Kong was working towards his master's degree in chemistry when he volunteered for military duty in early 1942, after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.

[3] He recorded the highest national score in his entrance examination and was accepted into the aviation cadet training program.

[7] Kong's aircraft exploded and disintegrated in the air,[8] and his remains were buried by the Germans two days later.

[9] In the early summer of 1945, after the end of the war in Europe, his childhood friend, Mun Charn Wong located his remains which were then re-buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery.

His friend Wong initiated the Wah Kau Kong Memorial Award Scholarship at the University of Hawaii in his honor.