Mr. Minoru Yatabe served in Canada’s armed forces during WW2, while his family and other Japanese-Canadians were battling racism and internment on Canada’s home front. Mr. Yatabe originally was from British Columbia, but he was sent to Ontario for the early part of the war, where he worked on a farm. When he turned 18, he enlisted and was trained for service in the Pacific. He was attached to an intelligence unit, whose task was to interview Japanese POWs as the war reached its conclusion.
He was interviewed for this project Feb. 2009 by Crestwood students Sean Lee and Josh Stern. In May 2016 Min visited us again, this time sitting down with students from the History 12 class.
Videos
- 1. Min Yatabe - Family and Early Life.mp4
- 2. Pearl Harbour.mp4
- 3. Racism.mp4
- 4. Joining the Army.mp4
- 5. Japanese-Canadian Veterans.mp4
- 6. Relocation to Ontario; Reunion in St. Thomas.mp4
- 7. Toronto and Oakville.mp4
- 8. The Japanese-Canadian Soldiers' Impact.mp4
- 9. Recruited by the British Army.mp4
- 10. Feelings on the Canadian Army.mp4
- 11. Joining Up.mp4
- 12. The S20; Training in Brantford.mp4
- 13. Learning Japanese.mp4
- 14. Going Overseas.mp4
- 15. Postwar Experience.mp4
