On August 15, 1945, Canadians were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as the news of Japan’s surrender was shared on radios across the country. The next day, people took to the streets to celebrate the Victory over Japan (also known as V-J Day), marking the end of WWII.
Among the parades of joyous crowds, many families attended the celebrations while still grappling with the loss of their loved ones or awaiting answers about whether their family members would return home.
In November 1941, 1,974 Canadians from the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada were sent across the Pacific to defend the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong against the Japanese Imperial Army. At the time, no Canadian troops had engaged in combat as allies in WWII, and the decision to send troops to the Far East to this day, remains a controversial one. The request for Canadian troops was framed as an intimidation tactic to deter the Japanese from attacking Hong Kong.
The Canadian military contingent selected to serve in Hong Kong were two Class C battalions, the lowest of the Canadian Army’s unit classification. Made up entirely of volunteers, the “C Force” arrived in Hong Kong without the proper training to see combat with the highly trained and equipped Japanese Army. We now know that many of the brave soldiers who made the selfless decision to serve with the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada were of First Nations and Métis ancestry.
With growing tensions between Japan and the United States, the “C Force” became aware that an attack was imminent in Hong Kong. As the Japanese strike force retreated back across the Pacific following the aerial and naval attack at Pearl Harbor, the land assault on Hong Kong was just commencing. The “C Force” was outnumbered and outgunned for a brutal 18 days of fighting at the Battle of Hong Kong. 290 of our Canadian soldiers had perished on the battlefield, and the Allied Forces knew that they could not withstand any more bloodshed.
The remaining 1,684 soldiers surrendered and were held prisoner in Japanese POW camps for the entirety of the Second World War, in which time 266 more were killed in captivity. The surviving 1,418 prisoners of war held on through malnutrition, abuse, illness and trauma for 1,330 days until receiving word on August 15, 1945, that they would finally be freed and sent back home to their families.
Even though it would be weeks before they would reunite with their loved ones, the “C Force” knew they were going home and would soon be able to join their fellow Canadians in celebrating the end of WWII, too.
Today, the Métis Veterans Legacy Program joins Canada in commemorating the 79th anniversary of V-J Day in honour of the brave men and women who fought at the Battle of Hong Kong.
Our Veterans are our heroes today, tomorrow and forever.
Lest we forget.
