Hector's first war experience
occurred on the way overseas, when his ship was torpedoed in the Atlantic--but it did not
sink. They managed to make it back to Canada on their own. There, they took a second crack
at it and made it to the British Isles. Hector was one of those "Picadilly
Commandos" in England until he was sent into the Italian Campaign. While in Italy, he
met Pope Pius XII in St. Peter's Church in Rome; he thought it was quite an honour to be a
Roman Catholic.Hector had a brother, John Peter King, who also served in the forces
with the Regina Rifles. As a matter of fact, he met up with him on the front line in
Holland (small world!). He had another brother, Francis, who was with the artillery.
Hector adjusted well to army life, although he was a little scared on the front line.
He got over it, but it was the going in that was the hard part: "after the first five
or six shots, you were all right".
In spite of his rich experiences, Hector was very happy to get back to Canada. He came
back in 1945 on the Queen Elizabeth, on her first peacetime voyage to Canada.
After his service, Hector was not very happy with the Department of Veterans Affairs,
"because the Native veterans were not getting very good support from it; they were
always given the runaround." He recalls Eugene Michon asking for funding to buy
fishing equipment for Lake Nipigon, but he was told to go and see Lands and Forests.
Hector tried to take advantage of the land and educational benefits that were available
to war veterans following the war, but, again, there was always the red tape--go here, go
there. Hector stated that when the Veterans Land Act ran out, the government officials
were very pleased to tell the Native Veterans that it had expired. However, they had not
told them about the land that was available to begin with, although he knew a lot of white
people were aware of it.
In 1967, Hector was instrumental in having the Indian children admitted to schools in
Armstrong, and assisted greatly in overcoming racism in that community. In the same year,
he acted as a consultant to the Company of Young Canadians. In 1970, Hector was involved
with the organizing of the Ontario Metis & Non-Status Indian Association, now called
the Ontario Metis Aboriginal Association. He was a member of the Armstrong School Board
for eight years. He served as a board member for the Union of Ontario Indians for 2 years
and also worked for them as a fieldworker and a court worker. He was also a Board member
for the Ontario Native Development Fund. He was on the Board for the Ontario Metis &
Non-Status Indian Association for two terms as well as working as a fieldworker and a
court worker. He also served for 6 years in the Canadian Corps of Commissionaires at the
R.C.A.F. Radar Station in Armstrong. At the present time, he is the President of the
Armstrong Indian Metis Association, as well as the Trappers' Association. He is also a
board member of the Local Services Board, (LSB), Armstrong, and a voting member of the
Royal Canadian Legion, and Honourary Member of the "L" Association du 12e
Regiment Blinde du Canada Inc., Canadian Corps of Commissionaires, and Native Veterans
(Northwestern Ontario). He runs the "Outreach" program in Armstrong, and is an
active member of the Board of Directors of the Kinna-Aweya Legal Clinic representing the
Armstrong satellite office.
After having fought to secure a better future, the best advice that Hector can offer to
the Native youth to preserve the future, is to go into the armed forces. "During the
war, it was different. Now, everything's in there--the education, you name it--you can
even get a university degree. "Having one son in the militia, he suggests to anyone
in high school to go into the armed forces because "you learn a lot of discipline,
which we all need...it's quite an honour to be in the Canadian Army".
Hector is the father of 9 children: five girls: Joanne Blackstar, Hilda Blackstar and
Rubina Shamagik in Thunder Bay; Charlotte Piche, Montreal, Theresa Mohammed, Vernon, B.C.;
for sons in Thunder Bay; Sam,
Wilfred, Hector Jr., and Rudy. All in all, Hector is the proud grandfather of 13.
Hector has 4 brothers living, 2 deceased, and 3 sisters.
In closing, Hector recalls crashing an annual meeting of Indian Eskimo Association at
the Lord Simcoe Hotel in Toronto on September 28, 1967. Harold Cardinal, Stan Daniels, and
Walter Currie helped him to get on the agenda to speak to the assembly---Hector's first
experience in public speaking. During the question period, Chief Elmer Plain of the
Chippewas of Sarnia asked him: "Is there running water in Armstrong?", to which
Hector replied: "There is a lot of running water in Armstrong--the Native people have
to run to get it."
