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Tommy Prince

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Tommy Prince
Prince in 1945
Nickname(s)Prince of the Brigade
Born(1915-10-15)October 15, 1915
Scanterbury, Manitoba, Canada
DiedNovember 25, 1977(1977-11-25) (aged 62)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
AllegianceCanada
Service/branchCanadian Army
Years of service1940–1945
1950–1954
RankSergeant
Battles/warsWorld War II
Korean War
AwardsMilitary Medal
Silver Star (United States)

Thomas George Prince MM SSM (October 25, 1915 – November 25, 1977) was an Indigenous Canadian war hero and the most decorated soldier in the First Special Service Force or Devil's Brigade during World War II. He was Canada's most decorated First Nations soldier, serving in World War II and the Korean War. Prince's military deeds as a scout and as a forward combatant were unique and of major strategic importance.

Tommy Prince was descended from First Nations chiefs who had negotiated treaty rights with representatives of The Crown, and Prince himself would also represent First Nations concerns in Ottawa as Chairman of the Manitoba Indian Association. He advocated for the abolition of the governing Indian Act in Canada and proposed respect for the traditional Crown treaties as the basis of First Nations rights. Prince's position, although deemed radical at the time, has been vindicated in subsequent decades by Supreme Court of Canada rulings in support of the Crown treaties and is now the basis of government policy.

Early life

Born in Petersfield, Manitoba, he was one of 11 children of Henry and Arabella Prince of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation near Scanterbury, Manitoba. He was the great-grandson of the Indigenous Chief, Peguis,[1] who had led his nation from Sault Ste. Marie to the southern end of Lake Winnipeg in the late 1790s, keeping their French name, the Saulteaux.[2] Tommy Prince was the grandson of Chief Henry Prince[3] who was an original signatory and a principal negotiator of First Nations Treaty 1 at Lower Fort Garry, Manitoba on behalf of the Peguis or Saulteaux tribe on 3 August 1871.[4] The treaty as negotiated reserved hunting and fishing rights for the indigenous tribes of Manitoba, as well as land rights. Chief Henry Prince was also an original signatory to Treaty 2 on 23 August 1875. Tommy Prince's father Henry Prince was also a chief of the Saulteaux nation.

Growing up, Prince became a superb marksman with exceptional tracking and stealth skills learned from countless days spent hunting in the wilderness around his Indigenous reserve. Prince's father would teach him marksmanship and he developed the skill to shoot five bullets through a target the size of a playing card at 100 metres.[5] He attended Elkhorn Residential School, completing grade eight. He joined the student Royal Canadian Army Cadets and later stated, "As soon as I put my uniform on, I felt like a better man. I even tried to wear it to class."[6] He continued with the Army Cadets throughout his teenage years. After leaving secondary school, due to dire family finances during the Great Depression, he was employed at a variety of manual-labour positions but primarily as a tree feller.

World War II

First Special Service Force creation

At the start of World War II Prince volunteered to fight with the Canadian Army, although First Nations members were not subject to any conscription for national defence and were not required to join the armed forces. He easily met the requirements for recruitment, but was turned down several times before he was finally accepted on 3 June 1940, at a time when the war had reached a crisis for British and Canadian forces with defeat in the Fall of France.[7] He was originally a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers, trained as a "sapper" or member of a combat engineering platoon. He was promoted to lance corporal in February 1941. Prince eventually became bored with the routine duties spent mostly behind a desk, and when he later learned of the creation of a new unit, he volunteered for duty with a parachute unit designated the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion.[2] This designation was used to disguise the true reason for the recruitment of parachute volunteers in the UK at that time: the United States and Canada had begun the formation of a special force to conduct sabotage and raids against targets in German-occupied Norway. Men were recruited in Canada and in the overseas Canadian Army in Britain for this unit secretly named the First Special Service Force. The Canadians involved with this training continued to be listed on the rosters of their prior units. Although later given an official title of the 2nd Canadian Parachute Battalion for administrative purposes, no such unit actually existed. Prince then reported to the UK's parachute school at RAF Ringway, near Manchester.

