Veteran's Day Remembrance - Aaron Carey, My Grandpa

WWII Veteran - Aaron Carey 1922-2002

Aaron Carey enlisted with the U.S Army on December 11, 1942. He was attached to the 612th Tank Destroyer battalion and was part of the European campaign. On Dec. 17, 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, he was captured by the Germans at Honsfeld. After having his coat, gloves and boots taken away, he was marched toward the Prisoner of War camp. It was bitter cold and he had nothing to eat during the entire trip. He endured several months as a POW until he was liberated.

After the war, he returned to civilian life and raised a family like many other veterans. Carey never realized he had honors coming to him. Fifty-five years after WWII, he was presented 7 medals from United States Congressman Tom Coburn. Carey was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the POW medal, an European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal (with service stars representing the 8 major battles he participated in), a U.S. Victory medal, a Good Conduct Medal, a Combat and Infantryman badge, and a Rifleman Qualification Combat Infantry Army Award medal. He was also awarded a Cross of Valor by the State of Oklahoma.

Later when interviewed about his wartime experience, Carey said he felt it was important that the young people of today learn about the wars America has fought and the sacrifices made to keep the country free. He said he had told his children about it when they were young like many other veterans did, but he didn't know if the stories had been passed on to the younger generation. He said if given the opportunity to tell young people about WWII, he would advise them, "Let's not go through another thing like this again."

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A news article about my grandpa receiving his medals - 

(The Wagoner Tribune; Wagoner, Oklahoma; December 2, 1999; p. 5A, 13A.)

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You can read more about 612th TD, Company B by clicking HERE or HERE. 

You can read more about 612th Tank Destroyer Battalion by clicking HERE or HERE. 

Thank you to all the veterans who have served to keep our country free. You service and sacrifices are not forgotten.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

copyright 2015, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Honoring Grandpa's Request - May We Never Forget

October 13th was my grandpa's birthday. This is my way of honoring his request that we never forget about the horrors of war or the sacrifices our soldiers have made for us.



Aaron Carey was the third child of Dick and Nancy (Fisher) Carey, Cherokee Nation citizens who were both listed on the Final Dawes Roll. While a young teenager, Aaron's father was killed by a hit and run driver and he had to take over the role of helping his mother support the family of 9 children. He fetched water and kept the fire going for her as she did laundry for a living. He also helped a local widow on her farm and he would be paid in vegetables which he took home to his mother and siblings.

When he was 20 years old, he enlisted with the U.S Army on December 11, 1942. He was attached to the 612th Tank Destroyer battalion and was part of the European campaign. On Dec. 18, 1944, at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge, he was captured by the Germans at Honsfeld. After having his coat, gloves and boots taken away, he was marched toward the Prisoner of War camp. It was bitter cold and he had nothing to eat during the entire 10 day trip. He endured six months as a POW until he was liberated by American soldiers.

After the war, he returned to civilian life and raised a family like many other veterans. Carey never realized he had honors coming to him. Fifty-five years after WWII, he was presented 7 medals from United States Congressman Tom Coburn. Carey was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the POW medal, an European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign medal (with service stars representing the 8 major battles he participated in), a U.S. Victory medal, a Good Conduct Medal, a Combat and Infantryman badge, and a Rifleman Qualification Combat Infantry Army Award medal. He was also awarded a Cross of Valor by the State of Oklahoma.

Later when interviewed about his wartime experience, Carey said he felt it was important that the young people of today learn about the wars America has fought and the sacrifices made to keep the country free. He said he had told his children about it when they were young like many other veterans did, but he didn't know if the stories had been passed on to the younger generation. He said if given the opportunity to tell young people about WWII, he would advise them, "Let's not go through another thing like this again."

Two years and four months after he received his WWII medals, Aaron Carey was sick and near death. As he struggled to hold onto life, his oldest daughter laid her face beside his and told him she loved him and one day he would have four little Indian girls in Heaven with him. A few hours later, he died.

He was survived by 4 daughters, 12 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by both of his parents, his wife, and six brothers.

Let us never forget.......

Originally posted: Oct. 19, 2010
Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

copyright 2012, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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News Article about My Grandpa, Aaron Carey, and His Service

In honor of Veteran's Day, I am sharing a news article about my grandpa, Aaron Carey, and his service to our country. The one thing that was important to him was that people never forget the sacrifice our soldiers make so that we can be free.

(Click on the article to enlarge.)

(Source - The Wagoner Tribune; Wagoner, Oklahoma; December 2, 1999; p. 5A, 13A.)

Thank you to all the Veterans who have served to keep our country free. Your sacrifices are not forgotten.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thanks for reading.

copyright 2011, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Remembering Grandpa and His Beliefs

Today, it has been 9 years since my grandpa, Aaron Carey, passed away. In memory of him and the way he felt about things, I thought I would share a story about him.

When my mother and her sisters were small, their babysitter was a teenage black girl from down the road. One time when grandma and grandpa came home at night, they saw the girl laying on the floor beside the bed where mom and her sisters were sleeping. My grandpa got really gruff with the girl and it woke my mother up. She heard grandpa tell the babysitter to never sleep on the floor in his house again. He said dogs slept on the floor and she was not a dog. He said she should sleep up in the bed with his girls. Mom said the girl never slept on the floor again. Later grandpa said it hurt his heart to know she thought she had to sleep on the floor.

