Post by hans1928 on Aug 2, 2009 14:41:26 GMT
In the Footsteps of My Father -
Charlie Byce, a Metis who died in 1994 at age 74, is largely unknown Cree Indian in Canada.
It’s a pity, for he was quite a man.
His mother was a from Moose Factory and he was Canada’s most highly decorated Aboriginal soldier in World War II, winning the Military Medal (MM) for bravery and the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), second only to the Victoria Cross. Only nine Canadians, out of nearly a million in uniform in WWII, were awarded both a DCM and MM.
In the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree category, Byce’s father (also Charles) — a trapper/guide as a young man — also won the DCM, in World War I.
Not only that, his father also had an MM from WWI — not the British MM, but the Medaille Militaire — France’s second-highest bravery award, more respected than even the Croix de Guerre. Only 55 Canadians were awarded the French MM in WWI.
That the military record of the Byce father and son is barely known, even by our military historians and the National War Museum — not to mention Aboriginal historians — is an unfortunate oversight.
When Charlie Byce returned to civilian life after WWII to work until retirement at the pulp and paper mill at Espanola, he put the war behind him.
His brother, Gordon, and Charlie’s six adult children want that rectified.
They feel the wartime heroism of the two Byce’s — unprecedented in military annals, as reflected in their medals — is something all Canadian should share, especially as a tribute to Aboriginal and Anglo heritage, blending in a common cause.
Canada’s most famous Aboriginal soldier is Sgt. Tommy Prince, who died in 1977, and whom I ostensibly commanded in the latter days of the Korean War. Prince won the MM in Italy in WWII and a U.S. Silver Star while serving with the Americans in France. A Silver Star doesn’t approach the status of a DCM.
Francis Peghamagabow, an Objibwa from Parry Sound, won an MM and two bars as a sniper in World War I with 378 “kills” on his record and 300 prisoners — one of the most remarkable stories of World War I.
Another Aboriginal sniper, Henry Norwest, a free-spirited former rodeo rider, won the MM and bar in WWI and knocked off 115 Germans.
The above are all honoured in the War Museum — where, if there’s any justice and pride of country, the Byce father and son deserve a special alcove or presentation.
“Yes, we’d like to see my dad and granddad remembered,” says son Rick who served in the army, while his two brothers were air force and navy.
Rick’s uncle Gordon, a retired Anglican minister and son of the WWI Byce, who died in 1957, share this sentiment.
“My dad talked about the war more than my brother did,” says Gordon. “Charlie mostly talked about it when he was with those who’d served with him. He put the war behind him.”
I’ve sent the Byce medals to War Museum CEO Joe Geurts, who seemed very surprised that a father and son had both won, the DCM and MM. No other Canadian family holds this distinction, like no one else in the world.
The National Aboriginal Veterans Association (NAVA) would also be interested in preserving the Byce medals, as would The Lake Superior Regiment museum in Thunder Bay. But the Byce’s’ wartime story is larger than a regimental museum and belongs to all Canadians.
The elder Byce earned his DCM at Amiens in 1918 when a company attack on German trenches was pinned down.
Although seriously wounded, Byce led a bayonet attack on a German machine gun post, killed those who resisted, and took 31 prisoners.
John P Mellor. OBE., QSM.,
Charlie Byce, a Metis who died in 1994 at age 74, is largely unknown Cree Indian in Canada.
It’s a pity, for he was quite a man.
His mother was a from Moose Factory and he was Canada’s most highly decorated Aboriginal soldier in World War II, winning the Military Medal (MM) for bravery and the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), second only to the Victoria Cross. Only nine Canadians, out of nearly a million in uniform in WWII, were awarded both a DCM and MM.
In the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree category, Byce’s father (also Charles) — a trapper/guide as a young man — also won the DCM, in World War I.
Not only that, his father also had an MM from WWI — not the British MM, but the Medaille Militaire — France’s second-highest bravery award, more respected than even the Croix de Guerre. Only 55 Canadians were awarded the French MM in WWI.
That the military record of the Byce father and son is barely known, even by our military historians and the National War Museum — not to mention Aboriginal historians — is an unfortunate oversight.
When Charlie Byce returned to civilian life after WWII to work until retirement at the pulp and paper mill at Espanola, he put the war behind him.
His brother, Gordon, and Charlie’s six adult children want that rectified.
They feel the wartime heroism of the two Byce’s — unprecedented in military annals, as reflected in their medals — is something all Canadian should share, especially as a tribute to Aboriginal and Anglo heritage, blending in a common cause.
Canada’s most famous Aboriginal soldier is Sgt. Tommy Prince, who died in 1977, and whom I ostensibly commanded in the latter days of the Korean War. Prince won the MM in Italy in WWII and a U.S. Silver Star while serving with the Americans in France. A Silver Star doesn’t approach the status of a DCM.
Francis Peghamagabow, an Objibwa from Parry Sound, won an MM and two bars as a sniper in World War I with 378 “kills” on his record and 300 prisoners — one of the most remarkable stories of World War I.
Another Aboriginal sniper, Henry Norwest, a free-spirited former rodeo rider, won the MM and bar in WWI and knocked off 115 Germans.
The above are all honoured in the War Museum — where, if there’s any justice and pride of country, the Byce father and son deserve a special alcove or presentation.
“Yes, we’d like to see my dad and granddad remembered,” says son Rick who served in the army, while his two brothers were air force and navy.
Rick’s uncle Gordon, a retired Anglican minister and son of the WWI Byce, who died in 1957, share this sentiment.
“My dad talked about the war more than my brother did,” says Gordon. “Charlie mostly talked about it when he was with those who’d served with him. He put the war behind him.”
I’ve sent the Byce medals to War Museum CEO Joe Geurts, who seemed very surprised that a father and son had both won, the DCM and MM. No other Canadian family holds this distinction, like no one else in the world.
The National Aboriginal Veterans Association (NAVA) would also be interested in preserving the Byce medals, as would The Lake Superior Regiment museum in Thunder Bay. But the Byce’s’ wartime story is larger than a regimental museum and belongs to all Canadians.
The elder Byce earned his DCM at Amiens in 1918 when a company attack on German trenches was pinned down.
Although seriously wounded, Byce led a bayonet attack on a German machine gun post, killed those who resisted, and took 31 prisoners.
John P Mellor. OBE., QSM.,