American Veterans of Chinese Heritage - a November 2021 Tribute

Veterans Day commemorations were held this past Thursday - I am finally getting around to posting.

This is my second response to anti-Asian violence in America.  The first post was Deny Them Their Names from April, 2021.

This year's national agenda for the holiday included the award of Congressional Gold Medals to some surviving Chinese American veterans.

It is time to crack open a library book.  Published in 1997 by the Los Angeles organization called the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California and edited by Marjorie Lee, Duty & Honor: a Tribute to Chinese American World War II Veterans of Southern California was a necessary effort to locate and document hundreds of local Chinese Americans who served our country during the Second World War.

A library copy borrowed from Branch 63, Chinatown Branch
of the Los Angeles Public Library System

There has never been a more important time to explore the contents of this book than now - if an American could get their hands on a copy.  I borrowed my copy from the Chinatown branch library.  The only other copies available in the entire city are at the great Central Library downtown.

Holdings throughout the U.S. are mostly in college & university libraries.  The only other public library copy available I found is at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

How else can the average person access this book?  The Internet Archive has a copy free to borrow and download.

I recognize several men profiled in the book.  Architect Gin D. Wong was included.  (He is mentioned in a previous post of mine.)

The 98 year-old gentleman named Louis Moore is in the book.  Mr. Moore currently resides in southern California.  Here he is pictured this past summer, following a flurry of media attention after the release of his book, Eternal Love, the True Love Story of Nellie and Lou Moore.

Mr. Louis Moore, an American veteran of World War II
Photo courtesy of Stephen Gee

The dearly departed father of my friend Albert Wong also contributed to the book.

Mr. Wong served three years and one month until after the war ended.
He was quoted in the book "I was pretty lucky."

His son Albert wrote:

There were a few instances when Dad was in a talkative mood (downstairs at the dining table of the Steele St. house), that is when he shared stories of surviving near death experiences on the battlefield.  On more than one occasion, when nearby explosions completely covered him in his fox hole, he had to quickly dig himself out before suffocating.  One time after digging himself out, he found an unexplored rocket shell just a few feet from him.  Another time, he was carrying his (full pack and) mortar gun and took enemy machine gun fire, he had to quickly tumble down a hillside to avoid being killed.  Dad would say, God was protecting him.  If I recall correctly, Dad was awarded his Bronze Star when his platoon was trying to advance up a hill but Japanese (?) machine gun nests were dug in bunkers above and were killing American soldiers.  During the night whenever our soldiers fired their weapon, it would divulge their location and were immediately fired upon causing more casualties.  Dad was able to figure a way to fire his motor rounds undetected by covering himself and his weapon completely under his poncho, and he used a lite cigarette to adjust his mortar sights and fired his mortar grenades.  He did this continuously until there was no more enemy fire.  The next morning, Dad was credited for 19 kills.  I recall Dad sharing this account in detail. 

Dear American Veterans, thank you for your service to our country.