Merci beaucoup Penobscot Indian elder Charles Shay to receive France’s highest honor

INDIAN ISLAND – The attention Monday from media and other Penobscot Nation members was almost more than World War II veteran Charles Shay could handle.

“I’ll be glad when all this is over,” he said modestly while waiting in his living room on Indian Island for the arrival of Francois Gauthier, consul general of France in Boston.

Gauthier traveled to Maine on Monday to accompany Shay to Washington, D.C., where today he is to receive the Legion of Honor medal, France’s highest military and civil recognition.

“He’s a courageous soldier,” Gauthier said of Shay. “Because he participated in liberating my country, we think we owe him a special recognition.”

Founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, the National Order of the Legion of Honor is the highest civil and military honor in France. It is presented not only for military service, but also for eminent service in other fields such as science or culture, Gauthier explained. Recipients of the honor are named by decree signed by the president of the Republic of France. Shay will be given the title of knight of the Legion of Honor.

“It’s important to me because I’m trying to promote the history of my family, and I’m trying to bring attention to the Native American veterans that served,” Shay said.

The Penobscot elder has a long military history, and although he spent most of his life away from the reservation, he now plays a critical role in preserving the tribe’s history.

“He’s just a tremendous person here among our tribal elders,” Penobscot Nation Chief Kirk Francis said. “To me, there’s no greater accomplishment in life than being called that.”

Shay, now 83, was a combat medic in the 1st Infantry Division of the U.S. Army. He was part of the first wave of soldiers to arrive at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

He subsequently participated in the battles of Mons, Aachen, the Hurtgen Forest and the Bulge. After crossing the Remagen Bridge on March 25, 1945, Shay was captured and spent six weeks as a prisoner of war.

The soldier didn’t stop there, and his military service extended to the Korean War in the early 1950s.

Between 1953 and 1964, he pursued a career in the U.S. Air Force, taking part in the Operation Castle nuclear test, before moving to Vienna, Austria, where he served in the International Atomic Energy Agency and United Nations Refugee Agency until 1988.

In 2003, Shay moved back to the reservation, and now his house is filled with mementos of his past, including a special place where he keeps the Silver Star and four Bronze Stars he received for his military service.

But Shay’s proudest accomplishment can be seen outside.

Driving across the bridge onto Indian Island from Old Town, a tepee on Shay’s front lawn stands out among the houses. Gauthier noted its prominence on the island and received a tour from Shay before heading to a ceremony at the community building to meet Chief Francis.

The tepee serves as a museum that preserves the history of his family. Their portraits are part of a mural that spans the interior walls of the structure and includes Shay’s many noted ancestors, most of whom bear a resemblance to the Penobscot elder.

Shay is a direct descendent of Chief Joseph Orono, who was an ally of George Washington during the Revolutionary War. He also is the grandson of a French trapper, Jean-Vincent d’Abadie, Baron of Saint-Castin, who married the daughter of the great chief of the Penobscot tribe in 1678.

“We’re extremely proud to be associated with Charlie Shay,” Francis said. “Our history proves that we’ve been dedicated to fighting for the freedoms we have.”

Shay recently returned from a trip overseas, where he visited Normandy for the first time since World War II.

“The thing that makes him most proud is that he brings attention to Native American veterans,” Francis said. “It’s people like Charlie who really change the way tribes are looked at through these individual accomplishments.”

Shay will be one of seven American World War II veterans from across the country who will be presented the Legion of Honor medal in a ceremony Tuesday at the home of the French ambassador in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday, the honorees will be present when newly appointed French President Nicolas Sarcozy addresses a joint session of Congress. This will mark Sarcozy’s first official visit to the United States since his election, although he has vacationed here in the past.