Masumi Mitsui | |
|---|---|
 Masami Mitsui c. World War I | |
| Born | October 7, 1887 Kokura, Japan |
| Died | April 22, 1987 (aged 99) Canada |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Known for | Commander of the Japanese Canadians of the 10th Battalion, CEF during World War I |
| Awards | |
Masumi Mitsui, MM (7 October 1887 – 22 April 1987), was a Japanese-born Canadian veteran of World War I who had his property confiscated and was detained during World War II as part of the Japanese-Canadian internment.
In World War I Mitsui fought at the Battle of Vimy Ridge and led 35 Japanese Canadians in the Battle of Hill 70. He attained the rank of sergeant and was awarded the British War Medal, Military Medal, and Victory Medal. Following the war, he served as president of British Columbia Branch No. 9 of the Royal Canadian Legion and pressed for the rights of Japanese Canadians. During World War II he and his family had their property confiscated and suffered Japanese Canadian internment, despite Mitsui's status as a decorated veteran of the First World War. He was a guest in 1985 at the ceremony in Vancouver's Stanley Park for the relighting of the lamp on the Japanese Canadian War Memorial; the lamp had been extinguished in 1942. He was the oldest surviving Japanese-Canadian veteran of World War I when he died.