Hong Kong, 1941: "A testament spoken in stone"

In time for VJ Day:

Hundreds attend opening of Hong Kong veterans' memorial -- to see, touch and remember

Veterans pass a bouquet of flowers to place on the memorial wall, at the corner of King Edward Ave. and Sussex St. on Saturday, August 15, 2009. The memorial honours those who fought in the Battle of Hong Kong during the Second World War.
Photograph by: David Kawai, The Ottawa Citizen

Nothing — not the searing heat, not the quiet crush of the appreciative crowd and not the sweaty photo-ops of a trio of cabinet ministers — got in the way of what really mattered on Saturday: giving Canadian veterans of the Battle of Hong Kong a heartfelt and unequivocal thank you for their bravery more than six decades ago.

More than 400 people gathered at the corner of Sussex Drive and King Edward Avenue, on the bank of the Rideau River, for the dedication of the elegant granite Hong Kong Veterans Memorial Wall. The wall is etched with the names of all 1,975 men and two women [emphasis added] who served in defence of Hong Kong when Japanese troops invaded the British colony in December 1941.

They were the first Canadian troops to see battle in the Second World War. Inexperienced, under-equipped and heavily outnumbered, the Canadians fought hard for 17 days until they were overrun and forced to surrender. Approximately 291 Canadians were killed in battle, 500 more were wounded [emphasis added]. Survivors were sent to prisoner-of-war camps, where they faced torture, starvation and disease. Another 267 died there. [emphasis added, more here]. When they returned home, their efforts were overshadowed by the events in Europe, and for many years their contribution was largely ignored.

Saturday's event -- timed to coincide with the 64th anniversary of VJ Day [more here from the Minister of Veterans Affairs] -- aimed to change that picture.

About 80 Canadian veterans of the Battle of Hong Kong are still alive, and 22 of them were at the ceremony...

When a government official tried to usher one woman off the dais reserved for media cameras, the woman replied sharply, "That's my dad down there. You're not pushing me off until I'm ready to go."

The memorial unveiling is one event in a three-day convention for Hong Kong veterans and their families. There is to be a service of remembrance at Christ Church Cathedral today at 10:30 a.m., followed by a lunch for veterans. Volunteers with the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association are operating a memorabilia room open to the public at the Lord Elgin Hotel, where many of the troops stayed en route to Hong Kong in 1941...

Several relatives in the audience made sure to point out that "not a penny" of government money [emphasis added] had gone into the memorial beyond donation of the land. A committee of veterans and their families raised more than $150,000, but still needs an additional $150,000 to complete the project...

There was a sense of mission accomplished -- however long it had taken...

Robert Sibley goes in search of a peaceable nation's warrior spirit for his series Our Stories in Stone. A10

Photo gallery here, one picture:

Veteran Eric Vately, pushed by Korean War veteran Marcel Mondou, was the first to lay down a poppy at the unveiling ceremony for the memorial wall honouring those who fought in the Battle of Hong Kong during the Second World War, at the corner of King Edward Ave. and Sussex St. on Saturday, August 15, 2009.
Photograph by: David Kawai, The Ottawa Citizen