In September 1942 he returned to Canada where his enlistment was registered as the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion (1CPB), and was promoted to sergeant. He then formally but unofficially volunteered for the still confidential and unknown 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion and proceeded to Fort Benning, Georgia, where they were forming. The Canadians were well below strength due to injuries in training and washouts of substandard recruits. They agreed to bolster the 1st Special Service Force (later known as the "Devil's Brigade") commando unit by allowing men to volunteer, and were transported to Helena, Montana where the Americans in the Force were training. Due to security and secrecy concerns, the Americans and Canadians were transported to Montana by trains with the windows blacked out, so that no one would know where they were headed. The modern American and Canadian special operations forces trace their heritage to this unit. Two-thirds of the men in this new Brigade were Americans and one-third Canadian, although one-half of the senior officers were Canadian and the Brigade second-in-command was a Canadian. The Brigade commander was Robert T. Frederick, who had masterminded the creation of the unit. Frederick would later be hailed by Winston Churchill as "the greatest fighting General of all time". American equipment, arms, and uniforms were used and provided by the U.S. government with a Canadian financial contribution. Prince and the other men of this unit were originally chosen for their rugged outdoor backgrounds and received rigorous training, often under live fire. All members of this elite commando force received intensive instruction in stealth tactics, hand-to-hand combat, the use of explosives for demolition, amphibious warfare, rock climbing and mountain fighting and as ski troops. They were trained meticulously in the operation and assembly of German weapons, in the event that it became necessary to use German weapons on the battlefield during combat. This training in German weapons would later prove to be of critical importance in some of the Force's battles. Prince became a "Reconnaissance Sergeant"—or, in the Force table of organization, a "Scout"—responsible for moving into forward positions and reporting on the movements of the enemy.

Italy deployment

The Norwegian operations were cancelled due to changes in Allied strategy. Following reassignment, the 1st Special Service Force was initially deployed in the Aleutians for possible actions against Japanese forces, but no battlefield situations materialized. The unique capabilities of the Force in mountain warfare were recognized by Allied commanders in the Italian campaign, and the SSF then moved to Italy in November 1943. They would take part in the stalled Allied offensive against the Bernhard or Winter Line, which had effectively obstructed the Allied push towards Rome. In December and January, the 1st Special Service Force would be assigned to assault enemy positions which were regarded as impregnable, Monte la Difensa, Hill 720, Monte Majo and Monte Vischiataro, assignments which large assaulting formations of Allied soldiers had failed to attain, and had sustained enormous and sometimes catastrophic casualties in the attempts.

During the Force's initial Italian assignment to a reserve position near Monte Cassino, Tommy Prince first discovered and developed his capabilities of entering enemy locations at night without making any sound and without the enemy being aware of his presence.[8] Prince's ability to move in complete silence wearing traditional moccasins into situations where the enemy could be threatened became known to senior officers such as Lt. Col. Tom Gilday, who commanded Prince's battalion. Gilday established a close working relationship with Prince and would assign him to special tasks requiring his unusual abilities.

Monte Majo

Monte Majo and Monte la Difensa were the critical twin mountain peaks which anchored the German defensive lines in Italy.[9] The 1st Special Service Force managed to succeed in the Battle of Monte La Difensa on 3 to 9 December 1943 by scaling a steep cliff at night and attacking the German forces on the summit. The next target planned in early January 1944 was the taking of Monte Majo, which was assigned to the Canadian contingent of the Devil's Brigade, and was an almost insurmountable problem. German artillery and machine-gun emplacements had been arranged in layers on the steep slopes. An attack on any one of them would alert the other defenses and also the main German positions on the summit. Any assaulting force would be met with withering fire. Earlier Allied attempts to take the mountain had met with failure and disastrous casualties.

Lt. Col. Gilday, desperate to devise some strategy for the assault, assigned Tommy Prince to lead a patrol and move at night and attempt to create a pathway for an assault on Mont Majo by eliminating the enemy gun emplacements on the lower and middle slopes of Monte Majo blocking the intended route.[10] This would require Prince to execute his orders without making any sound or arousing the other German positions. If Prince's mission succeeded, it would allow an assault by the Force to follow immediately and climb up the steep mountain side. The offensive was planned for 8 January 1944.

