Heroes Remembers — Chinese-Canadian Veterans
This page has been archived on the Web
The Standard on Web Usability replaces this content. This content is archived because Common Look and Feel 2.0 Standards have been rescinded.
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.
Uncommon valour. Reluctant heroes. Unsung soldiers.
These are the phrases that describe the Chinese-Canadian men and women who took part in the Second World War. It is a little known story and reminds us of racist times when the government simply didn't want Chinese-Canadians in the war effort. Regrettably, it is also a story that is fast-disappearing as our war Veterans reach their late eighties and their remembrances pass with them.
Most Canadians cannot even fathom there was a time in this country when Chinese-Canadians were denied the right to vote and banned from entering the professions. But this was the reality for the young men and women of Chinese-Canadian descent, the majority born on Canadian soil, at the outbreak of the Second World War. Why then, did they volunteer and risk their lives for a country that denied them the fundamental rights we now take for granted?
You are invited to share the recollections of these courageous men and women. Heroes Remember presents twenty-one war Veterans who speak candidly of their wartime efforts. Some of their stories have seldom been told because they evoke dark, buried memories, while others brim with a youthful “can-do” spirit. There are also stories from the politically astute; those determined to win the vote for Chinese-Canadians by proving their loyalty and serving. Together, these remarkable recollections lay testimony to the Chinese-Canadians who knowingly or not, created fundamental political and social change in Canada.
Table of Contents
- John Ko Bong member of Operation Oblivion
- Mary Ko Bong an instrument mechanic
- Neill Chan deciphered communications
- Paul Chan served in the Second World War
- Roy Chan served in the Second World War
- Bill Chong served as Agent 50...
- George Chow trained as a gunner
- Marshall Chow a wireless operator
- Douglas Jung represented CA at UN
- Daniel Lee an aircraft mechanic
- Peggy Lee served in the home front
- Alex Louie trained in India to parachute
- Albert Mah flew 420 return trips from...
- Cedric Mah a pioneering bush pilot
- Roy Mah a pillar of the community
- Gordie Quan full military career
- Andrew Wong in US Merchant Marines
- Frank Wong in Holland for the liberation
- Henry Albert (Hank) Wong
- Larry Wong in Newfoundland Regiment
- Mary Laura Wong (Mah) a teletype operator
- Date modified: