According to U.S. Army records, Chips was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.
As should be apparent by now, the Chronicles like to express appreciation for public-spirited and meaningful achievements that have gone above and beyond — even when that recognition is so postdated as to be posthumous. (This is an historical column, after all.)
But even the provincial government can be slow to get the job done, as evidenced by the recent erection of an historical signboard honouring Victoria’s Lansdowne area as the site of the city’s first airfield and the site of William Wallace Gibson’s pioneer heavier-than-air flight.
He successfully flew from what was a cow pasture in 1910, he died in 1965, the government erected a “Stop of Interest” sign last year. But better late than never.
Last month, a second case of belated but deserved recognition (another road sign) honoured Harry Manson whose exploits on the soccer field made him a star, a century and a quarter ago. The Nanaimo native — literally: he was a member of the Snuneymuxw First Nation — was given the traditional name Xulsimalt, meaning “one who has left his mark”. He’s best remembered for a Nov. 12, 1892 match at Nanaimo’s Deverill Square Park, the site of the first soccer game between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal teams.
Eight years later, he was one of the first Indigenous players on a non-Aboriginal team that played in the provincial finals. The Nanaimo Thistles lost the B.C. Intermediate Challenge Cup to the Victoria YMCA but, in 1907, as a member of the Nanaimo United, Manson helped to win the provincial championship. He did all this at a time of pronounced racial divisions through his skills on the soccer field; as a sportsman, he broke down racial barriers long before the better known Americans, Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson. Harry Manson was, according to the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, “one of B.C.’s great pioneering athletes prior to World War I”.
Inducted into no fewer than four sports halls of fame, his legacy has taken on new prestige thanks to the recent posting of a Stop of Interest signboard at Deverill Park. May the provincial government proceed with this fine program of honouring our heroes from the past who otherwise tend to be forgotten.
Ironically, even when recognition is given it isn’t always forever. So Marianne Middleton found out recently, some 16 years after she and her husband paid to have a bench on a Sidney public beach dedicated to the memory of her father, R. Douglas Jewett. But what she took to mean in perpetuity actually meant until 2021 — as she was informed by the municipality which wanted another $3,000 (five times the original cost) to continue the plaque for another 10 years.
Happily, at last report, after unfavourable public press, Sidney council is reviewing its memorials policy.
Finally (for today), the heartwarming story of a medal for bravery that’s just been awarded posthumously — to a Second World War U.S. Army dog. During the epic beach landings at Sicily in 1943, Chips, a shepherd-husky cross, charged an Italian machine gun nest, “attacking an enemy soldier by the throat and pulling the gun from its mount”.
The Dickin Medal for animal bravery is the highest of its kind and was awarded by the veterinary charity PDSA in a ceremony at the Churchill War Rooms in London. John Wren, 76, of Long Island, NY, accepted the honour on behalf of his father who donated Chips to the war effort in 1942.
According to U.S. Army records, immediately after his act of valour, Chips was recommended for the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart but the awards process never proceeded further “because army policy didn’t allow animals to receive medals”.
Chips, who suffered scalp wounds and powder burns in the battle, lived to make it home, being returned to his original owners in Pleasantville, NY. Now, 75 years later, he has received his just recognition. The Dickin Medal, established in 1943, recognizes gallantry by animals serving with the military, police or rescue services. Recipients to date include 33 dogs, 32 messenger pigeons, four horses and a cat”.