Mohawks served with honour
LEST WE FORGET Doug George-Kanentiio recalls the bravery of his father on D-Day in 1944
At the end of October, a contingent of native people were escorted to France to commemorate the contributions of aboriginal soldiers to the Canadian military effort during World War II. Among those who served with honour, perhaps none did so in greater numbers than the Mohawks. Virtually every adult Mohawk male, and many women, enlisted with most men destined for combat. True to their fighting tradition, they fought from Dieppe to Remagen. Some died and are buried across the great salt waters. Most survived to return home to their communities only to be largely ignored by external agencies and service organizations. Not until the past couple of years, with many native veterans already dead, has Canada acknowledged the shabby treatment of its aboriginal soldiers by providing long overdue financial bonuses to their families and arranging for some of the veterans to return to the beaches of Normandy in western France. The native soldiers and sailors involved in the June 6, 1944 D-Day strike were a part of the largest marine- based invasion in history. Many Mohawks were assigned to take part in the Normandy assault where their skills as marksmen and bravery under fire were put to the test. My father, the late David Tehotkonion (“He Competes”) George was there as a private in the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders, Third Canadian Infantry Division. He had joined the army in 1943 at 18 years old, completed his basic training in Quebec and saw front- line action in North Africa and Sicily before being shipped to England. He spent months getting ready for D- Day, perfecting the use of his .303 Enfield rifle. He was taught how to disembark from a landing craft, wade through ocean swells and dash across beaches certain to be swept by hostile machinegun fire.
Tehotkonion, still a month away from his 19th birthday and a seasoned combat veteran, hit the beach at a run. The Juno land area was fairly level, enabling the SDG Highlanders to grab a quick hold along the shoreline.
Unlike the Americans, my father did not have to scale large cliffs. The German soldiers were determined to drive the Canadians back into the Atlantic. But they would not be pushed back; there would be no repeat of the disaster at Dieppe. They secured their foothold at Juno and pressed inland. My father said he quickly learned to respect the fighting abilities of the German soldiers ( one had to in order to survive) but he said he escaped death by being smarter than the enemy. Once he left Juno beach, he was assigned to a special unit to hunt and kill German snipers. As the main German army retreated, they left behind these camouflaged killers who caused considerable havoc among the invading troops by shooting anyone who presented a convenient target. To track, stalk and kill these snipers required patience — and expertise with an Enfield. My father had these traits so it was his job to clear a given area of the German sharpshooters. He also set up ambushes and acted as a scout, crawling far ahead of his own front lines to call in artillery strikes on German units.
Tehotkonion marched from Juno to Germany, fighting in France, Belgium, Holland. He was awarded medals for his bravery but gave those citations little consideration. He never sought formal recognition for his service but neither did he wallow in self- pity. As a Mohawk, he was trained to keep his emotions, particularly his fears, in check. He was present when the Highlanders liberated concentration camps in Germany, then stayed in that country for another year after the Nazi surrender in May, 1945.
Tehotkonion finally returned to Akwesasne in late 1946 having acquired an understanding of German which, he said, he spoke so often it replaced Mohawk in his thinking. He spoke of only one instance of racism in his unit, an incident so terrible it cost the life of a fellow soldier. My father was fired upon by another Canadian and had no choice but to take that soldier’s life. The military exonerated him for his actions. That was the one time he regretted anything he had done as a soldier
Tehotkonion reintegrated himself into the Akwesasne community, working as a master mason for many years before his death on Dec. 6, 1994.
I know he would have liked to return to Europe, to walk along Juno beach. He would have been quiet in his reflections and respectful of those who died on the sandy shores and beyond. Canada’s recent recognition of native veterans would have made him proud to call himself an SD and G Highlander, kilt and all. On Nov. 11, Tehotkonion’s surviving Mohawk kin will extend the most heartfelt of thanks to everyone who served during World War II but in particular a “ niawe: kowa” ( great thanks) to the soldiers of the Third Canadian Division, my dad’s comrades. Doug George-Kanentiio, Akwesasne Mohawk, is a freelance writer. He is the author of two books on the Iroquois: Skywoman and Iroquois Culture. He is a co-founder of the Native American Journalists Association.