C.A.C.A George Frisbie Hoar 5th Award Gala Program Book

The Congressional Gold Medal for
Chinese American World War II Veterans
By Maj. Gen. Bill Chen, U.S. Army Retired
The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States
Congress, and is Congress’s highest expression of national appreciation for
distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or as a group.
On May 4, 2017, bills were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and
the U.S. Senate for the award of the Congressional Gold Medal, collectively, to
Chinese American veterans of World War II. Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and
Ted Lieu (D-CA) were lead co-sponsors to H.R. 2358 on the House side; and
Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Thad Cochran (R-MS) were lead cosponsors
of S. 1050 on the Senate side.
The bills were the result of a campaign organized by the Chinese American Citizens
Alliance to recognize Chinese American servicemen and servicewomen who served
when the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was still in place – they fought for their
country in the face of discrimination and injustice. After passage of the Senate
and House bills by unanimous consent, Public Law 115-337, The Chinese American
World War II Veteran Congressional Gold Medal Act, was enacted on December
20, 2018.
Chinese American World War II Veterans served in every theater of war and in
every branch of the services: Army, Army Air Forces, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast
Guard, and Merchant Marine. In contrast to other minority groups like Japanese
Americans and African Americans, Chinese Americans were predominately
integrated into the U.S. Armed Services. The only all-Chinese American units were
the 14 th Air Service Group and the 987 th Signal Company assigned to the China
Burma India theater.