Courtesy Photo | Defense Media Activity - Army Productions | 01.23.2023
Spc. 5 Dwight Birdwell, left poses for a photo with a fellow Soldier while assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea in 1967. Birdwell was awarded the Medal of Honor on July 5, 2022 (Courtesy photo)...
Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Ellison | 126th Air Refueling Wing | 08.05.2022
Nate Bunch, Cherokee Cultural Center, shows a cornstalk arrow during a cultural day for the 126th Civil Engineer Squadron, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Aug, 5, 2022. Cornstalk shooting is a competition that dates back more than 1200 years. The person who can shoot through the most corn stalks is the winner. The Illinois National Guard unit is participating in an Innovative Readiness Training......
Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Ellison | 126th Air Refueling Wing | 08.05.2022
Catherine Gray, Cherokee historian, shares with a small group of 126th Civil Engineer Squadron, Airmen the history of the Cherokee nation from the time just before the Trail of Tears to present time in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Aug. 5, 2022. The Illinois National Guard unit is participating in an Innovative Readiness Training Cherokee Veterans Housing Initiative. This volunteer opportunity provides......
Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Ellison | 126th Air Refueling Wing | 08.05.2022
26th Civil Engineer Squadron and Air Force Reserve’s 301st CES play a Cherokee game of social stickball during a cultural day in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Aug. 5, 2022. Many different Native American tribes played a variation of stick bill. Tribes would sometimes use stick ball games to settle disputes between two nations. The game is similar to lacrosse but players use two sticks to throw and......
Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Ellison | 126th Air Refueling Wing | 08.05.2022
126th Civil Engineer Squadron and Air Force Reserve’s 301st CES play a Cherokee game of social stickball during a cultural day in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Aug. 5, 2022. The game is similar to lacrosse but players use two sticks to throw and catch. In a social game of stick ball the object is to hit the fish at the top of the pole with the ball for points. The two units are participating in an......
Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Ellison | 126th Air Refueling Wing | 08.05.2022
Tech. Sgt. Jessica Vega, center, 126th Force Support Squadron, throws the ball towards towards a wood fish at the top of a pole about 20 feet up in the air during a cultural day in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Aug. 5, 2022. During a social game of stick ball played amongst men and women, the women traditionally would not play with sticks. The Illinois National Guard unit is participating in an......
Photo by Master Sgt. Brian Ellison | 126th Air Refueling Wing | 08.05.2022
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Larry Myers, 126th Civil Engineer Squadron, tosses his green billiard ball toward a hole in the ground during a Cherokee game called marbles, during a cultural day in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Aug. 5, 2022. The games of marbles is thought to more than 1200 years old. The Illinois National Guard unit is participating in an Innovative Readiness Training Cherokee Veterans......
Photo by Staff Sgt. Vincent Lang | 126th Air Refueling Wing | 08.05.2022
Senior Airman Jose Iguina, left, 301st Civil Engineer Squadron, U.S. Air Force Reserve, attempts to out run his opponents during a competitive match of Cherokee stick ball at the Cherokee Heritage Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, August 5, 2022. The 301st CES is working with the 126th CES building homes for Cherokee Veterans as part of Innovative Readiness Training Cherokee Veterans Housing......
