Sheldon Hawk Eagle

Pfc. Hawk Eagle grew up in Eagle Butte, SD but enlisted in the Army at Grand Forks, N.D. His parents are deceased but Hawk Eagle still has many friends and relatives in Eagle Butte, where he graduated from high school in 2001. To his friends in the Army, he was known as Sheldon Hawk Eagle. To his family and fellow tribe members, he was also remembered with a proud Lakota name: Wanbli Ohitika Brave Eagle. A member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, Pfc. Hawk Eagle could trace his bloodline to two great Indian chiefs: Crazy Horse on his father's side, and Sitting Bill on his mother's, according to his aunt, Barbara Strikes Enemy Turner. Pfc. Hawk Eagle was a talented artist who loved to draw and paint, and a classic car buff who knew every model he saw on the road. He also adored kids and talked about a career in child psychology, looking to the Army to pay for college. But the military turned out to be such a good fit, his aunt says, he thought it might be his life. "He loved it and everything about it," she says. "He said, 'This is where I need to be right now.'" Compiled from Associated Press reports. Retrieved 10/01/2013 from "Honor the Fallen", http://projects.militarytimes.com/valor/