Charles Norman Shay (born June 27, 1924) is a
Penobscot
The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic ...
tribal elder, writer, and decorated veteran of both
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. Along with a
Bronze Star
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone.
Wh ...
and
Silver Star, Shay was also awarded the
Legion d'Honneur
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...
, making him the first Native American in Maine with the distinction of French chevalier. He was instrumental in the re-publishing of a book by his own grandfather, Joseph Nicolar: ''The Life and Traditions of the Red Man'', originally published in 1893. He has recently written an autobiography, ''Project Omaha Beach: The Life and Military Service of a Penobscot Indian Elder'' that details his time abroad in the military. Shay is also a direct descendant of
Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin
Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie de Saint-Castin (1652–1707) was a French military officer serving in Acadia and an Abenaki chief. He is the father of two prominent sons who were also military leaders in Acadia: Bernard-Anselme and Joseph. He is the nam ...
.
World War II
Shay was drafted into the military in 1943 at the age of 19. He was selected for training as a medical technician and learned basic surgery skills. Shay joined the Medical Detachment of the
First Division's (the "Big Red One") 16th Infantry Regiment and was attached as a platoon medic to Fox Company.
As a combat medic, Shay treated as many of his wounded comrades as possible – bandaging wounds, applying tourniquets, applying makeshift splints, administering
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. T ...
or otherwise trying to make the wounded soldiers as comfortable as possible. Shay pulled several struggling soldiers from the rising tide, saving many immobilized wounded from drowning during the first wave of the landing of Omaha Beach on
D-Day. He was also present helping the fallen at the Battles of
Aachen,
Huertgen Forest, and the
Ardennes (
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
).
Shay was later attached to a reconnaissance squadron moving into the small farming village of
Auel near the Sieg River in Germany. The squadron encountered about 20 German soldiers accompanied by a tank with an 88mm weapon, and were forced to surrender. The squadron was then marched 50–60 miles, moving only by night, to the
POW camp
Stalag VI-G. The column of prisoners grew along the way as the German unit accumulated more and more American soldiers. Shay was interrogated at the camp and held there until April 12, 1945, when American troops encircled the camp, trapping 350,000 enemy soldiers and liberating the camp. Shay was sent home soon after.
Post-World War II and Korea
After making it home safely, Shay was unable to find work, like many other veterans after the war. He re-enlisted and was stationed in
Vienna, Austria
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, serving as a medic with a Military Police Battalion. While stationed there he met a woman named Lilli
osaBollarth, and they married on March 21, 1950. When the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
broke out later that year, Shay joined the 3rd Division's 7th Infantry Regiment as a medic and was shipped to
Japan. A few months later, his regiment went into battle in Korea and he served again as a combat medic. Shay was promoted to master sergeant and awarded the Bronze Star with two oak leaf clusters.
Retirement
Charles and his wife Lilli lived together in Vienna, visiting Shay's original hometown on
Indian Island in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
in the summers. Charles and Lilli officially relocated to Indian Island in 2003, but unfortunately Lilli fell ill almost immediately. She died shortly after.
Shay has also renovated the two-story wooden "Teepee" on Native Island that his aunt
Lucy Nicolar Poolaw
Lucy Nicolar Poolaw (June 22, 1882 – March 27, 1969), also called Wa-Tah-Wa-So and billed as Princess Watahwaso, was a Penobscot and a performer on the Chautauqua and lyceum circuits.
Early life
Lucy Nicolar (Wa-Tah-Wa-So) was born on the Penob ...
and her Kiowa Indian husband Chief Bruce Poolaw built as a novelty shop and to sell Lucy's handmade baskets. Shay has restored the site as a small Family Museum.
Charles Norman Shay is an elder member of the
Penobscot
The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic ...
tribe of Maine. Also known as the Penawahpskewi, the people of the Penobscot Nation are federally recognized. The tribe is part of the
Wabanaki group, located in Maine,
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
, and
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. Shay lives in the community of the Native Americans reservation where he spent his childhood on Penobscot Island, opposite
Old Town, Maine
Old Town is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The city's developed area is chiefly located on the relatively large Marsh Island, though its boundaries extend beyond that. The island i ...
. In his retirement, Shay played a big role in the installment of National Native American Veterans Day.
In 2021, Shay was reported to be living in France, as the only veteran to attend the D-Day commemoration.
Project Omaha Beach
In spring of 2007, Shay along with
Harald E. L. Prins
Harald E. L. Prins (born 1951) is a Dutch anthropologist, ethnohistorian, filmmaker, and human rights activist specialized in North and South America's indigenous peoples and cultures.
Biography
Harald Prins was born in the Netherlands and is a ...
and his wife
Bunny McBride
Carol Ann (Bunny) McBride is an American author of a wide range of nonfiction books on subjects ranging from cultural survival and wildlife conservation to Native Americans. Her most recent ethnohistory book is ''Indians in Eden: Wabanakis and Rus ...
, both of Kansas State University, planned a trip back to Europe so Shay could visit past battle sites and comment on his experiences. The group was awarded grants to fund the journey from both the
Maine Humanities Council
The 'Maine Humanities Council (MHC)
was founded in 1975 as a private nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is one of 56 humanities councils in the United States and its territories. The MHC is also home of the Harrie ...
and the
First Division Museum
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
in Wheaton, Illinois.
Prins, McBride, and Shay visited
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
,
Mons,
Aachen,
Hurtgen Forest,
the Ardennes, and
Auel. The trip was documented and filmed for future reference and in order to shed light on the experiences of American Indian soldiers in World War II. In ''Project Omaha Beach: The Life and Military Service of a Penobscot Native American Elder'', Shay narrates the journey in the form of letters to his deceased wife Lilli, and also includes an autobiography and information on organizations with which Shay is now associated. The book was published in 2012 by
Polar Bear & Company in
Solon, Maine
Solon is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 978 at the 2020 census.
History
The first known inhabitants were the Abenaki Indians, whom European settlers encountered in the early 1600s. There are petroglyphs t ...
. Soon after returning to his home at ''Panawahpskek'' (
NAtives Island), Maine, Shay was personally inducted into the
Legion of Honour
The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...
as a Chevalier by
Nicolas Sarkozy,
President of the French Republic
The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is ...
at the French Embassy in Washington DC.
A year later, in 2008, Shay was inducted as a Distinguished Member of the
16th Infantry Regiment in a special ceremony at
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in North Central Kansas, on the Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 101,733 acres (41,170 ha) in Ge ...
, Kansas, home base of the
1st Infantry Division, the famous "Big Red One." In 2009, he spearheaded the official establishment of June 21 as Native American Veterans Day in Maine, the first state in the US to do so. Eight years later, he was invited to ceremonially inaugurate a large granite turtle sculpture at the "Charles Shay Indian Memorial," a small park in the dunes overlooking Omaha Beach.
[Prins and McBride (2017)]
Notes
References
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
*
Charles Norman Shay Collection: Veterans History Project (American Folklife Center, Library of Congress)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shay, Charles Norman
1924 births
Living people
Native American people from Maine
Native American writers
Penobscot people
People from Penobscot Indian Island Reservation
People from Bristol, Connecticut
Military personnel from Connecticut
Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur
United States Army personnel of the Korean War
United States Army personnel of World War II
Recipients of the Silver Star
American prisoners of war in World War II
World War II prisoners of war held by Germany
American expatriates in Austria
Writers from Connecticut
Writers from Maine
Writers from Vienna
United States Army non-commissioned officers
20th-century Native Americans
21st-century Native Americans