3 minute read
A Long Overdue Recognition
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By Jim McCoy, Pacific Historic Parks
They faced decades of discrimination dating back to the Civil War. That didn’t stop 20,000 Chinese Americans to step up and serve in World War II.
Four years ago, Congress awarded them the Congressional Gold Medal, a rare honor that expresses national appreciation for their service. The COVID pandemic triggered delays in the formal ceremonies. For Hawaii-based Chinese American veterans, it finally happened in a packed ballroom in Waikiki on February 6.
"It was long overdue recognition for these World War II veterans. They had to fight to join in order to fight, and they did,” said retired Army Major General Robert Lee, co-chair of the Hawaii Congressional Gold Medal Committee. At the luncheon, 173 medals were awarded to Chinese American World War II veterans from Hawaii. Twenty living veterans accepted in person, the rest went to family members of veterans, many of them deceased.
Speaker after speaker congratulated the veterans and their families. The families posed for photos beaming with pride.
“Very unexpected,” was the reaction of 96-year-old Fred Aleong Wong, who served in China as a radar technician in the Army Air Corps. After the war he had a successful career at the FAA installing and maintaining guidance systems.
The families of Robert Mau (left) and Fred Wong (right) were among hundreds attending the event honoring the service of Chinese American veterans.
Robert Mau, 94, was just 14 when Pearl Harbor was attacked. He along with some classmates quit school and went to work in a cafeteria for Naval employees. He later enlisted in the Army.
One of his daughters, Laurel Mau, said the gold medal is in her father’s house next to the urn containing the remains of his late wife, Loretta Mau . “The medal is so prestigious. We have never had something so beautiful,” Laurel Mau said. “My mom is waiting to be buried with my dad. She has had the first-row seat up in heaven and watched over all of us and is very proud of my dad.”
The event at the Hilton was followed the next day with a memorable visit to Pearl Harbor National Memorial. The National Park Service in conjunction with the U.S. Navy arranged a late afternoon visit to the USS Arizona Memorial for members of the Gold Medal delegation.
The visit turned out to be special on several fronts. It just so happened that the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson was at Pearl Harbor that day for a short stop on its way back to San Diego. The NPS explained the significance of that in contrast to December 7, 1941.
“It happened that morning that all the aircraft carriers were out delivering planes to other islands so none of them were in port that morning,” David Kilton, Chief of Interpretation at Pearl Harbor National Memorial, told the visiting Gold Medal families as they prepared to board the Navy shuttle with the huge aircraft carrier as a backdrop. Historians say if the Navy’s three carriers that were stationed at Pearl Harbor in 1941 were in port that day, it could have changed the course of the war in the Pacific.
Retired Rear Admiral Alma Grocki, whose late father Albert Lau was among those awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, led the delegation to the Memorial. She was accompanied by her mother Dorothy Lau.
Just before boarding, Admiral Grocki invited a group of park visitors to join the delegation as there were empty seats on the after-hours shuttle.
Dennis and Annette Forster from Minnesota were among the visitors pleased to be welcomed aboard.
As the Navy shuttle passed the Carl Vinson as it prepared to depart Pearl Harbor, the Forsters were glued to their seats staring at the carrier sailors as they began to man the rails, a tradition when passing the USS Arizona Memorial.
Turns out the Forster’s youngest son is a Catapult officer, better known as a shooter, on the carrier.
“And the really great thing was that today he turned 22,” Annette said. “It was super cool. I was crying.”
So while they didn’t get to physically visit their son on his birthday, they experienced a passing ship memory from Pearl Harbor that they will never forget.
