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On July 27, 1953, exactly 57 years ago this week, the armistice agreement that ended the three-year long Korean War was signed by both sides.  It was the first time in history that an international organization, like the UN, had intervened with a multinational force to stop a war. 

Casualties from this conflict were great, with the UN Forces suffering 450,000 casualties, including 516 Canadian soldiers, and another half million wounded.  It is estimated that 1.5 million Chinese and North Korean soldiers were killed and many more wounded. 

The Korean War also saw some of Canada’s best soldiers from the Second World War re-enlist to serve their country.

Thomas George “Tommy” Prince was among them and is known as one of Canada’s most decorated First Nations soldiers.

Born in Manitoba, he was the grandson of the Ojibwa Nation’s Indian Chief, Peguis.  While growing up, Tommy became an excellent marksman with incredible tracking skills learned from days spent hunting in the wilderness around the Aboriginal reserve. 

At the beginning of the Second World War, Tommy volunteered for the Army but was turned down several times before finally being accepted mid-1940.  Originally a member of the Royal Canadian Engineers, he transferred to the 1st Special Service Force (SSF) where he was promoted to Sergeant by September 1942.  In November 1943, while serving with the SSF in Italy, Tommy earned the Military Medal.  His citation read (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.”

In September 1944, as part of the 1st Airborne Task Force, pushing eastward towards the Franco-Italian border, Prince’s actions once again earned him a medal, this time the Silver Star.  His citation read (in part): “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 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.”

In all, in the Second World War, Tommy was decorated nine times.

After the war, he returned home to Brokenhead reserve in Manitoba. 

In August 1950, Tommy re-enlisted in the Canadian Army to fight in the Korean War.  He was re-instated in his previous rank of Sergeant and became a member of the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI).

On April 24 and 25, 1951, Prince’s regiment held a defensive position at Hill 677 so that a South Korean division could withdraw during an attack.  Regardless of the battalion being completely surrounded at one point, the resupply of ammunition and emergency rations was accomplished by air and the 2 PPCLI held its ground. They lost 10 members and another 23 were wounded during the two-day battle. The 2 PPCLI, along with the 3rd Royal Australian Regiment, were awarded the United States Presidential Unit Citation for distinguished service in this battle.

In March 1952, Prince volunteered for a second tour of duty in the Far East and sailed to Korea that October with the 3rd Battalion PPCLI.

In November 1952, the 3rd PPCLI was ordered to help defend “the Hook,” a key position west of the Sami-chon River, when a Chinese battalion gained a foothold on the forward positions of another UN unit.  By dawn the next day, the UN unit, with assistance from the Patricias, had recaptured the post.  Five were killed and nine were wounded - one of whom was Prince.  He recovered but remained plagued with knee issues and the armistice was signed before he could return to battle.

For his part in the Korean War, Prince received the Korea Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal. 

He remained in the army as an instructor of new recruits until his discharge in October 1953.

Civilian life was not easy for Prince and alcoholism overtook him in his final years.  He died in Winnipeg in 1977 and is buried at the Brookside Cemetery.

Please find herewith a further entry in my ongoing series on the Victoria Cross.  This one comes from the files of Stu Christie, Merchant Navy Veteran from World War II and Curator of The War Amps Museum:

Edward St. John Daniel, VC, won the Victoria Cross three times and forfeited it in disgrace.

He joined the British Royal Navy as a Naval Cadet in January 1851, just before his 14th birthday.  He served on the Frigate Winchester at Pegu and Prome in the second Burma War in 1852.  The conditions under which they fought, plus untreated insect bites and lacerations, caused chronic ulcers that affected him most of his life.

As a Midshipman, he served under Capt. Peel, VC, on the ship HMS Diamond (Peel had also won the Victoria Cross three times: October 18, 1854; November 5, 1854, and June 18, 1855).

They went to the Crimea in 1853, and landed with the Naval Brigade.  The first act for which Daniel was awarded the VC was on October 18, 1854.  He volunteered to bring powder to the battery from a wagon which was under heavy fire, after a shot had disabled the horses.

The second time was at the Battle of Inkerman on November 5, 1854, as Aide-de-Camp to Capt. Peel, who also won the Victoria Cross again for outstanding bravery.

The third time was on June 18, 1855, for devotion to his leader, Capt. Peel, under murderous fire when they stormed the Redan (a rampart jutting out into enemy line).  While exposed to the heavy fire, Daniel bandaged his chief’s head and tied a tourniquet on his arm, saving Capt. Peel’s life.  Again, Daniel shared the honour of the Victoria Cross with his friend and commander.

