THE WARRIOR PRINCE
He was an old-time native warrior,
The most decorated in our land;
Born and raised in Manitoba,
Of the Brokenhead Ojibwe band.
Tommy was a native warrior Prince,
Which just happens to be his name;
He went to war for his country,
And suffered many hardships and pain.
Tommy was a Native Canadian,
And in his early days;
Went hunting and fishing and trapping,
As he learned of the Native ways.
He was a descendant of Peguis,
A legendary Chief of the Ojibwe;
Who led his people from Sault Ste. Marie,
Back in Seventeen-Ninety-Three.
Tommy Prince was a Canadian hero,
From a couple of long-ago wars;
He went to fight for his country,
On those far-off distant shores.
Tommy had many battle honours,
He could infiltrate the enemy with ease;
Usually he would work all alone,
Crawling on his hands and knees.
His eyes were bright and piercing,
Like two blazing laser beams;
As he continued on with his war job,
He was the ultimate fighting machine.
Tommy was with the First Special Forces,
A Canadian-American brigade;
They were the toughest of the toughest,
The U.S. and Canada ever made.
The Germans called them ‘Black Devils’,
Because they smeared their faces black
They would infiltrate the enemy lines
And then safely to their lines make it back.
When he was behind the enemy lines,
He would leave his calling card;
It said, ‘The worst is yet to come’,
So you better be on your guard.
He loved the Canadian uniform,
He said it made him a better man;
As he terrorized the enemy,
And fought with them hand to hand.
Once he walked for 72 hours,
Without any water or food;
To locate an enemy encampment,
Who he knew were up to no good.
He returned to the Allied position
And led his Brigade to the German Force;
They captured over 1000 men,
Who became their prisoners of war.
Tommy had the honour to meet the King,
In nineteen forty-four;
He was summoned to Buckingham Palace,
Where he received two medals more.
He was in World War II and Korea
And was a member of the ‘Devils Brigade’;
Over twenty years later, after the War,
A movie about the Brigade was made.
Tommy Prince died in Winnipeg,
In November of seventy-seven;
The most decorated aboriginal in history,
The medals he received were eleven.
Bob Bartlett,
North Bay