Prince's immediate commanding officer Cpt. Taylor Radcliffe remarked that the scout "moved just like a shadow" as he led his patrol away from the forward outpost into the night.[11] Under cover of darkness, Prince led his patrol partway up the lower slopes to a position where he left his men behind as a supporting group, should they be needed to provide covering fire. Prince then single-handedly approached and entered the successive German gun emplacements one after another, commencing with the gun pits on the lower slopes and then proceeding with the higher emplacements on the middle slopes. He successfully dispatched all of the gunners and soldiers in the artillery and machine gun bunkers with complete silence and without eliciting any enemy alarms or defensive fire. Prince then returned with his patrol to Cpt. Radcliffe's forward post before dawn and reported that his mission was accomplished. All of the German gun pits located on the intended route of the Force's assault at the base and the middle of Monte Majo had been neutralized, with only the German positions on the summit remaining to defend the mountain. When the Force commenced their movement up the slopes of Monte Majo, they passed by the now silent German machine gun and artillery bunkers, and Radcliffe became aware that Prince had done "a beautiful job".[12] Radcliffe never learned the exact details of how Prince had managed to accomplish this stunning result, beyond the fact that Prince had entered the gun emplacements and had then eliminated the gun platoons. Radcliffe's company leading the attack was able to ascend to the summit of Monte Majo without firing a single bullet.[13] Prince's extraordinary feat of arms enabled the daring assault by the Brigade on Monte Majo to proceed, the enemy taken by complete surprise. Once in control of the summit, the Force made use of captured German heavy machine guns which had been abandoned during the enemy retreat to repel the fierce German counter-attacks over a period of several days. Prince would also be involved in these later actions to defend the summit against counter-attack. Following the taking of Monte Majo, the 1st Special Service Force had been reduced from 1800 men at the start of the winter campaign to only 400 as a result of casualties.[14]

The Canadian contingent of the 1st Special Service Force was awarded the Battle Honour "Mount Majo" for this action by both the U.S. and Canadian governments.[15][16] Tommy Prince did not receive any individual award or medal for his astounding and essential contribution to the successful outcome. Prince's special skills and acts of stealth at Monte Majo would have been regarded as classified information and could not have been described in a medal nomination or citation without compromising the security of future operations. The 1st Special Service Force, a unit in which heroic acts were commonplace, earned many unit awards which were shared by the entire Brigade, but comparatively infrequently awarded individual medals to its men.[17] Similar achievements to Prince's in combat would typically be awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal or the Victoria Cross or the Medal of Honor in the Allied forces in general. However, Prince's accomplishments at Monte Majo were of singular and unequaled status and surpassed the range of any existing medal.

Anzio

After breaking through the German Bernhard Line, the 1st Special Service Force was then moved to Anzio, where a U.S. and Allied landing had been contained and was heavily under attack. The 1st Special Service Force, now comprising about 1200 men, was tasked with holding several miles of perimeter against a full German division.[18] On 5 February 1944, near Littoria, Prince was sent forward by Lt. Col. Gilday to report the location of several German assembly points, including artillery positions. When Prince failed to return the following day, Gilday feared that he had been killed or captured by the Germans. However, Prince suddenly emerged from the darkness into Gilday's post two nights later and reported to Gilday how he had found a deserted farm house close to major German gun positions. With Prince still observing from inside the farmhouse, German patrols had then arrived and occupied the house. Prince had managed to elude the Germans searching the house without being discovered and had then hid in the attic for another day until the Germans left.[19] The following night after this report, Prince was sent back by Lt. Col. Gilday to the same farmhouse bearing thousands of feet of communications wire. From the abandoned farmhouse about 200 metres (660 ft) from the enemy assembly area, he could report the location of their emplacements using 1,400 metres (4,600 ft) of telephone wire. An artillery duel followed as the Allies attempted to knock out the guns reported by Prince, and one of these rounds cut the telephone wire. Prince discovered some farmer's clothes in a closet in the house and walked out dressed as a farmer weeding the crops. Locating the damaged wires, he rejoined them while pretending to tie his shoelaces.[2] He made a show of shaking his fist at the nearby Germans, then again toward the Allied lines.[7][20] Returning to his lookout spot he continued his reports, and over the next 24 hours four German batteries were knocked out of action.[2] In all he spent three days behind enemy lines. Lt. Col. Gilday pointed out to Prince that if he had been apprehended by the Germans while in the peasant clothes, he would have been executed as a spy. For this action he was awarded the Military Medal, his citation reading (in part) "Sergeant Prince's courage and utter disregard for personal safety were an inspiration to his fellows and a marked credit to his unit."[2] Gilday's decision to recommend Prince for this medal launched the reputation of Tommy Prince among the soldiers in the 1st Special Service Force as well as in other Allied units.[21]

During the Anzio campaign, Prince would change his boots and don moccasins which he carried in his backpack whenever requiring silent movement. He would reportedly sneak past German security guards at night and enter enemy sleeping locations, leaving messages or warnings, stealing boots, and sometimes using his knife to dispatch an enemy soldier.[22] These psychological warfare attacks earned the nickname of "geist" ("ghost" in English) or "Teufel" ("demon" or "evil spirit" in English) from the German soldiers.