In February 1857, Daniel went with Peel to commission HMS Shannon and landed with him in the Naval Brigade during the Indian Mutiny.  Again, Daniel distinguished himself.

When Capt. Peel died of smallpox in April 1858, it was all downhill for Daniel.  He began drinking more than ever and was always in trouble.  In 1860 on the HMS Wasp, being drunk and not turning out for the middle watch, he was court-martialled on board the HMS Impregnable.  He pleaded guilty.  He produced testimonials from past Captains and showed the court his Victoria Cross and other medals:

• The Indian General Service (with the Pegu Clasp);
• Crimea Medal (with Sebastopol and Inkerman Clasps);
• Turkish and Sardinial Crimea Medals;
• The Turkish Order of the Medjidie 5th Class;
• The Indian Mutiny Medal (with the relief of Lucknow and Lucknow Clasps).

The court was impressed, and taking into consideration his gallantry before the enemy, sentenced Daniel to dismissal from the HMS WASP.

He was appointed Lieutenant on the steam vessel Victor Emanual in the Mediterranean, January 1861.  On June 21, 1861, he was in trouble again and was marked run (DESERTER) on June 28, 1861.  On September 4, 1861, the Queen, who had awarded Daniel his Victoria Cross and had shaken his hand, issued a Royal Warrant and Daniel was the first man to have his name erased from the VC Roll.

In 1863, Daniel was living in Australia and was recruited by the New Zealand government to serve in an infantry battalion for the Maori Wars.  His drinking habits got him in trouble again, and he was confined to intensive labour from August 8 to August 15, 1863.  Daniel took part in several operations in South Taranaki, until the military were disbanded in 1867.

On November 26, 1867, he was sworn in as Constable No. 154 in No. 2 Division, New Zealand Armed Constabulary Field Force, Patea, South Taranaki.

Daniel had been ailing for some time and was sent to hospital May 16, 1868 and died May 20, 1868.  He was given a military funeral with full honours.  Daniel had been much respected by his comrades. He was buried in Grave No. 851, Block 27 in Hokitika Municipal Cemetery. In 1971, the grave was reported as overgrown and unmarked.  Daniel’s death certificate gave the cause as delirium tremens.

The story of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment has always been of tremendous interest to me, arising out of my long friendship with George Chalker, a war amputee from St. John’s, who fought and was twice wounded with this famous World War I military Force.

As a lad raised in the west during the Depression, I saw the financial recovery – particularly after World War II – in my native Manitoba.  I wondered why the same prosperity had not come to Newfoundland, bearing in mind the extensive resources of the island province.

The more I read about the terrible sacrifices of the Newfoundland Regiment in World War I, coupled with the lack of immigration to that province after the war, the more I began to realize that there was an important story to tell there.

I was able to tell the story in The War Amps documentary The Blue Puttees.

Their story is not well-known in the rest of Canada, but deserves to be.  The regiment suffered tremendous losses – first, in Gallipoli, and then in France.  In fact, in one action alone – which took something like 30 minutes – the battalion went into the line with nearly 800 Newfoundlanders, and only 69 answered the roll call the next day.  That was the infamous Battle of Beaumont-Hamel, on July 1, 1916.

This, however, is not the end of the story, and despite tragic losses, Newfoundland was able to provide sufficient reinforcements to keep the regiment in the field until the end of the war.  Hence, Newfoundland was able to engage in a number of other defensive and offensive battles of international renown, including Monchy-Le-Preux, Gueudecourt, and Cambrai.

In the film, we see probably the saddest consequence of the war:  though the gallantry awards won by members of the Newfoundland Regiment were the highest of any unit in the British Army, the losses in combat deaths were also the highest.  Newfoundland was the only regiment accorded the prefix “Royal” during World War I, and also had the distinction of having the youngest Victoria Cross winner in the British Army – 17 year-old Thomas Ricketts of Middle Arm, White Bay, Newfoundland.  However, losses in combat deaths were 20 percent, compared with less than 10 percent in regular Canadian units.

There is no doubt that World War I exacted an extremely heavy toll and – it might well be said – the very lifeblood of Newfoundland.  The young men who would have made Newfoundland a leading colony, and later, a province in Canada, did not have the opportunity, because their remains lay buried in France.

To this day, while the rest of Canada celebrates the birth of our nation on July 1st, in Newfoundland, the people gather instead to mourn and to remember the sacrifices of their finest on that fateful summer day over 90 years ago.  And they do it with the beautiful blue forget-me-not flower as their symbol, in place of the traditional poppy.