Prince of the Devils

[guyvapeur]

I thought I would add a side note to this thread. My father served overseas during the Second World War. He spoke highly of the native soldiers that he went into battle with. I recall him telling the story of one of his native buddies being singled out for raids. He cheerfully volunteered for such duty because he was free to use whatever means he had to get the mission done. Dad would recall how this soldier would come back from raids with solid information on enemy positions. As I recall the story told to me, the native soldier would leave for a raid armed with a revolver and knife. That was it.

There is another short story that comes to mind. I served in Northern Alberta in the early 1970`s. On my first November 11th day parade, I was surprised to see one of our local native men standing in the honor guard of the Legion. I had come to know this man as one of the many local drunks. On this day however, he was wearing the blue blazer and medals. I was then informed that this man was the most decorated soldier within that Legion`s area. It is then that I realized why some of the senior police officers I worked with offered this man rides home when they picked him up in the gutter.

Just thinking out loud and putting to print what comes to mind when I read stories about Tommy Prince and other native warriors