Honor & Duty/荣誉和责任

In 1940, 65,400 people lived in Phoenix, Arizona. Among them, only 431 were Chinese descendants. According to existing information, during the Second World War, 74 Chinese were recruited and assigned to the United States Navy, Army, Air force, and Special Forces. They fought bravely against Japanese and German enemies in Asia, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Africa. This article seeks to provide brief accounts of some of the Chinese servicemen’s war experiences. Five of them were killed in battles, six went to China to resist Japanese aggression along with Chinese military and civilians, and four joined the 14th Air Force and became flying tigers. In addition, four brothers of the Ong family fought in WWII for the United States and all survived. They were called the “Four Heroes of One Family” and their heroic deeds will inspire future generations.

Few people knew that the Chinese had served in the American Civil War. We would like to honor the Chinese people who fought for freedom for their host, in this new country, the United States of America. Dr. Thomas P. Lowry did research on Chinese fighting the Civil War in the Army, and met Edward S. Milligan doing research on Chinese fighting the Civil War in the Navy, in the National Archives. They joined forces, and in April 1999, printed their joined written article in North and South Magazine. In the present article “Chinese Servicemen in the American Civil War” by William Tang, the author narrates the achievements of Lowry and Milligan’s research and gives brief accounts of 37 Chinese servicemen’s lives.