although I would never want my children or my grandchildren to serve in the military, it is something that they can always take pride in and know that when their country put a call out for warriors, the Zimmerman clan heeded that call and luckily did not have to make the ultimate sacrifice.