Prince would also engage in a regular sniping schedule at Anzio, under his own initiative. He would venture out at night into no-man's land between the opposing armies, choose a hidden vantage point, and target any German who wandered within his sights.[23] Before long, the German units opposing the 1st Special Service Force had retreated nearly two and a half miles away from direct contact, apparently shaken by the night activity of the Devil's Brigade.[24]

France

After being the vanguard of the US forces liberating Rome on 4 June 1944, the SSF was moved to southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. First they would assault the Hyères Islands before going ashore at Sylvabelle on the French Riviera. There the force was ordered, as part of the 1st Airborne Task Force, to push eastward toward the Franco-Italian border. On 1 September Prince and a private were sent forward through the German lines to scout their positions near L'Escarène and came across an encampment area of an enemy reserve battalion. On the way back to report this discovery, Prince and the private came upon a battle between some German platoons and a squad of French partisans. Prince, an expert sniper, and the private started sniping the Germans from behind, killing about 12 of them, and the startled Germans eventually withdrew. Prince made contact with the French leader, who asked Prince where the rest of his company was located. When Prince pointed to the private and said "Here," the French commander exclaimed that he thought that there had been about 50 men involved in his relief. The French commander recommended Prince for the Croix de Guerre, but the courier was killed en route and the message never reached the French Commander-in-Chief, Charles de Gaulle.[25]

Prince continued on to his unit. He then led it back to the encampment of the German reserve forces and, together with the French squad of resistance fighters which Prince had rescued, joined in the battle. As a result, the entire German battalion of about 1000 men was killed or captured. From start to end Prince had been without food, water or sleep for 72 hours and had walked over 70 km across rugged, mountainous terrain. Afterwards he was recommended for the American Silver Star, his citation reading:

So accurate was the report rendered by the patrol that Sergeant Prince's regiment moved forward on 5 September 1944, occupied new heights and successfully wiped out the enemy bivouac [encampment] area. The keen sense of responsibility and devotion to duty displayed by Sergeant Prince is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the Allied Nations.[2]

WWII Awards

After it was determined that both US and Canadian personnel would be better suited if they were dispersed to units in their own forces, the 1st Special Service Force was disbanded in December 1944. After returning to the UK, Prince was summoned to Buckingham Palace on 12 February 1945, where King George VI presented him with his Military Medal. When King George VI made his medal presentations, they would consist of a smile and a handshake, as they did for the other recipients on this occasion. However, when the King came to Tommy Prince, he stopped and discussed the Anzio action and others with Prince for several minutes. Prince would later receive his Silver Star from US Brigadier-General E.F. Koenig (on behalf of the American President) on 24 April 1945;[26] he was one of 59 Canadians to receive this award during the war, and one of only three to receive both the Silver Star and Military Medal.[2] In addition to the two Decorations, he received six service medals for his service in the Italian and North West Europe theatres of war, The 1939-1945 Star, The Italy Star, The France and Germany Star, The Defence Medal, The Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Overseas Clasp, and The War Medal 1939-1945. As a member of the 1st Special Service Force, he received the Battle Honour "Mount Majo" for that extraordinary action. The First Special Service Force as a unit was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star, as well as the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism. In 2006, the Canadian members of the 1st Special Service Force were each awarded the U.S. Army Combat Infantryman Badge in honour of their service in combat roles in WWII. On 3 February 2015, the U.S. Congress Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the First Special Service Force as a unit.[9] The war in Europe ended while Prince was in England.[2]

Post World War II

Business

Prince was honorably discharged on June 15, 1945,[27] and returned to his home on the Brokenhead Reserve, working in a pulpwood camp. In 1946 a woman attacked him at a dance and cut his cheek with a beer bottle, requiring 64 stitches.[25] After this incident he left the reserve and moved to Winnipeg.

No longer residing on the reserve, he was eligible to apply for and receive some start-up business funding from the Department of Veteran's Affairs. Prince began a small but relatively prosperous cleaning service. He married Verna Sinclair, with whom he had five children.

