Cloyce Vann “Chuck” Choney

Captain Cloyce Vann “Chuck” Choney was born in Lawton, Oklahoma, on 13 November 1944 to the late Whitt and Grace Tahbonemah Choney. A 1963 graduate of Lawton High School, he graduated from Cameron Junior College in 1965 and Oklahoma State University in 1969. He was commissioned through the OSU Army ROTC as an Army Infantry Second Lieutenant in 1969. Captain Choney is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation and is of Kiowa Tribal descent. He is the great-grandson of the last recognized Chief of the Comanche Nation, Quanah Parker, and Kiowa Tribal soldier, I-See-O.

From December 1969 to December 1970 Choney served as a Platoon Leader with B Company, 1^st/506^th Infantry, 101^st Airborne Division based at Camp Evans, Republic of Vietnam. His call sign was “Comanche 6” and his platoon was known as the “Comanche Raiders.” For actions on 1 May and 6 July 1970, he was twice awarded the Bronze Star with ‘V’ device and Purple Heart for combat wounds near Forward Firebase Maureen, Republic of Vietnam.

In addition to the award of the Combat Infantry Badge in Vietnam, Choney later graduated from both US Army elite schools: Ranger and Special Forces. He left the military as a captain in 1976.

In 1976 Choney began his 25-year career as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His service with the FBI included the Los Angeles riots of 1992; the Waco Siege in 1993; the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995; Montana Standoff in 1996; and the Kenya Embassy Bombing by Al-Qaeda in 1998. He concluded his career as one of three Commissioners for the Native American Indian Gaming Commission based in Washington, DC, from 2002-07. He is one of only twenty-nine Comanche veterans inducted into the elite Numu Pukutsi Warrior Society. Choney is a member of the Comanche Indian Veterans Association and Kiowa Black Leggings Warrior Society. He resides in Shawnee, Oklahoma.