A granite-sheathed memorial wall to commemorate Canada's Hong Kong veterans is to be unveiled in Ottawa Saturday — the 64th anniversary of VJ-Day, the end of the Pacific war.

The monument is etched with the names of almost 2,000 men who were sent in the autumn of 1941 to bolster the defences of Hong Kong against a possible Japanese attack.

Only about 90 of the men are still alive and a handful are expected to attend the dedication. They were part of C Force — the Royal Rifles of Canada, the Winnipeg Grenadiers and a brigade headquarters — which arrived in Hong Kong on Nov. 16, 1941.

Three weeks later, with the Canadians barely acclimated, Japan attacked the then-British colony in overwhelming force. Its defence was a hopeless cause from the start.

Without air cover, lacking heavy weapons and transport, the men of C Force fought for 17 days before surrendering on Christmas Day. During the bitter fighting, 290 Canadians were killed and 483 wounded.

But that was just the beginning of an ordeal that would drag on until August 1945. The Canadians endured brutal conditions as prisoners of the Japanese. Many were beaten or tortured. Food allowances dropped to as low as 800 calories a day for men forced into slave labour in mines or at dockyards.

Almost 300 died in 2½ years of captivity. When they were liberated in 1945, they were weak, almost skeletal and many suffered lasting infirmities from the mistreatment and malnutrition.

They then fought a decades-long battle for compensation.

In 1952, the survivors were given a one-time payment of $1 for each day of captivity. That was raised by 50 cents in 1958.

Demands for better compensation were rejected time after time by Japan, which claimed that its obligations were limited by a 1952 peace treaty.

In 1998, the Canadian government paid a benefit of about $24,000 for each surviving soldier or spouse.

In 2007, the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association opened a campaign to build the memorial. The association raised $150,000 for materials and labour and the federal National Capital Commission donated a plot of land on Sussex Drive, near the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Although the association is still looking for $150,000 in donations for landscaping and other finishing touches, the dedication is going ahead.

Veterans Affairs Minister Greg Thompson will take part in Saturday's ceremony.