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Sign in to My VAC AccountAt the tail end of his illustrious 35-year military career, Major-General Paul Peyton is honoured to help shepherd the remains of an unknown Newfoundland First World War soldier home from Northern France.
"The people of Newfoundland and Labrador have a strong sense of community and a culture of contributing to the greater good. Bringing this soldier home honours all of the soldiers who never made it home. I am so happy to be given this opportunity."
While exact statistics are difficult to determine, the rate of Indigenous participation in Canada's military efforts over the years has been impressive. These determined volunteers were often forced to overcome many challenges to serve in uniform, from learning a new language and adapting to cultural differences, to having to travel great distances from their remote communities just to enlist. The challenges they faced often extended to their post-service life. Many Indigenous war Veterans would not receive equal treatment compared to other Canadian Veterans.
Carey’s passion for sport relates back to his time growing up and playing football. “In my younger days I was very lucky to play football for a long time, so I was always part of a team.” He played as part of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport league, now known as U SPORTS, starting as a defensive back at Acadia University. After a successful few years with Acadia, Carey moved on to the Canadian Football League, more commonly known as the CFL. Carey’s CFL career lasted from 1994 to 1998 and included stints with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Gordon graduated high school and enlisted shortly afterwards, starting his basic training on 4 January 2004. After beginning his career as an infantryman, he switched paths and became an Armoured crewman. He later joined the Lord Strathcona’s Horse (Royal Canadians) in Edmonton, Alberta, where he trained as a heavy armour tank driver and tank gunner.
“I always wanted to be a soldier, my whole life, it was something I always wanted to be a part of.”
Following his service, he found the adjustment to life outside of the military to be a challenge for quite some time from moving across the country for a new job, to the differences in the environment from a military to civilian workplace.
Captain (N) Harold (Hal) Richard Tilley' (Ret’d) began his service to Canada at the age of 17 and it lasted until the day he died. Born in New York City in 1923, Harold Richard Tilley received his second name from a naval officer, a family hero of the First World War. He spent his first summers in Canada swimming, canoeing and sailing. He then attended Lakefield College School in Ontario, and after earning the Governor General’s Medal for Academic Excellence, he decided in 1941 to join the Royal Canadian Navy.
Goodman came home from his service with a souvenir he would only uncover 25 years later. He served in France and Belgium and was wounded in the Netherlands during the fighting in the Scheldt Estuary. His regiment was positioned near a Dutch farmhouse when they were attacked by the Germans and ended up covered in shrapnel. Goodman spent two weeks in a field hospital near Antwerp. Twenty-five years later, a British doctor would discover a piece of shrapnel, the size of a thumbnail, still lodged in his chest. His son now has this piece of shrapnel as a reminder of his father’s service.
Pearson was reassigned to the South Saskatchewan Regiment in September 1944, arriving with a small group of reinforcements to bring the regiment up to strength after suffering numerous battle casualties. During the Second World War, Pearson served in Canada, Belgium, Holland, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Thomas George "Tommy" Prince was one of 11 children born to Henry and Arabella Prince of the Brokenhead Band at Scanterbury, Manitoba. He was a descendant of Peguis, the Saulteaux Chief who led his band of 200 Ojibwa from the Sault Ste. Marie region to the Red River in the 1790s, and of Chief William Prince, who headed the Ojibwa-Manitoba team of Nile Voyageurs.
