Isaac Friesen was born in Russia in 1920. Soon after he was born, his father died from a disease that was going around during that time. With no father/husband left in the house, Isaac's mother packed up what little they had, stuffed the small amount of money they had into Isaac's diaper so it would not be taken at the border, and headed to Canada. Isaac grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba and at a young age, joined the Canadian Army. He became part of the Winnipeg Grenadiers who were the first troops to arrive in Hong Kong during World War II. Shortly after arriving in Hong Kong, Isaac and his fellow troops were taken prisoner for 4 years by the Japanese and were used for slave labour to build shipyards and airports and were starved on a daily basis. The conditions that Isaac was forced to survive in eventually caused him major health problems in his older life and lead to his death in March of 2001.
Not many people have heard of the tragic events that happened in Hong Kong. Most history classes focus on Pearl Harbour and other "major" events that happened during that time. Therefore, I am going to focus on this unknown event and hopefully educate a few of you and help keep the memory of this forgotten place in history alive.
Click here to read more...
A Very Detailed and Informative Site
Canadians in Asia
Hong Kong War Diary
A Film Made about the events in Hong Kong
More Canadians in Hong Kong
The Six Books
Buy the Valour and the Horror Book