Parliamentary Committees and the Indian Act

In 1946 he was elected Chairman of the Manitoba Indian Association. Entrusting his business to friends, Prince devoted his time to representing the First Nations to the 1946 Parliamentary Committees which were set up to review the Indian Act and to suggest ways to improve the conditions for Native peoples. He worked with the association to lobby Ottawa for changes to the Indian Act, which had imposed a paternalistic system on the First Nations, regarding them as "wards of the government".[3] While some revisions were made, little actual improvement followed. Prince advocated for the abolition of the Indian Act. The Act had made the First Nations essentially dependent upon the government to manage their lands and resources, and in the process had removed First Nations rights of access to capital markets, investment possibilities, and property ownership outside the reserves. Prince insisted that the traditional Crown treaties with the First Nations should be honoured and respected, and that the Crown treaties should form the basis of a new system for First Nations peoples. Tommy Prince's grandfather Chief Henry Prince had been a principal negotiator and signatory of Treaty 1 and Treaty 2 in Manitoba. The treaty rights had been absorbed into the Indian Act and were administered by a federal government department, the Department of Indian Affairs, on behalf of the First Nations, often with poor results. The leases and development of First Nations mineral resources were awarded to private companies owned by non-First Nations venture capitalists outside the reserves.

In the Parliamentary deliberations with respect to the Indian Act and possible amendments, Prince made a positive impression during the committee meetings. Government officials considered offering him a position with the Department of Indian Affairs. However, Prince's opposition to the Indian Act was in conflict with government policy, and no offer eventuated. In later decades, the Canadian government would come to accept a policy of eventually phasing out the Indian Act, while at the same time affirming the traditional First Nations treaty rights as supported by Supreme Court of Canada rulings. These later developments would constitute belated vindication of Prince's position on the issues.

Frustrated with the red tape of Ottawa, he returned to Winnipeg to discover that his cleaning business had folded in his absence because the friends running it had crashed the truck and sold the parts as scrap metal.[25] Prince worked in lumber camps and a concrete factory to make ends meet.

Korean War

Re-assignment and Night Patrols

In August 1950 Prince returned to the Canadian Army to fight with the United Nations troops in the Korean War. "I owed something to my friends who died" in WWII, he stated.[28] Re-instated to his previous rank of sergeant, Prince was now a member of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), the first Canadian regiment to arrive in the war zone.

In February 1951 the Patricias joined the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade on the battlefield. Prince was second in command of his rifle platoon, and shortly after arrival in Korea he led an eight-man evening "snatch patrol" into an enemy encampment. The successful patrol returned with two captured heavy machine guns and Prince went on to lead several more raids. However, while his commanding officer was aware of Prince's renown as a nocturnal operative, the CO was unfamiliar with Prince's bold methods of operation. Eventually the CO avoided assigning Prince to patrols because he believed that there were too many risks which could threaten the lives of the soldiers.[29]

Battle of Kapyong

Prince held a prominent role with the 2 PPCLI when it became the first Canadian unit awarded the United States Presidential Unit Citation for distinguished service in the Battle of Kapyong on April 24–25, 1951. The battalion defended an important strategic position on Hill 677 despite heavy assault from Chinese forces.[29] The Kapyong Valley provided a potential route for the enemy to encircle the U.S. forces in Korea. The Canadian 2 PPCLI, consisting of about 700 infantrymen and several machine guns, was opposed in the Kapyong River valley by a full Chinese division of 20,000 soldiers. Supporting UN forces initially consisted of a Royal Australian Regiment infantry battalion and two companies of U.S. artillery. From US IX Corps came a battery of 105-millimetre (4.1 in) howitzers as well as the US 213th Field Artillery Battalion. In addition, the U.S. forces contributed the twelve 4.2-inch (110 mm) M2 mortars of B Company, 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion. However, the Australians were hurriedly withdrawn from the Kapyong battlefield after a fierce firefight with the attacking Chinese, who chased the Australians in hot pursuit. The American artillery forces simply fled without firing a single round, abandoning their big guns and mortars, equipment and 50 trucks loaded with ammunition to the enemy. Some American tanks fired upon the Canadians, wounding one man, before retreating from the battlefield. Neither the Australians nor the Americans notified the Canadian forces of their sudden retreat, which left the Canadians encircled and alone in a two-day siege to hold the key position. Brigadier Burke, who commanded the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade, personally flew over the Canadian soldiers and shouted at them through a loudspeaker that they were now cut off and would receive no support. This action angered and unsettled the Canadians. Tommy Prince was credited with steadying and motivating some of the nervous young Canadians who voiced a desire to run in the face of overwhelming odds of about 30 to 1.[30] The Canadian commander Lt. Col. Stone ordered his men to fight in a last stand with the words, "No retreat, no surrender." The fighting was fierce and often hand-to-hand with bayonets, the Canadians running low on ammunition. The Canadian unit would twice take shelter in their shallow trenches and call in supporting long-distance artillery fire from 4.5 miles away targeted directly onto their own positions when they were overrun by mass attacks of Chinese soldiers. The 2 PCCI, with their ammunition and supplies exhausted, managed to repel the attacks and the Chinese division withdrew with enormous casualties, well before any UN relief forces arrived on the battlefield.

