Last updated: January 19, 2024
Person
Mildred Marjorie Cleghorn Womack
Courtesy of the Military Women’s Memorial. US Coast Guard
Quick Facts
Significance:
Seamen Mildred Cleghorn Womack (Otoe) was one of six Native American women from Oklahoma to serve in the US Coast Guard during World War II.
Place of Birth:
Pawnee, Oklahoma
Date of Birth:
August 25, 1922
Place of Death:
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Date of Death:
August 21, 2013
Mildred Cleghorn Womack (Otoe) was one of six Native American women who enlisted in the US Coast Guard SPARS during World War II. Her commitment to her tribal nation and the United States is an example of the service of many Native Americans.
Early Life
Mildred Marjorie Cleghorn Womack (Otoe) was born in Pawnee, Oklahoma in 1922. Her parents, Grant and Mary Cleghorn, were members of the Otoe-Missouria tribe. Mary Cleghorn also had Sac & Fox heritage. Womack went to Burbank High School, living with the family of J.I. Womack.
Service in SPARS
Womack enlisted in the SPARS, the women’s branch of the Coast Guard, as part of the Sooner Squadron. Because of Mabel Martin's recruitment strategy for Oklahoma, Womack was able to join with her cousin, Corrine Koshiway Goslin (Otoe). They trained together for SPARS in Palm Beach, Florida. Her community celebrated her service in July 1943 in Oklahoma before she left.
After training, Womack was assigned to Coast Guard headquarters in Washington DC. There, she was in charge of locating missing guardsmen for their families. She took a brief furlough in November of 1943 to marry Claude O. Womack (Otoe) in Oklahoma. Womack had her first daughter, Mary Womack Vann, in 1944 in Oklahoma. Presumably, this led to the end of her Coast Guard service under SPARS regulations.
Like other Native members of the Sooner Squadron, Womack faced stereotypes in the press. While she was proud of her Otoe heritage, the newspapers picked up on the most familiar stereotypes in their stories. Articles mentioned Womack’s grandfather, for example, as an “herb doctor.” Journalists also celebrated her beadwork, noting that she made belts and moccasins. Womack participated during and after the war in many Otoe cultural activities. She was part of the resurgence of Powwows and other Native traditional practices during and after World War II.
Life After World War II
After her SPARS service, Womack attended University of Oklahoma. Once again a “Sooner,” she got her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology. The Bizzell Memorial Library at Oklahoma, where Womack likely studied, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
After college, she returned to Red Rock, Oklahoma. She served as a social worker for the Otoe-Missouria tribe for several decades. She married Troy Hudson of Vancouver, Washington. Womack raised three children. She served on the Tribal Council for the Otoe Eagle clan and was active in the Native American church. She also belonged to the Otoe War Mothers, a group to help support Otoe veterans. And she continued to attend Powwows and other tribal events.
Mildred Cleghorn Womack Hudson died in Ponca City, Oklahoma in 2013 at the age of 90.
Sources:
Alicia Ault. “The Remarkable and Complex Legacy of Native American Military Service.” Smithsonian Magazine. The Remarkable and Complex Legacy of Native American Military Service | At the Smithsonian| Smithsonian Magazine
Mary E. Vann Obit (okcemeteries.net)
Mildred Marjorie Cleghorn Hudson (1922-2013) - Find a Grave Memorial
“Belford, Mrs. Calvin Smith.” The Fairfax Chief. Fairfax, Oklahoma: July 1, 1943. Pg 7. 01 Jul 1943, 7 - The Fairfax Chief at Newspapers.com
“Meet the SPARS, Newest Military Women in Tampa.” The Tampa Tribune. October 31, 1943. pg 3.
Sarah G. Morris. “SPARS From Oklahoma Anxious to Do Duty, Get Back Home.” Tulsa World, August 29, 1943. Pg 31.
“Two Marriages Announced.” The Ponca City News. November 9, 1943. Pg 2. 09 Nov 1943, 2 - The Ponca City News at Newspapers.com