Chinese-American service in World War II
Many Chinese Americans enlisted in the United States military or served in defense industries during World War II.
[7] Although Chinese Americans joined the draft before 1941, they were truly drawn in after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States.
[8] Many young Chinese American men saw enlistment as a path to acceptance and a way to express their patriotism and thus volunteered to serve in the military.
These units served in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater, where the Army hoped that Chinese American servicemen would be able to bridge the gap between their own troops and their Nationalist allies.
[4] Gee dropped out of the University of California at Berkeley to work at a shipyard and later drove to Texas to enlist as a pilot.
[4] The WASP pilots were not officially designated by the U.S. government as veterans until 1977; they collectively received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010.
[18] In addition to serving in the military, many Chinese American women worked in defense industries during World War II.
The passage of the War Brides Act in 1945 enabled these men to bring their wives home to the United States, including servicemen who were already married to women in China before their period of service.
[20] The Ping Yuen East Housing Projects in San Francisco gave priority to war veterans who sought to build their families and participate in the "baby boom" of the 1950s.
[31][32] On November 6, 2021, Chinese-American World War II veterans were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at the Crane Building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ken Wong, Civilian Aide to Secretary of the Army-Pennsylvania East, hosted the ceremony honoring veterans Harry Jung, Raymond Lee, and Paul Toy, as well as over 40 families receiving medals on their loved ones’ behalf.
One of those honored was Elsie Chin Yuen Seetoo, whose nursing studies in Hong Kong were interrupted when the U.S. entered the war after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
