Moscow Honours Nigerian WWII Veteran as World Marks 81 Years Since Victory in Second World War

A Nigerian veteran of the Second World War, Mr. Sunday Bekwele Chukwu from Rivers State, has received international recognition in Russia as the world commemorates the 81st anniversary of the end of World War II.

Bekwele Chukwu, an Ikwerre indigene born in 1917 in Rumuyeperikom community, participated in the historic Burma Campaign against Japanese forces during the global conflict that reshaped world history between 1939 and 1945.

His story recently gained renewed attention after it was revealed that his photographs and wartime records are being preserved at the Victory Museum in Moscow under a historical project titled “Africans in Russia.”

The project highlights the role played by Africans during World War II and preserves the memories of African veterans who fought alongside Allied Forces during the war.

According to information shared by Russian representatives involved in the remembrance initiative, Bekwele Chukwu served as a military doctor during the Burma Campaign, one of the deadliest and most challenging operations of the Second World War.

The Burma Campaign was fought in the dense forests and mountainous regions of present-day Myanmar between Allied Forces and the Japanese Imperial Army from 1942 to 1945. Historians regard the operation as one of the toughest military campaigns of the war due to extreme weather conditions, disease outbreaks and difficult jungle warfare.

During the war, thousands of African soldiers from British colonies, including Nigeria, were recruited into the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF) to support Allied operations in Africa and Asia.

Nigerian troops were particularly active in Burma where they served in combat, engineering, logistics and medical units. Their contributions played a significant role in weakening Japanese control in Southeast Asia and restoring Allied dominance in the region.

World War II itself remains the largest and deadliest conflict in modern history, involving more than 30 countries and resulting in the deaths of an estimated 70 million to 85 million people worldwide.

The war began in 1939 following Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland and later expanded across Europe, Africa and Asia. It ended in 1945 after the surrender of Germany in May and Japan in September following the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Although African soldiers made enormous sacrifices during the war, historians say their contributions were largely underreported for decades despite the thousands who fought and died in service.

Beyond his military career, Bekwele Chukwu was also a respected traditional chief and family patriarch. He reportedly fathered 21 children and had close to 100 grandchildren before his death in 2011.

The renewed recognition of his service is being viewed as part of broader efforts to document and celebrate the role Africans played in shaping global history during World War II.

As the world marks another anniversary of victory over fascism, the story of Sunday Bekwele Chukwu stands as a reminder of Nigeria’s contribution to one of history’s defining moments.