Individual Report: H41790 Nicholas PASTUCK

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Private	Nicholas
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Sleeman ON	Manitoba	1918-11-19
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	B

Transportation - Home Base to Hong Kong

Members of 'C' Force from the East travelled across Canada by CNR troop train, picking up reinforcements enroute. Stops included Valcartier, Montreal, Ottawa, Armstrong ON, Capreol ON, Winnipeg, Melville SK, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Vancouver, arriving in Vancouver on Oct 27 at 0800 hrs.

The Winnipeg Grenadiers and the local soldiers that were with Brigade Headquarters from Winnipeg to BC travelled on a CPR train to Vancouver.

All members embarked from Vancouver on the ships AWATEA and PRINCE ROBERT. AWATEA was a New Zealand Liner and the PRINCE ROBERT was a converted cruiser. "C" Company of the Rifles was assigned to the PRINCE ROBERT, everyone else boarded the AWATEA. The ships sailed from Vancouver on Oct 27th and arrived in Hong Kong on November 16th, having made brief stops enroute at Honolulu and Manila.

Equipment earmarked for 'C' Force use was loaded on the ship DON JOSE, but would never reach Hong Kong as it was rerouted to Manila when hostilities commenced.

On arrival, all troops were quartered at Nanking Barracks, Sham Shui Po Camp, in Kowloon.

Battle Information

We do not have specific battle information for this soldier in our online database. For a detailed description of the battle from a Canadian perspective, visit Canadian Participation in the Defense of Hong Kong (published by the Historical Section, Canadian Military Headquarters).

Wounded Information

No wounds recorded.

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-BMH	09/12/1942	09/26/1942	Died while in hospital	118

POW Camps

Camp ID	Camp Name	Location	Arrival Date	Departure Date
HK-SA-01	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	Capture	42 Jan 22
HK-NP-02	North Point	North Point, Hong Kong Island	42 Jan 22	42 Sep 26
HK-SA-02	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	42 Sep 26	42 Oct 26

Other Military or Public Service

No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.

Death and Cemetery Information

Date of Death (y-m-d)	Cause of Death	Death Class
1942-09-26	Diphtheria & Internal Hemorrhage	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan War Cemetery	VIII. E. 2.	CWGC CWGC- Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Hong Kong & Japan graves) Engraved- the actual headstone has HK or RRC or WG, etc. engraved on the stone Last Post- VAC program Yes- someone has purchased a gs marker for this person UGF- application already submitted or anticipate applying for Unmarked Grave Fund ND- family does not desire Blank- no data

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Nick was born in a family of ten on November 19, 1918 in Rainy River, Ontario. He worked on the family farm, went to school and spoke English and Ukrainian. In June 1941 at the age of 22, he enlisted with the Royal Winnipeg Rifleman Wing in Fort Frances, Ontario. He completed his basic training there, then was transferred to the Winnipeg Grenadiers, 1st Battalion, “C” Force Division. He sailed from Vancouver, British Columbia and arrived in Hong Kong on November 16, 1941 and on to battle. Hong Kong surrendered at Christmas. Private Pastuck became a POW and he died of Diphtheria on September 26, 1942 at age 23. He was buried in Sai Wan Military Hospital Cemetery, Grave 2, Row E, Plot 8 Hong Kong. Nick received four medals posthumously, which went to his father, Anthony. His Memorial Cross went to his mother, Dora.
Transcribed from the Legion Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Command Military Service Recognition Book

The Sai Wan War Cemetery holds those who were killed during the Battle of Hong Kong or died later as prisoners of war during the Japanese occupation, including 173 members of 'C' Force. The remains of those who died as prisoners in Formosa (now Taiwan) were brought to Hong Kong for burial at Sai Wan in 1946. There are 1,505 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War buried or commemorated at Sai Wan War Cemetery. 444 of the burials are unidentified.
At the entrance to the cemetery stands the Sai Wan Memorial bearing the names of more than 2,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died in the Defence of Hong Kong or subsequently in captivity and who have no known grave.
Ref: Includes excerpts from Veterans Affairs Canada.

General Comments

Died in Hong Kong Prison

Word has been received by Mr. and Mrs. A. Pastuck of Sleeman, that their son, Nicholas Pastuck, 24 years of age, died of illness while a prisoner of war at Hong Kong. The report in which date of his death was not given, came officially from Toyko through the International Red Cross, Geneva.

