Author: William Tang
Translator: Rosie P. Zhou
ABSTRACT
In 2018, as a result of Congress passing and the President signing Public Law 115-337, the Congressional Gold Medal, our nation’s highest honor, will be presented to these individuals of Chinese ancestry who served honorably at any time during the period December 7, 1941, and ending December 31, 1946. The Chinese American WW II Veterans Recognition Project seeks to recognize, honor, and celebrate these largely forgotten men and women who served our country with great dignity and pride. Please ask the veterans or their descendants to register at www.caww2.org so they may be considered for the high honor.
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On December 20, 2018, President Donald Trump signed the Congressional Gold Medal Act for Chinese Veterans of the Second World War [1]. The bill began with a “Chinese American Citizens Alliance Recognition Program for World War II Veterans of Chinese Origin” initiated by the Chinese American Citizens Alliance. After close cooperation between Chinese communities and political leaders in each state, on September 12, 2018, the U.S. Senate passed the proposal initiated by Tammy Duckworth, Thad Cochran and Mazie K. Hirono on May 4. The Congressional Gold Medal (S.1050) was awarded to Chinese American veterans who participated in World War II. Following, the bill was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives on December 12 (companion bill by Ed Royce and Ted Lieu, HR2358) [2]. The Congressional Gold Medal is awarded to Chinese veterans of the U.S. Army registered from December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946. In the fall of 2019, the first group of five Chinese veterans, four men and one woman, received the Congressional Gold Medal at the White House. The Secretary of Transportation Elaine Lan Chao of Chinese origin attended the award ceremony. In the spring of 2020, the award will be awarded again. Please spread the word, let the veterans themselves or their descendants register on www.caww2.org, and after verification, they will be notified of their specific awards. [3]
Figure 1. On the morning of January 29, 2019, the White House’s Asian Pacific Development Program held a commendation ceremony for Chinese veterans of World War II. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Lan Chao took a group photo with James Eng, Harry Jung, Henry Lee, Robert Lee and Elsie Seetoo (from left to right. this picture is taken from m.theepochmes.com)
Figure 2. Five Chinese veterans (four men and one woman) went to the White House to receive a gold medal from the U.S. Congress (picture taken from blogs.va.gov).
Figure 3. The first group of Chinese veterans of World War II (front row: James Eng, Harry Jung and Henry Lee), accompanied by relatives and friends, received the gold medal from the U.S. Congress (picture taken from abcnews.go.com).
Chinese Americans are the last ethnic group to be commended by the U.S. government for their outstanding contributions in the Second World War. Prior to this, their contributions have not been recognized by the government and mainstream society. The implementation of this bill marks the first time that Chinese American veterans have been recognized as recipients of the Congressional Gold Medal. In 1882, the U.S. had 300,000 immigrants from China. On May 6th of that year, President Chester A. Arthur signed the “Chinese Exclusion Act” and enacted it into place [4]. This bill restricted the entry of Chinese immigrants into the U.S. It was the first bill that excluded immigrants of a specific ethnic group, as well as the longest-lasting discrimination bill in the history of the U.S. It lasted more than sixty years until December 17, 1943, when it was abolished. Over the past 60 years, the Chinese American population has not increased but decreased, by nearly two-thirds.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese naval flight team attacked Pearl Harbor and bombed the U.S. Pacific Fleet. The U.S. suffered heavy losses. The country officially declared war on Japan the next day [5]. At the time, there were 78,000 native Chinese Americans and 29,000 Chinese living in Hawaii. There were only 107,000 Chinese living in the whole United States. Among them, 20,000 young men and women signed up to join the US military, accounting for one-fifth of the total Chinese American population. These 20,000 Chinese soldiers were assigned to various U.S. armed forces and branches. Because the law restricted Chinese from obtaining U.S. citizenship, about 40% of them were not U.S. citizens when they enlisted in the army. Some were “Paper Sons” who immigrated to the United States with false status). About 25% of Chinese soldiers served in the Air Force and were sent to the China-Myanmar-India war zone. They volunteered for the U.S. Air Force to aid China’s 14th Air Force, the Flying Tigers, led by General Chennault. Among the crew and ground crew of the Flying Tigers, 90% were of Chinese descent. The vast majority of them were from the Taishan, Enping, and Kaiping areas of Guangdong, with the most being from Taishan [6, 7].
Figure 4. The 14th Air Force “Flying Tigers” parade in 1943 (Dayton, Ohio. Picture taken from Survey Monkey)
Figure 5. Chinese American soldiers in World War II (picture taken from denverchinesesource.com)
In the Pacific theater, Chinese American soldiers fought on the ground, in air, and on the sea, and arrived in New Guinea, Guadalcanal Island, Solomon Islands, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, Philippines, Mariana Islands and the Aleutian Islands. Chinese American soldiers also fought in the European and African theaters. They traveled throughout North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, and participated in the Normandy landing that liberated Western Europe on June 6, 1944. They participated in the tank battle from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945, which occupied West Germany and helped to liberate Central Europe.
Figure 6: Gene May (102 years old), a Chinese-American veteran of World War II living in Seattle, holding a photo of him wearing in his military uniform when he was young (picture taken from seattletimes.com)
During the Battle of the Atlantic, Chinese American soldiers flew bomber missions and were also in infantry. They fought bravely in the troops and battleships. Many female Chinese American soldiers served and trained in the Army Women’s Corps, Army Aviation Forces, and U.S. Navy Reserve Women’s Reserves. Some became pilots, air traffic commanders, flight trainers, weather forecasters, occupational therapists, nurses, etc. [6, 7]
Picture 7. The heroic Chinese female soldiers of the U.S. Army in World War II (picture taken from Pinterest.com)
Some of the 20,000 Chinese American soldiers died on the battlefield, and most of them have passed away more than 70 years since the end of World War II. The living veterans are old and frail, all nearly 100 years old. They will personally receive the late Congressional Gold Medal and experience the greatest glory of life. The deceased are long gone, but their descendants will receive the same gold medals on their behalf to comfort the heroes in heaven.
References:
1． Chinese American World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act. Public Law 115-337 115th Congress An Act.
2. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/chinese-american-wwii-vets-receive-congressional-gold-medal-n950986
3． Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project https://www.caww2.org/
4．Chinese Exclusion Act. Public law: Pub.L. 47–126. May 6, 1882
5. Morison, Samuel Eliot (2001), History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The rising sun in the Pacific, 1931 – April 1942, University of Illinois Press, ISBN 0-252-06973-0
6. James C. McNaughton (3 August 2009). “Chinese-Americans in World War II”. Center of Military History. United States Army. Retrieved 2 October 2009.
7. Rudi Williams (27 May 1999). “Asian Pacific American Women Served in World War II, Too”. American Forces Press Service. United States Department of Defense. Retrieved 18 July 2012.
