Francis Pegahmagabow

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Corporal Francis Pegahmagabow, MM and two bars was the aboriginal soldier most highly decorated for bravery in Canadian military history and the most effective sniper of World War I. Three times awarded the Military Medal and seriously wounded, he was an expert marksman and scout, credited with killing up to 378 Germans and capturing 300 more. Later in life, he served as chief and a councillor for his band, and as an activist and leader in several First Nations organizations. He corresponded with and met other noted aboriginal figures including Fred Loft, Jules Sioui, Andrew Paull and John Tootoosis. An Ojibwa from the Parry Island Band near Parry Sound, Ontario prior to the war, Pegahmagabow worked as a marine fireman for the Department of Marine and Fisheries on the Great Lakes. He signed up immediately after the outbreak of hostilities in August 1914, joining the 23rd Regiment and sailing overseas in February 1915 with the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion of the 1st Canadian Division the first contingent of Canadian troops sent to fight in Europe.