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The Princemen

Lt Norman Prince VFW Post No. 1506

Malden, Mass

 

VFW Senior National Champions

1946, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1955

 

 

1948 St Louis

 

1948 St Louis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Norman Prince Alumni Chorus 199?

 

 

 

 

Eddie Forte  St Louis  1948

 

Eddie Forte Miami  1949

 

Princemen Miami  1949

 

More Princemen  Miami 1949

 

 

 

Corps History

“PRINCEMEN” is the name—it is a unit which has adhered to the tradition of the name—organized a good many years ago as Sacred Heart Crusaders of Sacred Heart Parish, Maiden, Mass.—Rev. John J. Sheehan was the motivating spirit—ceased to function as a unit when Rev. Ed­ward S. Gaivin, successor to Father Sheehan, en­listed with fifty-five men in the service—with the war over, Thomas D. Murray at the instance of former Crusaders, set to the task of reorganization

—mission was accomplished by the spring of 1946 — the banner they chose was It. Norman Prince Post—Veterans of Foreign Wars—in September, 1946, after five months of organization, clad in improvised uniforms of “G. I.” chino uniforms dyed blue, white enameled helmet liners, white leggings and accessories, they won the National V.F.W. title at Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, Mass.—Drum Major Fred J. Sheehan won the Na­tional Championship—Cleveland, Ohio and Miami, Florida, were the occasions of national victory— Major Domo and Crown Prince has been Arthur F. “Scotty” Chappelle, who has arranged music, instructed buglers, trained drummers and set out the colorful drill—he has twice won the title of National Strutting Drum Major—he is the present Drum Major.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

History of Lt. Norman Prince

 

In January 1915 Norman Prince, son of a Boston financier, was an American Volunteer in the French Army to serve until the end of World War I. He was assigned to the Military Aviation and served with high honors. He was one of the founders of the Escadrille   Americaine, later to be known as the Lafayette Flying Squadron. When the United States entered the War in 1917, his squadron carried the first American flag that appeared on any battlefield in World War I.

Lieut. Norman Prince served with great honor and was decorated by the French Government with Croix de Guerre, the Medaille Militaire and the Croix de la Legion d’Honneur.

     On October 12, 1916 Lieut. Prince and other members of his Squadron were assigned to convoy French bombarding fleet in an aerial raid on Oberndorf, a German arms and munition center located in Vosges near the Plains of Alsace. He was on his way back from this raid when his plane struck an aerial cable in the darkness while he was endeavoring to land. Lieut. Norman Prince was badly injured and on Sunday morning, October 5, 1916, he died.

      When the Lieut. Norman Prince Post No. 1506 was founded, the Republic of France, through the French Consul in Boston, presented the Post with the Tri-colors of France in honor of  the memory of Lieut. Norman Prince.

 

This flag has been carried with permission by the Lieut. Norman Prince Drum and Bugle Corps since its inception in 1946. On Flag Day, June 4, the Consul General of France, Major Charles dePampelone, presented a new French flag to the Lieut. Norman Prince Post, and this will be carried in all parades and contests by the “Princemen” through­out the U.S.A.

 

Lt Norman Prince

 

Princemen entering the National Cathedral in Washington DC

 

Tomb of Lt Norman Prince in the National Cathedral 

 

John Flynn and Eddie Forte in front of Tomb.

 

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