Gim Wong — page 6

By Julie MacLellan,reporter

"It's just laughable in some ways, you know," Wong says.

Even so, he says, he could get over it. He could forgive the head tax.

But there were so many other things.

There was the Second World War, when he fought for his country. Of the five boys in Wong's family, four served in uniform: two were in the cadets, one in the Army and Wong himself in the Air Force.

He joined in 1943, and at 22 became the youngest commissioned officer from the Chinese Canadian community.

It was during training that he discovered an aptitude for the work of an air gunner: an ability to recognize aircraft in a fraction of a second.

"We're learning about ourselves, especially me, because we're brainwashed: 'Oh, Chinamen, they haven't got the balance, they haven't got the technical skills, they haven't got the know-how.'"

In 1944, when the government drafted Chinese men, Wong was angered. He had chosen to serve, but he didn't believe the government had a right to demand it. NEXT