The land surrounding Commando Bay is a heritage site (Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park) and on September 1988, a bronze plaque was erected in honour of the agents of Force 136 who trained there. This Second World War training camp was used by Britain's Special Operations Executive to train Chinese-Canadians to work as secret agents in Southeast Asia.
Thirteen of these soldiers selected for Operation Oblivion learned special skills at this site. This mission involved dropping Allied secret agents behind enemy lines in East Asia to help fight Japanese forces there.
While Operation Oblivion would be cancelled, some of these soldiers took part in other similar special forces efforts in East Asia. The missions were so dangerous that the odds of agents surviving were low. Luckily, however, the soldiers honoured on this plaque returned home after the war. Four of them earned the Military Medal for their great courage. In some ways, Chinese Canadian Veterans were responsible for a double victory. They helped the Allies win the Second World War and also proved their patriotism, which later helped earn them the right to vote.
The camp opened on March 24, 1944 and students were trained in wireless operation, small arms, demolition, unarmed combat, sabotage, survival techniques, propaganda and other skills of a covert operative. It closed in September 1944 and since it was a tented camp, nothing remains today.
This site is abandoned, but can be accessed by boat.
