__First Nations fought to help Canada, by Deanna Lancaster (North Shore News)__
__National Round Table: First Nations veterans issues__
__Aboriginal veteran's Day on APTN__
__A family's remembrance of a Métis Soldier in WWII__
__Tommy Prince medals: Purchased at auction and authenticated__
You don't have the right to vote, you can't order a beer in a pub, and you
don't have the same access to education, health care, or other social
services. Yet, when the call comes to fight for that country's freedom, you go."
A remembrance day article published,
in honour and recognition of WWII Aboriginal veterans, James Nahanee and Edward Nahaney.
National Round Table: First Nations veterans Issues, a chronology
Archie Hodgson (WWII Aboriginal veteran), First Nation from Alberta,
Andy Anderson (WWII Aboriginal veteran), Métis from Manitoba,
Edward [Vital] Weetalktuk (Korean war veteran), Inuit from Eastern Hudson Bay area.
The veterans joined the host in studio, to share their stories and
memories of their time in the service.
Viewers also had a chance to talk to our guests, and gave their
answers to the evening's question, "What Do You Think of on
Remembrance Day?"
[*Webmasters note]
Did you not view the initial broadcast? Contact APTN, as to when the show will be rerun.
Alternatively, inquire to obtain a video tape of the program. (viewing highly recommended).
Phone 1-888-278-8862 (or) e-mail: contact@aptn.ca
My father [a Métis soldier] was in WWII and I now know the suffering that he went through not only in Europe but as well as when he got home to the country he fought for.
I would like to send more information to be included on your site because I want him and others to be remembered for what they sacrificed for a country that still chose to treat them as second class citizens after they so bravely and PROUDLY fought for all Canadians!
I feel that we as a family suffered as well because of my father's experience. I love him deeply and now understand many things that happened when I was growing up. My mother in particular saw a side of my father that was very sad. Such as 'marching' in his sleep and nightmares. I get very emotional when I realize the pain and anguish that he went through and had no where to turn.
When my father was in the war and stationed in the Netherlands he met a Dutch girl and we are now very close with the daughter that was the gift of their love for each other. Although she never met our father because of his passing in 1975 she is very moved by the whole history. She has 2 children (age 33 and 37) who are very proud to be decendents of Métis blood.
They have made many visits to our home and are in fact all coming to visit in the summer. I would like to include their pictures as well to show the love and respect that they show my father even though he did not get it from his own country!
I will work on a submission with a picture of him in
uniform as a memory to a great man. I thank you so
much for creating an avenue for descendents to tell
about their memories of war heroes."
After being examined and verified by military experts, the medals of late war-hero Sgt. Tommy Prince have come back to Manitoba.
Upon successfully securing the medals with a whopping $75,000 auction bid in London, Ontario, the Prince Medal Committee already confident of the medals authenticity sent the war relics to Ottawa for an official examination.
Experts with the Canadian War Museum and Canadian Conservation Institute checked for tell-tale identification numbers and compared the medals to other holdings in the war museum confirming the medals were the originals that were awarded to Prince.
The 10 medals include the United Kingdom’s Military Medal and the American Silver Star, which were presented to Prince in 1945 at England’ s Buckingham Palace by King George VI. Prince was one of only 17 individuals to ever hold both distinctions.
The other medals include the WWII Medal, the Defence Medal, The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, the Italian Star, the France Star, and the German Star.
How Prince became separated from the medals in the first place is the subject of much debate.
One story had the medals being lost in a house fire that destroyed Prince’s home; however, experts have said a house fire could not generate the necessary heat to melt such metals down. As well, Prince never filed a claim for replacements despite being entitled to do so in such an event.
Another version of the events has the medals falling into the hands of a private collector from a retired person, who in turn had obtained the medals from Prince as collateral for a loan. Unfortunately, there is little documented evidence to support this theory.
With a lack of evidence as to how exactly Prince and his medals parted ways, for now it has to be accepted that the war hero simply lost track of them as his personal circumstances deteriorated in the 1970s.
The Prince Medal Committee had been established by Prince’s relatives and friends to return the long-lost medals to Manitoba’s Aboriginal community.
The committee is now in the midst of formalizing itself, perhaps as a trust, to handle all matters related to the medals and the establishment of a scholarship in Prince’s memory.
"A private reception is planned for early November 2001, the Prince medal display will be available
for the public to see (in the foyer of the Museum) from November 6th on,
at the Manitoba Museum of Man and
Nature,"
according to Nancy Noble, Director Research, Collections & Exhibitions
Meanwhile, anyone interested in making a donation to the Prince Medal
Committee may do so at:
Me-Dian Credit Union
338 Broadway Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3C 0T3
excerpt:
A recipient of eleven (11) medals including the Military Medal (MM) and American Silver Star,
places Prince among Canada's most highly decorated non-commissioned officers.
At the age of 62, Tommy Prince passed away on November 25, 1977.
Sergeant Prince would never return to Anzio, Italy in 1999 with surviving veteran
comrades of the 1st Special Service Force, he would not witness
the unveiling of the National Aboriginal monument in June of 2001, nor
realize the veterans benefits and the recognition deserving of Aboriginal veterans in Canada.
Only recently, have Aboriginal veteran's needs have been seriously addressed at a national level,
through the dedicated work of many groups and individuals, in particular
the National Aboriginal Veterans Association, (NAVA).
Prince's heroes legacy will endure in the memories of Aboriginal people and in contributions
towards education, in the form of Scholarship Trusts.