Tommy Prince - Winnipeg MB
Posted by: PeterNoG
N 49° 56.649 W 097° 06.284
14U E 635981 N 5534142
This Statues of an Historic Figure, a bust of Tommy Prince, is northeast of the pavilion in Kildonan Park in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Waymark Code: WMKZR0
Location: Manitoba, Canada
Date Posted: 06/23/2014
Views: 1
Sergeant Thomas “Tommy” George Prince was Canada’s most decorated Aboriginal soldier in the Second World War; he was awarded ten medals. He began in the Canadian army as a Royal Canadian Engineer; later he volunteered for the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion and he was then selected for 1st Special Service Forces, an elite Canadian-American commando unit that became known as the Devil's Brigade.
King George VI decorated him with the Military Medal (MM) as well as the Silver Star with ribbon on behalf of the American President. He would also receive 1939-1945 Star, the Italy Star, the France and Germany Star, the Defence Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal with Clasp and the War Medal.
He also served in the Korean War with the 2nd Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI), receiving the Korea Medal, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal. (
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More than just a bust, the life-sized bronze which includes his upper torso and arms down to his elbows was sculpted by Otakar Pavlik. Tommy is wearing his military uniform including a beret. The bust is on a tall limestone block. Just under the bust is:
Tommy Prince
Descendant of Chief Peguis At eye level, a brass plaque reads:
Thomas George Prince
Military Medal - Silver Star
October 1915 - November 1977
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
1st Canadian Parachute Battalion
1st Special Service Forces
Aleutians - Italy - France
Germany - Korea
Take these men, then, as your example,
like them
remember that prosperity
can be only for the free.
That freedom is the pure possession
of those alone
who have the courage to defend it.
Place in memory of Sergeant Tommy Prince
by
The officers and men
of
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light InfantryAt the bottom of the limestone block is:
"Erected under the Auspices of the Lord Selkirk Association of Rupert's Land November 11, 1989"
A statue of his great-great-grandfather, Chief Peguis is just a few paces away. (
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