Our Veterans
Hoo-Sing Yuen - Army
After 2 attempts to enlist in the U.S. Army he entered into active service in Richmond VA on August 23, 1943 after having enlisted in Arlington, VA.
When he originally volunteered, he stated his true date of birth and was turned down because at age 25 he was “too old”.
He then went to another recruitment center and stated his age as 19 and was accepted.
During his Basic Training, he developed an inguinal hernia that required surgical repair. Post-operatively he was assigned to a Colonel that took a liking to him and he was offered the opportunity to stay stateside. He declined, completed training and shipped out to Aachen Germany where he fought in the front lines during the “Campaign of Germany”.
On December 12, 1944 he was wounded in combat and on May 20,1946 he was awarded a Purple Heart and an EAME Campaign Ribbon with (1) Bronze Star.
After a lengthy hospitalization at McGuire General Hospital in Richmond, VA he received his Honorable Discharge on November 2, 1945.
He passed away on July 23, 2000 and was buried, with full military honors, at Arlington National Cemetery. My mother’s ashes were laid to rest at his gravesite in 2010.
Respectfully written and prepared for the Yuen family on his behalf of his memory by Frank Yuen (Oldest son of Hoo-Sing Yuen).
Stanton Jue - Navy
Stanton Jue joined the U.S. Navy in July 1942. He voluntarily enlisted even though he was under age. After several months of basic training at Treasure Island, he was assigned to the destroyer USS Kalk, DD-611. In June 1944 during the Battle of Biak (New Guinea campaign of World War II) the ship was hit by a Japanese bomber. The electrical system was damaged and the ship was cut almost in half. The ship was towed to Pearl Harbor and then San Francisco Bay for repairs. At Pearl Harbor, Jue was transferred to the Joint Intelligence Center Pacific Ocean Area (JICPOA) where he worked on document translation, investigation, and propaganda operations. While holding the rank of Petty Officer third class, during his service with JICPOA, he was given a special X rank equivalent to the Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
After earning a Ph.D. in political science, he was a career U.S. Foreign Service officer, first with the United States Information Agency and later with the Department of State. During an extended tour in Washington, D.C., he helped with the normalization of diplomatic relations with China. His last assignment was Policy Officer for East Asia and the Pacific. He wrote extensively on U.S. – China relations and China’s rise as a global power. His military history was video-taped as part of the Through Chinatown's Eyes series.
He is survived by his wife, daughter and two grandchildren, their spouses, and two great grandchildren. He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery, with military honors.
John Git Wong - Army Air Forces
John Git Wong was born in 1922 in San Francisco and graduated from Commerce High School. He was a WWII veteran from 1943 to 1946 serving in the 555th Air Service Squadron in the China Burma India theater supporting Gen. Claire Chennault’s “Flying Tigers”. John was a charter member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars East Bay Chinatown Post #3956 in Oakland, California and a life-member of Post #4618. He retired after 43 years as a sheet metal fabricator from the Alameda Naval Air Station and began mastering the art of Origami. He volunteered his time putting on Origami demonstrations at the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco and many schools throughout the Bay Area. John passed away in 2010 of heart failure at the age of 87. He brightened many lives throughout his life with his gentle spirit and sense of humor. He always said that his time spent serving his country was when he developed some of the strongest and closest friendships of his entire life and where he learned the true meaning of the word “teamwork”.