Published 17 hours ago • loading... • Updated 8 hours ago

Legion Branch Founded by Japanese Canadian Veterans Is Reinstated After 84 Years

Japanese Canadian Legion Branch 9 will reopen after 84 years, with branch president David Mitsui calling the restoration a way of "making right a historical wrong" and honoring veterans' sacrifices.
Founded in 1926, the branch surrendered its charter under duress following the attack on Pearl Harbor, while the Canadian government declared Japanese-Canadians "enemy aliens" and placed them in internment camps.
Community historian Debbie Jiang discovered newspaper clippings from the Vancouver Daily Province revealing the Legion denied the branch's promised reinstatement in 1948, despite assurances the "suspension is only until the end of the war against Japan."
Following Jiang's discovery, the Legion's B.C./Yukon Command granted the branch's restoration in July, with president Bob Underhill stating they are "proud to support the reopening of Japanese Canadian Legion #9."
Dozens of descendants have joined the revived branch to honor ancestors like Masumi Mitsui, a decorated veteran of Vimy Ridge, with an official ceremony slated for February at the Vancouver Japanese Language School.

Insights by Ground AI

32 Articles

Winnipeg Free Press

+30 Reposted by 30 other sources

Center

Legion branch founded by Japanese Canadian veterans is reinstated after 84 years

VICTORIA - A descendant of a decorated soldier who fought at Vimy Ridge says the revival of a British Columbia Legion branch founded by Japanese Canadian veterans like his grandfather helps correct an injustice.

14 hours ago·Winnipeg, Canada

Read Full Article