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Friday, September 14, 2012

‘The last man to talk to the last man’



As we move further and further from the momentous date of June 25th, 1876, the opportunity to meet with individuals that have a direct connection to the Battle of the Little Big Horn diminishes.  However, a window to the past coincidently opened up at the Custer Battlefield Museum on the date of June 24th, 2012.

That window to the past was Ex-China Marine, Thomas Edward Kendley.  On Tueday, Thomas humbly sauntered into the Custer Battlefield Museum accompanied by his son Steve Kendley and told his captivating story in detail to one of the museum’s current interns.  Born January 27, 1917 Thomas has seen and partaken in some of the most important events in American History of the 20th century.  Thomas is a proud veteran of World War II.  Mr. Kendley is also an enthusiast of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  Throughout his life he has made several trips to the battlefield.  One of his earliest trips was in 1926, which was the 50th anniversary of the battle.  Thomas recalls the time when there was nothing more than a superintendent’s office and a small collection of artifacts located near ‘Last Stand Hill’, which is now known as the Little Big Horn National Monument.  Interestingly, Thomas mentioned that many of the artifacts were collected by Crow Tribal Member, Big Man, who is an ancestor of one of our clerks in the Gift Shop here at the Custer Battlefield Museum.

One of Mr. Kendley’s finest memories associated with the Battle of the Little Big Horn was when he met Charles Windolph, author of the book I fought with Custer.  Charles Windolph was born in Germany and served in the 7th Calvary under Captain Benteen’s H Company.  At the time Thomas met Mr. Windolph in Leed, South Dakota in 1948, he was 97 years old and the last survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.  Mr. Windolph was also a Congressional Medal of Honor Winner and distinguished himself during the battle by drawing fire from the Indians while carriers dashed to the river to collect water.  Despite the heavy rifle fire from the Indians, only one man was hurt during the action. 

During their conversation in 1948, Charles requested that his daughter retrieve “his letter”.  She brought back Mr. Windolph’s most prized possession, it was a letter in mint condition that had never been opened in 70 years, addressed personally to Charles Windolph from Captain Benteen.  Mr. Windolph asked Thomas if he would do him the honor of opening his letter and reading it to him.  The contents of the letter described Benteen’s appreciation for Windolph’s service and wished him farewell.  Nonetheless, Thomas felt honored to view such a document that Windolph had been waiting to read for all those years.

Now 95 years of age, Thomas is truly the last man to have talked to the last man of the Battle of the Little Bighorn.  It was an extraordinary opportunity for myself to meet him and the Custer Battlefield Museum was honored to have such a distinguished guest.                  

Intern - Bart Maney

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