Second Battle of the Hook

Prince's wartime duty was taking a toll on his body, and his knees were subject to painful swelling and premature arthritis. He was hospitalized after a medical examination in May 1951, and was later put on administrative duties and returned to Canada, where he served as a platoon sergeant at The Officer Candidate School Canadian Forces Base Borden in Ontario. Here his knees improved, so in March 1952 he volunteered for a second tour of duty in the Far East. He sailed for Korea that October with the 3rd Battalion PPCLI.

Though the battalion was officially still training in November 1952, when Chinese forces attacked a vital sector on the Sami-chon River known as "the Hook" the 3rd PPCLI was called to assist British UN forces in the Second Battle of the Hook to recover the exposed forward position. The Patricia's had five members killed, but was able to recapture the post by November 19. Prince was among the nine wounded in the battalion with some shrapnel wounds to his legs, although he continued to fight until the outpost was retaken by Prince and his men. Prince refused evacuation for medical treatment, unwilling to abandon his position at the outpost. He removed shrapnel from his legs with his knife by himself. Despite his wounds, he carried another wounded 3 PCCLI soldier on his back to the military medical station.[31] Although he recovered from these wounds, he was hospitalized for several weeks in early 1953 for treatment on his knees.[29] The armistice was signed during this period.

Korean War Awards

In addition to the Presidential Unit Citation for the Battle of Kapyong, Prince received the Korea Medal (Canadian version) and the United Nations Korea Medal for his service. He was also entitled, posthumously, to the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal for Korea after it was created in 1991. Following the Korean Armistice Agreement, he remained in the army, working as an instructor of new recruits in Winnipeg, Manitoba, until his honorable discharge on October 28, 1953.[27] He continued to work at a personnel depot in Winnipeg until September 1954.[27]

Later Life

Monument to Tommy Prince, Kildonan Park, Winnipeg, just a few steps from the monument to his ancestor Peguis

Adjusting to civilian life was not easy for Prince after World War II and Korea, and with painfully arthritic knees as a result of the long, harsh conditions during his military service, his capabilities were limited. As a First Nations member, Prince did not qualify for the usual Canadian armed forces veteran benefits, including veterans employment programs, veterans educational support, land purchase support for military veterans, although his non-reserve status allowed him a small military income pension.[31][32] Coupled with the discrimination against Native people at the time, his life became increasingly difficult, ultimately ending in his estrangement from his family and the placement of his children in foster homes. Unlike other famous Canadian war heroes who also struggled in their civilian lives after the war ended, Prince was not assisted by well-off friends or offered positions by the government. His advocacy on behalf of First Nations and against the Indian Act placed him as an opponent of prevailing government policies of the day.

In June 1955 Tommy Prince made the news for his heroism in saving a man from drowning at the Alexander Docks in Winnipeg, after which he quietly and humbly walked away before the media could descend. However, he spiraled into a depression, and like many war veterans, he experienced post battle stress symptoms and combat nightmares. His personal life continued to deteriorate and alcoholism and homelessness overtook him in the early 1960s. Winnipeg police officers knew him personally and also of his heroic war service, and would refuse to hold him for intoxication or vagrancy, instead providing transport to a Salvation Army facility. His final years were spent virtually alone, living in a Salvation Army hostel. He eventually overcame his alcoholism and would give coherent interviews and reminiscences of his military deeds. In order to support himself, he sold off his medals.

