World War 1 Veterans

Although over 200 Japanese Canadians wished to fight for Canada during World War I, the B.C. government refused, recognizing that enlistment would allow them to vote, thereby enjoying the rights and freedoms granted to all Canadians. The Nikkei from BC were eventually able to join the forces in Alberta. In April 1920, a war memorial was built in Vancouver’s Stanley Park to honour them. It was not until 1931 that the veterans were granted the franchise and full commercial fishing rights by the B.C. government; however, they were not exempt from internment during World War II. (Photo by Fraizer Dunleavy on Unsplash)

Honouring Nikkei Veterans

In September 2021, a memorial monument was erected at the Nikkei Legacy Park in Greenwood, B.C. to honour the twelve Japanese Canadian war veterans who were sent to the first internment site in B.C.: Yoshimatsu Fukaye, Kiyoji Iizuka, Hirokichi Isomura, Tsunekichi Kitagawa, Tsunejiro Kuroda, Yonesaburo Kuroda, Masumi Mitsui, Toichi Nitsui, Nuinosuke Okawa, Kichiji Shimizu, Yasuo Takashima, Imataro Uegama. This is their story.