National and provincial leaders are paying tribute to Victoria-born war hero George Chow who has died at age 99.
鈥淗is service and legacy has been recognized through numerous war medals, Canadian Forces decorations and the Queen鈥檚 Diamond Jubilee,鈥� said Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan in a statement. 鈥淭hese awards cannot measure the lasting impact George鈥檚 service will have on generations of young Canadians. We have lost a trailblazer who broke barriers and showed young children what service, duty and love for one鈥檚 country is. You may be gone my friend, but you will never be forgotten.鈥�
Premier John Horgan said he was honoured to have met Chow, who fought on Juno Beach on D-Day and lived to continue serving sa国际传媒 for many more years.
Chow died on Nov. 6.
He was born in Victoria in 1921. Two months before his 19th birthday, he went to the recruiting centre at the Bay Street Armoury in Victoria to sign up without his parents鈥� knowledge.
鈥淚 was just 18, not quite 19. So I walked into the armouries and they said, 鈥極h you want to join the army.鈥� I said 鈥榊es.鈥� 鈥榊ou want a lot of action?鈥� I said 鈥榊es鈥�,鈥� Chow told Veterans Affairs sa国际传媒.
Two days later, he went home in uniform to surprise his parents. They didn鈥檛 want him to go to war, but he was determined.
Chow was sent to Seaforth Armoury in Vancouver for basic training, to Windsor, Ont. for more training, then on to Halifax where he boarded a ship for England. Chow trained at Colchester, northeast of London, and became a member of the 16th Light Anti-Aircraft Battery. His unit was charged with defending the east coast of England against low-flying German planes that were bombing the coastal towns of Eastbourne and Brighton. Chow was part of the first all-Canadian gun crew to shoot down a German plane.
During the Normandy campaign, Chow was a member of the 2nd Army Group Royal Artillery. Fortunately, when they landed in Normandy, the water was only nine-inches deep. After D-Day, they moved inland to Caen and other regions of France before heading into Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, according to an account from Veterans Affairs sa国际传媒.
鈥淵ou just live from day to day actually. If someone says they weren鈥檛 scared then they鈥檙e just lying. Darn right you鈥檙e scared,鈥� Chow recalled.
After the victory in Europe, Chow prepared for the Pacific theatre 鈥� until the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. After the Second World War, Chow became a gunnery instructor in the Royal Canadian Artillery in the Bessborough Armoury in Vancouver. He reached the rank of master warrant officer, holding the position of battery sergeant major when he was honourably discharged in 1963.
In 2012, Chow was awarded the Queen鈥檚 Diamond Jubilee Medal.
In a tribute on the website of the consulate general of France in Vancouver, consul general Philippe Sutter called Chow 鈥渁 true hero, a beacon of our common fight for peace, security, and democracy.鈥�
During the Second World War, his contribution to the liberation of France and Europe in 1944 was tremendous and France recognized his sacrifices by bestowing upon him the L茅gion d鈥橦onneur, our highest 颅distinction, Sutter said.
In May 2015, Chow joined the 颅Government of sa国际传媒 delegation commemorating the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Netherlands.
Gordie Quan, 94, one of the last remaining Chinese-Canadians veterans, laid a wreath for the 60th time at a Remembrance Day service on Wednesday. Quan said he will miss the comradeship he had with Chow.
鈥淲e got together quite often and we met at Government House twice,鈥� said Quan, who fought in the Burma campaign.
鈥淲e had a lot of get togethers on Remembrance Day in Vancouver and dinners honouring the veterans every year.鈥�
Victoria councillor Charlayne Thornton Joe had a chance to meet Chow, and she thought of him this Remembrance Day with sadness and gratitude for all he had made possible in her lifetime. 鈥淗e was a sweet man,鈥� said Joe. 鈥淎nd I acknowledge all the Chinese veterans who served. I recognized if they had not fought, we would not know how long it would have taken Chinese to get the vote. Without their sacrifices, I would never have had the opportunity to serve as an elected official.鈥�
Joe is comforted by the great age Chow lived to.
鈥淗e led a great life and lived a long life and in Chinese culture, that鈥檚 颅significant,鈥� she said.