Canada Post unveils stamp honouring little-known Chinese Canadian unit from Second World War

Article content

There was also another initial group of 13 hand-picked Chinese Canadian men who were part of what was known as “Operation Oblivion.” They were trained by the British and as a pilot project because no one was certain that they could handle the job, according to Clement.

Article content

Chinese Canadian members of Force 136 who were dropped into Japanese-occupied Malay (Photo taken in Kuala Lumpur, 1945). Back row (L to R): unknown soldier, Bing Lee, Ernie Louie, Harry Ho, Bill Lee Front row (L to R): Ted Wong, Chinese Nationalist soldier, Mike Levy, Henry Fung. Photo by Chinese Canadian Military Museum

Article content

The training was rigorous and involved everything from learning to survive in jungle conditions, jump from trucks and planes, and swimming silently and in the dark, carrying 23 kilogram weights. Many Chinese Canadians did not know how to swim because they were banned from using public pools.

Article content

It was Mike Kendall, a Vancouver-born engineer who had long lived in Hong Kong and managed to escape when it fell to the Japanese on Christmas Day in 1941, who came up with the idea of using a secret force of Cantonese-speaking, Chinese Canadians elsewhere in Japanese-occupied Asia. He worked with a group of spies, civilians and senior Chinese officers to escape Hong Kong before it fell.

Article content

The British Special Operations Executive had successfully used secret agents in Nazi-occupied countries like France, Belgium and Holland, and the thought was to deploy agents in Southeast Asia to train resistance fighters, make contacts, and commit sabotage acts such as blowing up ships, rail lines, communications.

Article content

Article content

But they needed soldiers who could speak English and local languages like Cantonese to get behind enemy lines.

Article content

Rick Wong, the son of Hank Wong, who was born and grew up in London, Ont., said his father had initially been rejected from serving in the British navy because he was Chinese.

Article content

He later joined the army and after being recruited to join Operation Oblivion, he participated in specialized training involving rapid deployment, parachuting, using explosives and learning Morse code.

Article content

He was in Australia and the war ended before he could be deployed to Borneo. His group of soldiers was left to work on freighters in order to eventually return to Canada.

Article content

“‘We abandoned a special operations team on the other side of the world,'” said Rick Wong, recounting the astonishment of Canada’s defence minister hearing the story in 2016.

Article content

Kieran Wong attended the event at the museum with 10 members of his family, including other children and grandchildren of Force 136 member Gordon Wong, who is featured on the stamp. Some live in Vancouver and others travelled from Idaho and Washington state.

Article content

Article content

“For my children and my father’s grandchildren, to insert his history and his stories into their lives so they can have the context and be able to reflect on the efforts and sacrifices his generation made and how blessed their lives are today,” said Wong.

Article content

Clement noted with sadness that the last Chinese Canadian who served with Force 136 died last year. He was Gordon Quan.

Article content

Brent Hoy, the son of Charlie Hoy, said his father was proud of his medals and uniform, but largely kept his wartime experiences to himself.

Article content

In unveiling the stamp on Tuesday, Brent Hoy named each soldier in the photo.

Article content

“If you look closely at this black and white photo, the details show each person’s pride and confidence. You see the shoulder flash of the rising phoenix on their uniform, an emblem of the Allied forces symbolizing liberation and rebirth. Above all else, they stand together as a group in solidarity, distinguished by their race and Canadian uniforms.”

Article content

Article content