We Went to War: The Story of the Japanese Canadians Who Served during the First and Second World Wars

Joan McGrath is a Toronto Board of Education library consultant.

The history of the Japanese Canadians was until quite recently little known outside the community. This is not to be wondered at, for Canada has every reason to regret the shameful persecutions, born out of wartime hysteria, of a brave and loyal segment of its citizenry. Even at the very time when Japanese Canadians were being unjustly deprived of their freedom and property, their loyalty to a country that did little to deserve it was being proven on the battlefields. Hundreds enlisted, and in the courses of two world wars, voluntary active service claimed the lives of many Japanese Canadians.

Roy Ito’s generous-spirited book does not dwell on the very real grievances of the Japanese Canadians but rather provides a record of citizenship gained with great difficulty, and of service in arms, generously offered and only grudgingly accepted. This is a people with a proud history. A long list of names is recorded in the Books of Memory, honouring those who died in the service of a country which belatedly recognized their right “to walk with honour and with dignity as Canadians among all Canadians.” Illustrated with numerous photographs; meticulously documented and indexed.