My grandpa was just one man, but he is the person I get my insight into how Cherokees were and he is my window to my Cherokee past and history. This injustice the Cherokee Nation is perpetuating against the Freedmen descendants bothers me. Our Cherokee administration wants us to believe they are just black people who are out trying to get something they aren't entitled to have. What they don't tell us is the Freedmen were citizens of the Cherokee Nation with the full rights of native Cherokee. They share the same history. Their ancestors traveled the Trail of Tears. Their ancestors helped rebuild our nation time and time again. And their ancestors were active members of the Cherokee communities in which they lived.

Maybe too much time has passed or maybe we have just assimilated too much, but it seems we have forgotten some of the things our ancestors and grandparents believed. My grandpa saw people as people. The color of their skin was not important. The type of person they were was what mattered. And my grandpa believed in doing the right thing. Right now, I don't think our nation is doing the right thing. Prejudice in any way, shape or form is not right. At this point in time, we aren't even opening the door to the Cherokee Freedmen descendants, let alone giving them a floor to sleep on. This hurts my heart. I look forward to a time when we can go back to those simple beliefs that we are all equal and when we not only open the door to them but also welcome them to sleep in a bed in our home, just like my grandpa did.

Grandpa. Thank you for instilling strong morals and values in us. Every day, I try to conduct myself in a way that would make you proud. I love you and miss you. You will never be forgotten.

Those are my thoughts for today.

Thanks for reading.

CC

The Granddaughter

copyright 2011, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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Monday Madness - The Cherokee Carey Surname

Cherokee families did not always have surnames, so figuring out why they sometimes have a particular surname can be a rather daunting task. The origin of my Cherokee family surname Carey is no different. Though many times, a white man would marry into the tribe and his descendants would take his surname, this does not seem to be the case with my Careys. I am not saying it isn't a possibility, I am just saying at this point in time, documentation does not suggest that is the way the family came to have that name.

Of course, we have a family story about why our Indian family came to have an Irish surname, but I do not base my genealogy on family stories, so I have put that aside and I depend on what I can find as evidence through documentation and other sources. And, of course, as sometimes the fact with any genealogical research, it has only served to drive me crazy or "mad". I often feel as if I am dancing around in a circle, and the answer is just out of my reach. The answer is there and I am close, but I just can't put my finger on it yet. UGH..............

What I know about this Cherokee Carey family and surname is IF you descend from anyone who was considered a full blood and a Cherokee Carey at the time of Dawes, then you are a descendant of Mike Carey and his wife, Nancy Tucker. There is no doubt about this. All evidence and documentation of these Careys leads back to those two people. There is a mixed blood Cherokee Carey line who got their surname from a white man, but there is no known connection between that family and mine.

I also know that all of the full blood Cherokee Careys originate, at least at the time of the Dawes Roll, from the 14 Mile Creek/Melvin/Lost City area in Oklahoma. The descendant lines may have moved around a bit, but the origins of their family came from those areas along 14 Mile Creek.

Mike Carey, the first I have found to have used the surname Carey, arrived in Indian Territory as part of one of the removal detachments. I don't know when he arrived or who he traveled with, but know he traveled the infamous "Trail of Tears" because he is listed on the 1852 Drennen Roll. By 1852, he was an adult with his own family, so I am not able to connect him with his parents through that roll. Per one of his children's Guion Miller applications, he was born in North Carolina. Though interesting and nice to know, that information has not yet allowed me to connect him to his parents and I don't know if it ever will. One child of his listed a paternal grandfather named Dick Ah-cawk on his Miller app, but that "name" offers little in solving the mystery of who the parents were of Mike Carey or how our surname came to be.

At this point in time, it seems Mike Carey might have been the first of my Cherokee ancestors in that line to have used the surname Carey, since this surname associated with my line of Careys seems to (going backward) stop with him. Some evidence I have found suggests his siblings took different surnames which were used by their descendants. This would mean I could have many collateral lines that have never been connected to my family yet. It also might give some evidence which would suggest this Cherokee Carey surname family story might be true. But, without further evidence or documenation, I am not ready to say that yet.

I just thought I would share a part of my genealogy research that is driving me "mad". Cherokee genealogy, like any other, is not always easy and we don't find the answers overnight, but with patience and thorough research, the truth can be found. And as lovely and as heartwarming as family stories can be, remember what they say - genealogy without proof is mythology! As interesting as my family story is and as easy as it would be to just accept it as true, it would be a disservice to my descendants to pass such information to them without some type of documentation or evidence to verify it.

Those are my thoughts for today.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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In Honor of My Grandpa's Birthday

This post is my little way of remembering my grandpa, Aaron Carey, and trying to honor his wishes that we never forget about the horrors of war or the sacrifices our soldiers have made for us. Please click on his name and read his biography on the memorial page for him on Find A Grave.


We will never forget the sacrifices you or the other soldiers have made for our freedom. Thank you, grandpa.

Those are my thoughts for the day.
Thank you for reading.

CC
The Granddaughter

copyright 2009, Polly's Granddaughter - TCB

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