A Cowichan Tribes man who has served both his country and community extensively over the past 30-plus years has been awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal.
Joe Grey-Thorne arrived at the Cowichan Cultural & Conference Centre Dec. 13 to receive his medal in front of family, friends and colleagues.
The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal is a commemorative award created to mark the 2012 celebrations of the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada. The medals are awarded to recognize service to the country. In 2012, 60,000 medals were to be awarded to Canadians.
Thorne, who has Nuu-chah-nulth roots in Ditidaht, was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal after being nominated by Aldeen Mason, Esquimalt Naval Base Liaison Worker, in recognition of the contributions he’s made to the Aboriginal Veteran’s Association of Canada.
Joe Grey-Thorne serves on both Cowichan Tribes Council and Duncan City Council. He comes from both Cowichan Tribes and Nuu-chah-nulth and proudly wears both surnames.
Joe’s father, Oscar Grey, was Ditidaht and his mother is from Cowichan. Oscar’s sister Rose Grey married Bob Thomas, extending his family connections to Tseshaht First Nation. Oscar Gray served in the U.S. military and fought both in World War II and in Korea.
“We lived in Seattle and my brother was in the Special Forces so I joined the US Marines at the age of 17,” said son Joe, adding he had to lie about his age to join.
Grey-Thorne served in the U.S. Marine Corp from 1969 to 1973. He fought in Vietnam, receiving injuries, the scars of which he bears to this day.
“Of the many war wounds I have, the greatest one is seeing Aboriginal Vets being mistreated,” said Grey-Thorne.
During times of active war, Grey-Thorne said it felt like Aboriginal soldiers were treated differently.
“It seems we all got the dirty jobs…point, tunnel rat …the kind of jobs that get people killed,” he shared.
It was during active war that Thorne and other Aboriginal brothers formed what they called the Band of the Hand.
“You take a piece of boot lace and weave it into a wrist band and with that, we formed a brotherhood. We had each other’s back,” he remembered.
When the war was over and everyone went home Grey-Thorne remembers being angry.
“I had no place to go to just vent,” he recalled.
Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Grey-Thorne said even hearing the sound of a car horn would make him want to hit the ground.
When Joe’s son announced he, too, wanted to join the military, Grey-Thorne told him, no. Having endured long waits and the safe return of her husband and two sons from war, Grey-Thorne’s mother also told her grandson, ‘that’s enough.’
Grey-Thorne came to Canada in 1978 wanting to make a difference. Seeing the lack of support and services for veterans, Grey-Thorne helped to launch the National Aboriginal Veterans Association (NAVA). He met other war veterans at powwows and other gatherings and, with their help, gathered the founding members of NAVA.
“I’ve been president of the Vancouver Island chapter on and off for a number of years,” said Grey-Thorne, adding he’s also served as the Regional President for British Columbia NAVA from 2010 to 2011.
At NAVA we fight for better health care, housing, education and other benefits for Aboriginal war veterans. “And when one of our warriors fall we make sure we all show up; we bring a bugler and someone to play bagpipe and we make sure everyone knows that this was not a nobody,” he said.
Through the work of NAVA, 300 veterans were sent back to European battlefields and gravesites to help them on their healing journey. Another veteran was sent to Chicago for a surgical procedure the family couldn’t afford.
Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council Executive Director Florence Wylie attended the ceremony with other family members from the Thomas family. She stood with them to congratulate their cousin Joe and tell him how proud they are of him. She also conveyed a message from the Nuu-chah-nulth directors who wish to acknowledge the brave contributions of Nuu-chah-nulth veterans.
“We want to recognize and honor you for your service to your community and to your country,” she added.
Grey-Thorne continues to work with NAVA and also focuses attention on the younger generations. He takes part in the Raven Program, which is an introductory basic military program for aboriginal youth, and he works with the Cowichan Army Cadets.
The Cowichan Army Cadets proudly served as honour guard for former BC Governor General Steven Point.
The Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Councilis currently seeking the names and photos of those who served in World War I, World War II, other wars, and individuals who have previously enrolled in or are currently enrolled in the Canadian Forces (i.e. Army, Navy, Air Force etc). NTC wishes to honour them and have a special wall in the main tribal council office in Port Alberni dedicated to those who served or are serving our country (similar to the Nuu-chah-nulth Sports Hall of Fame wall).
If you know of a Nuu-chah-nulth person who served or serves in the Canadian Forces or you served yourself, please forward the appropriate name of the individual who served, a high resolution image of the individual, and the name of the branch of the Canadian Forces he or she served in to the email address ken.watts@nuuchahnulth.org
