20. This WWII Hero Kept on Performing Heroic Deeds During the Subsequent Cold War
For his courage in the face of death and exploits behind enemy lines, Bill Chong was decorated by Hong Kong’s governor in 1946. That made him the only Chinese-Canadian ever awarded the British Empire Medal. British intelligence knew and appreciated the fact that they had a hero on their hands. After the war, they asked him to stay on as an agent, and he agreed.
Chong worked for British intelligence, operating out of Hong Kong and carrying out missions into communist China, until he retired in 1976. He returned to Canada, but nobody knew of his background until somebody noticed a photo of him receiving an award from Hong Kong’s governor. He was talked into joining a veteran’s organization, and after word of his exploits spread, he became the subject of a CBC documentary. He died in 2006, at age 95.