27. Witnessing Japanese Brutality Set Bill Chong on the Path to Becoming a Hero
Japanese forces invaded Hong Kong Island, whose garrison included Canadian units, on December 18th, 1941. After a week of heavy fighting, during which thousands of civilians were killed, the Japanese forced the defenders to surrender and secured the island. Like many who found themselves living under Japanese occupation, Bill Chong was appalled by the brutality and rudeness of the conquerors. He grew particularly incensed after he witnessed a Japanese soldier execute a wounded Canadian officer, and decided that he would do something about it.
Chong sold all his possessions in Hong Kong, burned his Canadian passport, and set out for mainland China. As he put it: “I had seen so much of the war in Hong Kong I was full of hate … I had seen how the Japanese killed people, killed Canadians without any cause. They’d just shoot anybody they want, they’d shoot people left and right. I said, ‘I’ve got to do something about this.’ I felt like getting a gun and just going out and shooting a few Japanese [soldiers]. So I escaped to China“.