Families of Chinese American World War II veterans from Hawaii are urged to register to receive the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor for their wartime service from Dec. 7, 1941-Dec. 31, 1946.
Organizers of a banquet and ceremony planned for this spring in Honolulu set up a website — www.CAWW2hawaii.org — with information about the medal, how to register, stories of veterans and information about how to donate to offset the cost of buying the medal and having the banquet.
Chinese American soldiers enlisted in large numbers to fight for the United States during World War II, despite discrimination and the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prevented many Chinese from becoming American citizens. More than 20,000 Chinese, out of a population estimated at 78,000-100,000, joined the war effort.
With about 29,000 Chinese in Hawaii in 1941, the territory was the third-largest population behind California and New York and had the highest percentage of individuals signing up.
“Many of the Chinese who fought in World War II from Hawaii were also Native Hawaiian, so for us here in Hawaii this is as much a recognition of Native Hawaiian warriors as it is for Chinese heroes,” said retired Maj. Gen. Bob Lee, the co-chairman of the Chinese American World War II Recognition Project-Hawaii.
Chinese World War II veterans served in all military theaters and services during the war and did not have their own segregated unit like Hawaii’s Japanese and Filipino World War II veterans.
Lee emphasized that families need to register soon to receive the medal and not wait until the last minute. The process involves gathering paperwork to confirm a family member’s service and can take several weeks to complete.
“If families are gathering for the holidays, it’s a good time to talk about a relative’s World War II service and start the process of registering,” he said.
So far, there are only about 160 completed registrations, including about 29 survivors from Hawaii.
Families of veterans should also send information about the veteran’s service to the Hawaii and national organizations so their family member’s service can also be recognized.