Constructed on August 15, 1996, in memory of Major Charles F. Hoey, VC, MC. He was killed in the battle of Aralem on Feb. 16, 1944, and is buried in Rangoon. In 1945, the Governor-General set aside District Lot 11, Cowichan Lake Land District, as a "Public Park" and named it Arakan Park. This designation was followed by the installation of a bronze plaque placed in the Park in 1996. It explains the heroic actions of Charles F. Hoey and other fallen comrades who fought in Burma's Arakan region. It also placed recognition of August 15, 1945, V-J Day, when Japanese Imperial forces surrendered. Arakan Burma was the scene of a battle in the Second World War where there was a gallant charge made by the allied forces under heavy machine-gun fire. Major Charles F. Hoey personally led his company under heavy resistance to capture a vital enemy position in February 1944. He accomplished this mission in spite of being wounded three times. He was fatally wounded after leading this successful offensive and received the Victoria Cross for valour for his efforts.
At Stoltz Pool, the picnic site overlooks the river from a grassy area nestled in a grove of old big leaf maple trees. The Burma Star Memorial Cairn, a replica of the Kohima Monument in Myamar (Burma) is located here. In August 1996, the cairn was erected by the Burma Star Association to commemorate and tell the story of Major Hoey and the Allied Second World War campaign in East Asia.
The nearby interpretive display at the memorial site tells the story of the "Forgotten Army" on one side and lists the members of the Burma Star Association of BC on the other.