He died in 1977 at Winnipeg's Deer Lodge Centre, a health care facility specializing in geriatric care and treatment of veterans, and was interred in Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg. Despite the reduced circumstances of his later years, he had retained his fame and his funeral was a notable event with significant official representatives and more than 500 people in attendance. At his funeral service, a delegation from the Princess Patricia's Brigade served as his pallbearers. A group of men from the Saulteaux nation sang the "Death of a Warrior" song while his body was lowered into the grave. Official representatives included the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba on behalf of The Crown and the Consuls of France, of Italy, and of the United States.[33]

Honours and Legacy

In 1976, one year before his death, Tommy Prince was awarded the Certificate of Merit by the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood "for his years of dedicated service to the Indian people of Manitoba."[34] Prince once stated later in his life, "All my life I had wanted to do something to help my people recover their good name."[35]

After Prince's death, his military medals changed hands several times before coming up for auction in London, Ontario. His nephew, Jim Bear, organized a pledge drive and purchased the medals, entrusting them to the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg.

Since his passing, a number of honours have been bestowed in his name. Some of them are:

In 1968, a major Hollywood film entitled "The Devil's Brigade" was produced, although Tommy Prince, the most decorated member of the Brigade, was not represented in the story line. Early in the film, an American soldier was featured in a soldier gambling scene, whose nickname was "Chief", perhaps a weak reference to Prince and his royal ancestry.

In 2005 Historica Canada released a Heritage Minute on Prince.[36]

On 10 February 2010, it was announced that Canadian actor Adam Beach, who is (like Prince) a Manitoban of the Ojibwe nation, would portray the Canadian war hero in an upcoming movie about his life. Beach had previously portrayed Ira Hayes in the Clint Eastwood film Flags of Our Fathers.[37] According to Bay Film Studios, the movie would be a "true account of Canada's most highly decorated First Nations soldier". Beach, 37, said he was honoured to play Prince, calling him a positive role model for all First Nations. The Canadian Armed Forces agreed to participate in the production of the film.[38] The film was later reported delayed by reshooting of scenes and the film studio in bankruptcy.

In 2013, the United States Congress passed a bill to award the 1st Special Service Force the Congressional Gold Medal.[39]

In 2016, a plaque honouring Tommy Prince was installed in the main floor of the Legislative Building of the Province of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba.[40]

In 2019, Tommy Prince was named one of the Persons of National Historic Significance of Canada, on the advice of the national Historic Sites & Monuments Board of Canada.[41]

In November, 2019, a documentary was produced of the First Special Service Force assault on Monte Majo, in which Prince's unparalleled forward combat achievement had prepared the way for a strategically crucial action.[42] In the documentary, Prince's accomplishment was described while showing the actual location of the battle.

In June 2020, a group of Conservative Party of Canada Members of Parliament started a petition[43] and sent a letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Governor of the Bank of Canada Tiff Macklem advocating for Prince's face to be displayed on the Canadian $5 bill.[44][45]

On 17 October 2022 it was announced that Tommy Prince would be the subject of a postage stamp to be issued 28 October 2022, by Canada Post.[46][31] The stamp shows Prince in his 2 PPCLI uniform from his Korean War period with a background of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis), his name with the designation MM (Military Medal), his decorations and mention of the Silver Star.[47][48] The official presentation ceremony of the Tommy Prince postage stamp was attended and featured speeches by Prince's son Tommy Prince Jr.[49] and by singer Willam Prince, a cousin of the family, who sang a song by Buffy Sainte Marie at the event.[50]

