World War 2 and Dad, an unsung hero

My Dad, John Chan Hiu Fei.
Dad was barely seventeen when the Japanese soldiers invaded Borneo.

Dad was an unsung hero.
All the men and boys 15 and over were forced to do the Romushu, the Japanese forced labour.

First it was hard labour to build the road to the airport.
Then he was forced as a civilian worker as a field clerk for the Japanese.

After the war, he was thankful that while he accompanied the Japanese soldiers to the villages, there was no revolt by the people, or he could have been killed. Many a time, he was spat at.

In School, we have been teaching the students about Anzac and Gallipoli. I told my kids my Dad was a hero.