#IRON MARINES FEEL THE FORCE PLUS#

However, his son Duncan recalls being told that his father was responsible for capturing 300 enemy soldiers. Legacyįrancis Pegahmagabow rarely spoke of his military accomplishments. A member of Canada's Indian Hall of Fame, Pegahmagabow died on the reserve in 1952. Afterward, he joined the Algonquin Regiment in the non-permanent active militia and, following in the steps of his father and grandfather, became chief of the Parry Island Band and later a councilor. In April 1919, Pegahmagabow invalided to Canada, having served for nearly the entire war. 'During the operations of August 30, 1918, at Orix Trench, near Upton Wood, when his company were almost out of ammunition and in danger of being surrounded, this NCO went over the top under heavy MG and rifle fire and brought back sufficient ammunition to enable the post to carry on and assist in repulsing heavy enemy counter-attacks.' Post-war life Pegahmagabow would earn his second bar to the Military Medal during the final months of the First World War in the Battle of the Scarpe (part of the 2nd Battle of Arras).

He also guided the relief to its proper place after it had become mixed up. Before and after the attack he kept in touch with the flanks, advising the units he had seen, this information proving the success of the attack and saving valuable time in consolidating. 6 th/7 th, 1917, this NCO did excellent work. His citation reads: At Passchendaele Nov. The Allies suffered 16,000 casualties at Passchendaele, and Corporal Pegahmagabow earned his first bar to the Military Medal. With two British divisions, the Canadian Corps attacked and took the village, holding it for five days, until reinforcements arrived. Here, roughly 20,000 Allied soldiers crawled from shell crater to shell crater, through water and mud. In November 1917, the 1 st Battalion joined the assault near the village of Passchendaele. In all his work he has consistently shown a disregard for danger and his faithfulness to duty is highly commendable.” Passchendaele He carried messages with great bravery and success during the whole of the actions at Ypres, Festubert and Givenchy. “For continuous service as a messenger from February 14th 1915 to February 1916. It was during his first year on the Western Front that he became one of the first Canadians to be awarded the Military Medal. He recovered and made it back in time to return with his unit to Belgium. It fought at Ypres, where the enemy introduced a new deadly weapon, poison gas, and on the Somme, where Pegahmagabow was shot in the leg. The 1 st Battalion experienced heavy action almost as soon as it arrived on the battlefield. Sniping was the specialty of the man his fellow soldiers called 'Peggy.' It has been written of him, 'His iron nerves, patience and superb marksmanship helped make him an outstanding sniper.' In addition, Pegahmagabow developed a reputation as a superior scout.

Within weeks of volunteering, he became one of the original members of the 1 st Canadian Infantry Battalion that, along with the rest of the 20,000-strong 1 st Canadian Division, landed in France in February 1915.

Previously, he had worked along the Great Lakes as a marine fireman for the Department of Marine and Fisheries. Pegahmagabow enlisted with the 23 rd Regiment (Northern Pioneers) in August 1914, almost immediately after war was declared. Pegahmagabow was one of 39 members of the Canadian Expeditionary Force who received two bars in addition to the Military Medal. Soldiers who had been awarded the Military Medal and later performed similar heroic acts could receive bars to it, denoting further awards.

#IRON MARINES FEEL THE FORCE PLUS#

An Ojibwa from the Perry Island Band in Ontario, he was awarded the Military Medal plus two bars for acts of bravery in Belgium and France. Francis Pegahmagabow was one of the most highly decorated Indigenous soldiers of the First World War.

Iron marines feel the force