Canadians gathered in Ottawa for a solemn ceremony today, to recognize the nearly 2,000 men who fought to protect Hong Kong during the Second World War.

In 1941, the island was under British rule when the Japanese military invaded. The Canadian soldiers were vastly outnumbered and faced insurmountable odds -- about 290 died in the fighting.

The rest were held captive under horrible conditions, and another 300 died as they were starved and tortured by their captors until the war ended four years later.

On Saturday, officials unveiled a granite wall etched with the names of every Canadian who fought in the battle.

Among those attending the ceremony was International Trade Minister Stockwell Day, whose grandfather was captured.

"These veterans have sort of felt like the forgotten heroes of the Second World War," he told CTV News Channel. "The Battle of Hong Kong, until today, really hasn't been memorialized.

Day's grandfather survived his imprisonment and was taken back to Canada, but died shortly afterwards in hospital.

Only about 90 of the veterans are still alive, and some were healthy enough to attend the ceremony.

"Seeing some of the veterans who survived the four years in Prisoner of War camps, hearing about that -- it was a very direct linkage, a very strong bond with men whom I have never met and who knew my grandfather," said Day.

Lawrence Stebbe, a communications expert, was serving on mainland China the day before the battle began, when he was told to immediately leave his barracks and head for the island.

"We realized that maybe something was going on in the north side of Hong Kong, up at the line between Hong Kong and China, but nothing serious," he told CTV News Channel. "Then all of a sudden, in the afternoon, the camp was told to evacuate."

The next day, Japanese forces began their attack and Stebbe was taken prisoner.

He now has four children and seven grandchildren, and tells them about his experiences as a prisoner of war.

"We talk about it," he said. "I relate to them the hours and the days when we never had food, or we never could have a good wash."

Stebbe said that when he and his fellow soldiers first saw where they would initially be held prisoner -- their own barracks, stripped of beds and electricity -- depression set in.

"You realize right then and there, that first month, that things are going to happen that we have no control of," he said. "And we just had to do the best we could."