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© Comanche Nation Funeral Home Lawton, Oklahoma May 30, 2018 April 4, 1892 ~ July 4, 1993 APACHE, Okla. Bill Watson Mithlo, one of the few surviving Chiricahua Apaches held captive by the Army in the late 1800s and early 1900s, died Sunday. He was 105. Bill Watson Mithlo was born an Army prisoner of war at Fort San Marcos in Saint Augustine Fla on July 4, 1888 and reminded his sons throughout his life that he had known the warrior Geronimo. The 34 men, women, and children in Geronimo's band had surrendered in 1886 in Arizona after five months of pursuit by 5000 US soldiers 3000 Mexican soldiers and hundreds of scouts and volunteers. The Army shipped the Apaches from the deserts of Arizona to marshes of Florida. Mithlo was born at Fort San Marcos in St Augustine and lived in Army captivity until age 25. He was held at Fort Sill from 1894 to 1913 caring for livestock mending fences and doling out rations. Mithlo died Sunday at his home in Apache Okla after a short illness. With his death, 85-year-old Ida Gooday of Riverside Calif becomes the oldest of four surviving tribal members held at Fort Sill in Oklahoma until their release in 1913. The Chiricahuas, including Geronimo, were taken captive by the Army in southeastern Arizona. They were held as prisoners of war successively in Florida, Alabama and at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for a total of 27 years. Mr Mithlo was held at Fort Sill from 1894 to 1913. During that time, he cared for livestock, mended fences and handed out rations. He worked as a truck driver until his retirement in 1964. Apaches from Arizona and Oklahoma filled a church Wednesday to mourn the oldest Chiricahua Apache survivor of Army captivity. "I never fought with Geronimo" Mithlo said in an interview published earlier this year in Oklahoma Today. "I was proud enough to hold his horses."Bill Watson Mithlo, 105, was born an Army prisoner of war at Fort San Marcos in St. Augustine Fla on July 4, 1888 and reminded his sons throughout his life that he had known the warrior Geronimo. He worked as a truck driver for the Apache Milling Co until his retirement in 1964. Until recently, Mithlo danced at the Fire Dance held in his honor each fall at the family allotment outside Apache and danced the Dance of the Mountain Spirit. "He was a very private person" said tribal chairwoman Mildred Cleghorn, 83, and another former Army captive., "As we all are the prisoners of war." Services at the Apache United Methodist Church included the singing of Indian hymns. Mithlo is survived by his wife, six sons, two daughters, a half-brother, 21 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren. Over 6600 newspapers nationwide posted a version of this obituary |