Second World War / Japanese Canadian Military Service / Enlistment for Pacific Service
Three nisei from the Okanagan region of British Columbia were requested for work in Australia on March 7, 1945. The Allied Political Warfare Committee in Australia specified that the nisei have a “Tokyo accent’ and a good speaking voice (Ito, 1984, p. 188).
The three men (George Uzawa, Chic Mori, and Tom Tomiyama) were given language tests at the S-20 Canadian Army Japanese Language School in Vancouver by the Commanding Officer, Lt-Col. McKenzie. Two of the men had attended school in Japan, yet the man with the best Japanese pronunciation had never been to Japan (Ito, 1984, p. 190).
The three were enrolled in the Canadian Army in May, but were not given basic training or further Japanese language training before they were deployed to Melbourne, Australia.
They were attached to the No. 1 Canadian Special Wireless group, on loan to the Australian Army. Their job in Melbourne was to monitor and translate Japanese broadcasts. Despite the requirement that they have a good speaking voice, they were not required to do any broadcasting work (Ito, 1984, p. 192).
