Identify this Picture?

[r.morrison]

Gentlemen: I was given this "print" with no other details. Just lately a conversation came up here about Tommy Prince, the highly decorated Canadian First Nations soldier from WW11 and Korea. My hunch is that it is him , given where the print came from. Can anyone help me to identify it?

And for those out there who don't know of Tommy Prince.....he's very worth while looking up.

Thanks for your help.....Robert

[Tony Wheeler]

Interesting print, my first thought was one of the Iwo Jima flag raisers, as I remember one of them was a Native American. However when I looked it up I found he died in 1954, and to my eye this print depicts late '70s or early '80s. His name was Ira Hayes and there's considerable facial resemblance to the guy in the print, but no dimple.

I then looked up Tommy Price, definitely worthwhile as you say Robert, and although he fits the timeline, having died in 1977, I see very little facial resemblance to the guy in the print. Price had almond eyes and no dimple. I wouldn't rule it out but that dimple is quite pronounced, and you wouldn't imagine the artist got it that wrong.

It's a nice little mystery Robert, do you have any more clues? Maybe facial recognition software might help!

[David Dunlop]

The telephones on the desk and suit support 1970's. Looks like possibly two phones, so this gentleman has a pretty posh office for the day. There is clearly some connection with the subject and the picture on the wall behind him, which suggests a connection with the prairies.

There are several well established Canadian aboriginal artists and architects out there. One of them perhaps? Might be worth contacting the aboriginal university in the Regina area or the Department of Aboriginal Studies at the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg. Perhaps they could ID this individual for you.

Cheers,

David

[r.morrison]

Tony/David: I got the print off Veterans Affairs along with some other unique stuff. I don't know why I thought of Tommy Prince. That may be because I was talking to Gary Bath Jr. of this forum. He hails from Fort St John (not a place you'd want to spend a winter in). He was doing a display/presentation locally and Tommy Prince was the focus of the display. It was a history/education lesson to the local aboriginals who knew very little of Tommy Prince. Anyway....I've sent it back to VA and will hopefully have an answer by weeks end. And you're right Tony....a very interesting read. Cheers.....Robert

[servicepub (RIP)]

Tommy Prince had a tough battle with alcohol and I don't think he ever owned a three-piece suit or sat at an executive's desk so I would discount him as a possibility.

[rob love]

I was going to say the same thing as CLive. Although he wanted, in his military years, to show that a Native could be every bit as good as a white man, he later fell into the stereotypes of the Manitoba Native.

The Native shown has the suit along with a little too much bling to fit the profile of Tommy Prince. I believe he sold off his medals for peanuts back in those days. However, after his death, the family felt they should be returned. In the end, if I recall, a lawyer put up the money to purchase them at auction and gave them back to the family.

A duplicate set of the medals resides at the Sr NCOs mess in 2VP, or at least they did.

Perhaps one of the worst pages of tripe (which in my mind truly dishonours this veteran) I have ever read anywhere can be found on Tommy Price here: http://www.badassoftheweek.com/prince.html
Clive: are you looking for any more writers for your book series?

[servicepub (RIP)]

Originally Posted by rob love

Clive: are you looking for any more writers for your book series?

Absolutely. You can PM me or (better) contact me directly by e-mail.
C

[r.morrison]

Rob/Clive: I have to agree with you Rob about "tripe". The only "bad ass" of the the week is the idiot who wrote the article. The story of Tommy Prince is as proud as any nation could want and as sad as anyone's life could end up. I might have "jumped the gun" on this being the drawing of Tommy Prince. I will let you know who it is when I find out. In the end, some members ,including myself and Tony, learned a little more about a great Canadian soldier. Robert

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

Well Rob, I suggest that you do more reading to understand the contributions of many First Nations people in WWI and WWII. You could have selected a better reference to describe Tommy Prince. I am not really sure what you meant by "he later fell into the stereotypes of the Manitoba Native".

According to my father, First Nations soldiers were treated as equals in the army, and were promoted on merit. The problem came when coming home to Canada, where things had not really changed for the First Nations people.


Stuart

Stuart
I am talking about his post service life, and not his service contributions, where he, and others, shone.

This is not the place to get into the stereotypes, but suffice to say that Mr Prince fell into a cycle of despondency.

It always struck me as unfair that two soldiers giving equal service were treated so differently when they came back. The native was told to go to Indian Affairs, where I take it they got no special treatment, while the non-native was given the benefits available to veterans. Programs like the veterans land act were not made available to the native veteran.