Nicholas Pastuck enlisted in the Winnipeg Rifles in Fort Frances on June 10, 1941. He transferred to the Winnipeg Grenadiers a few days before the regiment left for Hong Kong. He is survived by his parents in Sleeman, four brothers, Peter, John and Michael of Sleeman, and another brother serving in the army; three sisters, Kay of Sleeman, Mrs. G. Heskins of Fort Frances, and Eva, now serving the R.C.A.F.

JULY 22, 1943

Veterans Affairs Canada Anciens Combattants Canada 66 Slater Street, Ottawa, Ontario, KIA OP4

March 24, 1997

Dear Mr. Laviolette:

This is in response to your letter respecting the death of your great uncle Nicholas Pastuck in Hong Kong. First allow me to commend your wish to ensure the memory of your great uncle is not forgotten. We Canadians owe a great deal to the men and women who served so bravely in the Second World War.

I have perused Mr. Pastuck's military file and give you the following information; his date of birth was November 19, 1918. He states on his Attestation certificate that he had brown hair and grey eyes and was 5'7" in height. He enlisted on October 9th, 1940 and was enrolled with the 2nd Bn. The Lake Superior Regt. He gave his occupation as a farmer. He did his basic training with the Lake Superior Regt. But on October 20, 1941 transferred to the Winnipeg Grenadiers. He embarked in Vancouver on a ship sailing for Hong Kong on October 27th, 1941 and they arrived there on November 16th, 1941. He was reported as being taken prisoner of war on December 25th, 1941. His date of death was reported later as 26 September, 1942 from Diphtheria. He died at the Bowen Road Hospital in Hong Kong. Unfortunately, there is no information on our records of his life as a POW. However, there is a very active association of Hong Kong Prisoners of War here in Canada and I respectfully suggest you contact their President, Mr. Roger Cyr, Hong Kong Veterans Ass. Of Canada, 54 St. Laurent Blvd., Ottawa, Ont. KIK 4H9. Mr. Cyr was himself a P.O.W. in Hong Kong and might remember Mr. Pastuck or be able to put you in touch with one of his regimental colleagues.

Son of Anton (aka Anthony Alex) Pastuck and Dora Rawluk, of Sleeman, Ontario. Brother of Private William Pastuck, regimental number H-20322, Canadian Army, and Airwoman Eva Lena Pastuck, regimental number W-312819, Canadian Air Force. They survived the war. Served with the 2nd Battalion of the Lake Superior Regiment - NPAM - regimental number H-540335, October 9th to November 7th, 1940, then enlisted in the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, regimental number H-41790, June 9th, 1941, served in Manitoba and Ontario, and transferred to the 1st Battalion of the Winnipeg Grenadiers on October 25th, 1941 to fight in Hong Kong with C Force.

Citation(s): 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Links and Other Resources

Nicholas PASTUCK Article in Rainy River Record

Additional Notes

(These will not be visible on the printed copy)

Service numbers for officers ("X") are locally generated for reporting only. During World War II officers were not allocated service numbers until 1945.
'C' Force soldiers who died overseas are memorialized in the Books of Remembrance and the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, both sponsored by Veterans Affairs Canada. Please use the search utility at VAC to assist you.
Some birthdates and deathdates display as follows: 1918-00-00. In general, this indicates that we know the year but not the month or day.
Our POW camp links along with our References link (near the bottom of the 'C' Force home page) are designed to give you a starting point for your research. There were many camps with many name changes. The best resource for all POW camps in Japan is the Roger Mansell Center for Research site.
In most cases the rank displayed was the rank held before hostilities. Some veterans were promoted at some point prior to eventual post-war release from the army back in Canada. When notified of these changes we'll update the individual's record.
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The 'From' information box at the top of the report represents the enlistment location unless we have obtained updated information pinpointing where the member lived.
In some cases the References displayed as part of this report generate questions because there is no indication of their meaning. They were inherited with the original database, and currently we do not know what the source is. We hope to solve this problem in future.
We have done our best to avoid errors and omissions, but if you find any issues with this report, either in accuracy, completeness or layout, please contact us using the link at the top of this page.
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