The Honor of a lifetime

This blog has been a long time coming but back in September, I was blessed with the honor of a lifetime. My sisters,  my good friend Aaron and I traveled to Washington, DC to receive the Congressional Gold Medal in honor of our father's military service as Chinese Americans in World War II. In 2018, Congress passed a law that all Chinese Americans who served in WWII would be recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal. About 20,000 of them served in all branches of the military including Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Army Air Force and Coast Guard including women! Only 40% of them were actual citizens. My father enlisted in the US Army, PFC in the 749th Tank Battalion and served in France, Belgium and Germany including the D-Day invasion. My only regret is that he did not live to know about and receive the medal himself.

The event in DC was the National Recognition Ceremony but there will be a Regional Gold Medal Presentation Ceremony for NY and NJ on Saturday, December 18th at the Sun Yat-Sen MIddle School, 100 Hester St. NYC. Details and register here. I registered for Session 3 at 4:30 pm.

The National Event included a tour of the Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday which was amazing. I had never been there and got to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Here's a link to a Youtube video about the tomb and why you never mess with the guard. It was also a blessing meeting other families like a couple whose husband is an epidemiologist from California also named "Milton."

On Wednesday, there was a Wreath Laying Ceremony on the Pacific Side of the WWII Memorial on the National Mall. It was a beautiful day at a beautiful memorial to which I had never really been. There are not too many WWII veterans alive today but we did meet one named Arthur Shak who flew some 25 bombing missions in the South Pacific. They said his favorite saying was "bombs away!" Here's my one-minute video to stir your heart.

Of course, the big day was Thursday which was the Awards Ceremony, dinner and gala held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington. It was the honor of a lifetime to be part of this historic event in Chinese American history. Our story is part of the American story. Here's a picture of me with the Ed Gor, the National Director of the Chinese American WWII Recognition Project. Many thanks to him. He gave a quite emotional testimony on a previous occasion of why he led this project as a civilian! Here's the link. To God be the glory.

For more information and details, go the the website of the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project at www.caww2.org .

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