References

  1. ^ Lackenbauer, P. Whitney (Spring 2007). ""A Hell of a Warrior": Remembering Sergeant Thomas George Prince" (PDF). Journal of Historical Biography. 1: 27–78.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Tommy Prince". Retrieved 11 November 2021 – via veterans.gc.ca.
  3. ^ a b Chief Henry Prince. http://www.redriverancestry.ca/PRINCE-HENRY-1819.php
  4. ^ Remembering TommyPrince. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i86Yi2Tlulw
  5. ^ A Perfect Hell, John Nadler. ASIN: 0891418679 Presidio Press (March 28, 2006), P. 205
  6. ^ Ottawa Citizen, 15 Great Canadian Stories. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/15-great-canadian-stories-tommy-prince-decorated-and-forgotten
  7. ^ a b "Tommy Prince, one of Canada's Greatest Heroes". Canada.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015.
  8. ^ A Perfect Hell, John Nadler. ASIN: 0891418679 Presidio Press (March 28, 2006), P. 207
  9. ^ a b Congressional Gold Medal, Public Law 113-16. https://www.congress.gov/113/plaws/publ16/PLAW-113publ16.htm
  10. ^ Bravery in Arms FSSF Episode 4. https://theveteranschannel.com/bia-fssf-episode-4-bleeding-white-monte-majo/
  11. ^ A Perfect Hell, John Nadler. ASIN: 0891418679 Presidio Press (March 28, 2006), P. 151.
  12. ^ A Perfect Hell, John Nadler. ASIN: 0891418679 Presidio Press (March 28, 2006), P. 151.
  13. ^ Bravery in Arms FSSF Episode 4. https://theveteranschannel.com/bia-fssf-episode-4-bleeding-white-monte-majo/
  14. ^ Bravery in Arms FSSF Episode 4. https://theveteranschannel.com/bia-fssf-episode-4-bleeding-white-monte-majo/
  15. ^ Mount Majo. https://www.canadiansoldiers.com/history/battlehonours/italiancampaign/majo.htm
  16. ^ Nadler, P. 167
  17. ^ Nadler, P. 204
  18. ^ BIA-FSSF EPISODE 5 BLACK DEVILS OF ANZIO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbC7Dv0YSC8
  19. ^ A Perfect Hell, John Nadler. ASIN: 0891418679 Presidio Press (March 28, 2006), P. 209.
  20. ^ "Thomas Prince: Canada's Forgotten Aboriginal War Hero". www.firstnationsdrum.com. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  21. ^ Nadler, P. 209
  22. ^ Canada’s Most Famous & Forgotten Indigenous War Hero. https://www.ddaywear.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=101
  23. ^ Nadler, P.207
  24. ^ BIA-FSSF EPISODE 5 BLACK DEVILS OF ANZIO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbC7Dv0YSC8
  25. ^ a b c "Thomas Prince: Canada's Forgotten Aboriginal War Hero". Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  26. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8BPJYqyens Yank Medals For Canucks, Canadian Army Newsreel No 71
  27. ^ a b c "Home - Historica Canada". Archived from the original on 4 December 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  28. ^ 15 Great Canadian Stories, Ottawa Citizen. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/15-great-canadian-stories-tommy-prince-decorated-and-forgotten
  29. ^ a b c Prince Returns to Action
  30. ^ Lackenbauer, P. Whitney (January 2007). ""A Hell of a Warrior": Remembering Sergeant Thomas George Prince" – via ResearchGate.
  31. ^ a b c Canada Post is unveiling a stamp honouring Sgt. Tommy Prince | APTN News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFO72GjX_x4
  32. ^ "Jun 2020: SGT. Tommy Prince touted for new $5 bill".
  33. ^ Tommy Prince. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/tommy-prince
  34. ^ Anishinabek News. http://anishinabeknews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2011-11.pdf
  35. ^ Nadler, P. 207
  36. ^ Heritage Minutes:Tommy Prince. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RrtGg3KnR4
  37. ^ "Adam Beach calls Tommy Prince a 'hero' role". Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  38. ^ Anishinabe News. http://anishinabeknews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/2011-11.pdf
  39. ^ "Devil's Brigade granted top U.S. honours - The World Daily". blogs.com.
  40. ^ Tommy Prince Plaque. https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/index.html?archive=&item=39772
  41. ^ Parks Canada: Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=15733
  42. ^ BIA FSSF EPISODE 4 BLEEDING WHITE – MONTE MAJO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2xHmdUkcfs
  43. ^ Petition hoping to honour Tommy Prince. https://www.aptnnews.ca/national-news/petition-hoping-to-honour-tommy-prince-on-new-5-bill/
  44. ^ Tommy Prince. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Olo8sNqVew
  45. ^ Rollason, Kevin (June 28, 2020). "Sgt. Tommy Prince touted for new $5 bill Tory contingent seeks to honour Canada's most decorated Indigenous veteran". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
  46. ^ Canada Post unveils stamp honouring Sgt. Tommy Prince | APTN News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyvEypmS54c
  47. ^ Canada Post Store. https://store.canadapost-postescanada.ca/store-boutique/en/404208107/p/tommy-prince-permanent-domestic-rate-stamps-pane-of-5
  48. ^ "Canada Post to honor war hero Tommy Prince on Oct. 28 stamp".
  49. ^ Tommy Prince. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtshUu0muUQ
  50. ^ Canada Post unveils stamp honouring Sgt. Tommy Prince | APTN News. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFO72GjX_x4

Further reading

  • Manitobans in Profile: Thomas George Prince, 1981, Penguin Publishers
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