Harry Ho: The Story of a Generation
TB Vets was recently honored by a visit from Harry Ho, a WWII veteran who worked at TB Vets from 1957 to 1990.
Harry was only 22 when he was conscripted into the Army in 1944. Because he spoke Chinese, Harry was given a very special job. He would parachute into the jungle of Malaya, as Malaysia was then named, and help British officers train guerrilla fighters to rise up against the occupying Japanese. On the trip to Malaya, Japanese forces shot at Harry’s plane. They escaped, and kept on their way. Once on the ground, Harry acted as an interpreter and taught demolition to the guerrillas. Two months after V-J Day, Harry was sent home.
In 1950, he began to have some lung trouble. Tuberculosis was rampant during and after the war, and Harry did not escape. He spent all of 1951 in a sanatorium, where his TB was finally brought under control by removing one of his lungs.
Harry and his girl in 1944, right before he was sent to Malaya.
In 1957, Harry started working for TB Vets. His first job was to make keytags. In those days, the keytags looked like miniature license plates. Over the years, Harry moved up through the ranks. By the time he retired, he was managing the keytag campaign. Harry saw many changes during his 33 years here. He watched as the first veteran employees began to retire, and TB Vets made a commitment to hire other people with disabilities. The retiring veterans knew that their disabilities did not prevent them from being good workers, and they wanted to offer the same chance to others.
Harry also watched as TB Vets began to fund more and more respiratory initiatives to help people all across BC breathe. Harry himself worked as a Chinese translator when public health teams drove around with a portable X-Ray machine to scan people for TB. To this day, TB Vets funds researchers at UBC who are looking for better ways to treat TB—a disease that still kills one person somewhere in the world every second. However, many different respiratory diseases affect people here in BC, and that’s why TB Vets funds more than just TB research. TB Vets puts respiratory equipment in hospitals and care facilities across BC. The human body can survive weeks without food and days without water, but only minutes without air. That’s why TB Vets’ work is so vital.
At one time, TB Vets mailed over a million keytags to people all across BC. Harry used to work until midnight to get the envelopes printed, so everyone else could start stuffing when they arrived in the morning. When I gave Harry a tour of TB Vets, he admired the new machines we have that make the whole process much easier.
A lot has changed at TB Vets since Harry retired in 1990. When he retired, we were just starting to use computers. Now, we use computers for everything. Some things do remain the same. Our lunchroom is still decorated with paintings that Harry, a talented artist, made for us. Even Harry himself has not changed much. Although he needs his oxygen close by, Harry is still active at 86, and his graceful movements reveal the excellent ballroom dancer he used to be.
Harry’s life, from a youth in the army to a retiree on oxygen, is the story of a generation. Harry and others like him built TB Vets to help British Columbians breathe. Having given so much in the war, they continued to give. Everyone at TB Vets is proud to continue the legacy of our founding veterans.
TB Vets Charitable Foundation is pleased to present Metro Vancouver's premier recovery service for lost mobile phones, laptops, cameras, music players and any other wireless devices. This new initiative is powered by the TB Vets proven key return service and promotes the quick and easy return of all lost items. Apply the ID decal to your items and register online. It's that simple!
