Tommy Prince

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Sergeant Tommy Prince (right), with his brother Private Morris Prince, before the award ceremony at Buckingham Palace on February 12, 1945

Tommy Prince (born October 25, 1915 in Petersfield (Manitoba) , † November 25, 1977 ), full name Thomas George Prince , is the veteran of the Second World War and the Korean War most often decorated with the highest honors among the native Canadians .

Life

youth

Tommy Prince grew up from the age of 5 in the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation reserve north of Winnipeg , the capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba . He was one of eleven children of Henry and Elizabeth Prince, née Desjarlais. His family moved from Petersfield to Scanterbury in 1920 . The living conditions on the reservation were so difficult that he applied to the Canadian Army for deployment in Europe. But since he was a member of an Indian tribe, he was routinely turned away. However, after several attempts, it was accepted on June 3, 1940. Prince became a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers' 1st Field Park Company .

World War II, Italy

In 1942 he was promoted to sergeant in the Canadian Parachute Battalion . Prince became a member of the 1st Canadian Special Service Battalion and was selected for a special mission under harsh conditions. Together with 1,600 others he was trained in the USA. These men formed the First Special Service Force , also known as "the Devil's Brigade".

Prince was sent to Italy . In 1944 he went to Anzio and from there to Littoria to deliver messages over a 1.4 km long telephone connection. On February 8th, he made his home in an abandoned farm. But a stray grenade destroyed the telephone line. Disguised as a farmer, he managed to repair the telephone connection within sight of the enemy only 200 m away. He used the scythe to find the damaged area and pretended to tie the shoelaces while he tied the wire again. For three days he provided important movement reports. With this information, it was possible to destroy four tanks while firing at Allied troops. He later received the medal for exceptional bravery in the field .

In the summer of 1944 the 1st SSF came to the south of France. Prince covered 70 km through pathless, rugged terrain behind the German lines at L'Escarène , doing 72 hours without water. So he managed to locate a German camp. The information obtained in this way made it possible to take over a thousand German soldiers prisoner. Prince received from King George VI. the US Silver Star and the UK Military Medal . He is one of three Canadians who received these awards. There were also six other medals. Prince was honorably discharged on June 15, 1945.

Post-war era, marriage, fight for Indian rights

Prince returned to his fight against the racist regime of the Nazis back to a country that him the right to vote denied. Prince worked in a pulp mill and was at risk of becoming alcoholic. In 1946 he was attacked by a woman who severely injured his face with a broken beer bottle. He saw no other option but to leave the reservation and find work in Winnipeg. He started a cleaning service and married Verna Sinclair. He worked to ensure that Native Canadians received better education and economic opportunities. In 1946 he became chairman of the Manitoba Indian Association and went to Ottawa to campaign for Indian rights. When he returned, the small business he had entrusted to a friend had gone bankrupt because the truck was wrecked in an accident. Prince now worked as a lumberjack and in a concrete factory.

Korean War

In 1950 he saw no other option but to re-commit. So he came to Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and served in the Korean War , where he received medals from the USA, Canada and the United Nations . He earned special services in the Battle of Kapyong on April 24th and 25th, 1951. From May to August 1951 he only had administrative tasks , then he returned to Canada. After his health improved, he was able to return to South Korea in October 1952. On October 28, 1953, he was again honorably discharged. He sustained a knee injury while on duty and suffered from arthritis .

Consequences of trauma, death

In Canada, Prince suffered again from the depressing living conditions, and he relapsed again. In June 1955, his presence of mind rescued a man from drowning in the Alexander Docks in Winnipeg. He spent the last years of his life in a home of the Salvation Army , in 1975 his former regiment held a great ceremony in his honor. As in most countries, the soldiers were not given any psychological support after the end of the war, so that Prince suffered from the horror scenes of the war for decades; he died in Deer Lodge Hospital in Winnipeg.

He himself tried to clarify his motivation: “All my life I had wanted to do something to help my people recover their good name. I wanted to show they were as good as any white man. ”('Throughout my life I have wanted to do something to restore the good name of my people. I wanted to show that they are as good as any white man').

Commemoration

In 1989 a statue was erected in his honor in Winnipeg, numerous military buildings and some streets are named after him. In 2010 his life with Adam Beach in the lead role is to be filmed.

literature

Movie

  • Fallen Hero: The Tommy Prince Story , 45 min., Audrey Mehler, David Paperny Films Inc., 1999

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Peter Worthington, however, sees Charles Byce and Francis (Peggy) Pegahmagabow first and refers to the newspaper article Tommy Prince wasn't Canada's Most Decorated Aboriginal , in: Toronto Sun, August 26, 2001.
  2. ↑ In 1968 a film documentary was made in Hollywood in which Tommy Prince was portrayed as the chief. After all, his family can be traced back to a chief.
  3. ↑ His medals can be found here in the collection of Canada's National Museum of History and Society .
  4. ↑ War Hero Tommy Prince Saves a City Man's Life , in: Winnipeg Free Press , June 21, 1955.
  5. ↑ Bernd Horn: Les Guerriers Intrepides: Perspectives Sur Les Chefs Militaires Canadiens , p. 135.
  6. ↑ Adam Beach to play was hero Tommy Prince
personal data
SURNAME Prince, Tommy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Prince, Thomas George (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian Indian
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1915
PLACE OF BIRTH Petersfield , Manitoba
DATE OF DEATH November 25, 1977
Place of death Winnipeg