Our Veterans
Stanley Hung Gee - Army Air Forces
Seeking to escape childhood poverty, in 1938 “Stanley” Hung Gee emigrated from rural China when he was 18, bringing with him only several traditional Chinese musical instruments. He served in the U.S. Army Air Force, 42nd Airdrome Squadron, during World War II. After the war Gee lived in the Bay Area for the rest of his life. Gee, along with many other adult Chinese immigrants at the time, enrolled in an Oakland Chinatown elementary school to learn English. Several years after he arrived in California, a mutual acquaintance introduced him to Amy Gee, who was living in Hong Kong at the time. Though they had never met in person, they began a correspondence. When he proposed to her in a letter, she boarded a plane to come to the U.S., and a month later they were married. In 1970, they opened Bazaar Canton, an imported goods store where Amy Gee gave Chinese cooking lessons. While helping run the stores, Gee also worked as a senior engineering designer at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. His job brought him to the South Pacific, where he witnessed the testing of nuclear weapons. Outside of family, his interests were Chinese food, professional boxing, professional wrestling, and the Raiders – and he never missed a game from the team's first season in 1960 until its temporary departure for Los Angeles in 1981 He died in 2011, and was survived by his wife, Amy Gee; sons Delbert, Dennis, and David; and daughters Marilyn and Melissa.
Don Suey Chin - Army
Don Suey Chin, left his home in Canton China at the age of 23. He came to the United States using a “paper name” of Gun Loo. In 1943 he joined the United States Army, serving in Burma. Our dad did not talk much about his time in the Army; we know he was promoted to be a Corporal and had kept some recipes that he used while in Burma, but unfortunately most records of his military service were lost in the 1973 fire at the National Archives. After being discharged, Don was able to go back to China to get married and bring his wife - Mary Wai Ying Ng to New York. They started a family and had 4 children. At the young age of 39, Mary passed away. Don purchased a hand laundry business in Brooklyn to raise his family. The children slept in the one bedroom area behind the laundry, while Don slept on the sofa. During this period, the family name was legally changed back to Chin and he was able to get his mother, Chin Chi Wan, and sister, Ng Fong Loon to join him in N.Y. Dad is our hero, for realizing his dream to become an American Citizen, serving in WWII and raising a family on his own. He has left a legacy in his 4 children. Jeannie worked in the NJ School System and Sr. Care., Bessie worked as Principal in a NYC Public School, Chester, as a computer programmer in Hawaii and Jackson, as a Manager at Consolidated Edison Co. of N.Y. Today there are 9 grandchildren and one great grandchild on the way. We are blessed as a family. Don Suey Chin died on Dec. 12, 1978 and is buried at the Long Island National Cemetery, along with his wife Mary.
Kenneth Wu - Army
LTC Kenneth Wu was of Chinese descent born in Burma and recruited by the U.S. Army to establish counter-offensive forces during WWII in China and Burma, where he was recognized with meritorious service to the Chinese Combat Command. He then served under General J. Stillwell as operations staff drafting situation reports and intelligence summaries. In 1951, he was the Chief Interpreter for the UNC Command Liaison for the UNC Armistice Delegation under Admiral Joy and LTG Harrison resulting in the Korean War Armistice Agreement between in Panmunjom, Korea, earning him a Bronze Star Medal. MG W.C. Chase, Chief, MAAG, Taiwan requested Wu to serve as his aide and later served in the same capacity with MG Smyth and MG Bowen, specializing in military Intelligence and strategy in the Pacific Rim region. He served in the 525 MI Group at Ft. Meade. In 1965, Wu joined a Joint Chiefs of Staff Group to conduct Secretary of Defense McNamara’s study, “Land-Air Relationship in Southeast Asia” to determine interdiction effects on North Vietnamese infiltration of reinforcements and resupplies to South Vietnam. Under the Army Chief of Staff’s direction to train more intelligence analysts, Wu was assigned to head the Tactical Intelligence faculty of the Department of Combat Intelligence, U.S. Army Intelligence School and spearheaded classifications and criteria for international POW’s at the Geneva Convention. Wu retired from the Army on September 30, 1971, with military honors that included the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters; Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; numerous service and campaign medals; and foreign decorations from the Republic of China, Republic of Korea, and Republic of Vietnam. Post military service, Wu worked for the HEW and HUD before starting a Capitol Hill career as a Legislative Assistant for Senator William V. Roth (R-Delaware), Senator Hiram L. Fong (R-Hawaii) and Representative Marjorie S. Holt (R – 4th District of MD). He left Capitol Hill in 1983 to be Vice President, Legislative Affairs, Gould Inc. Defense Systems, retiring in 1989 to become a consultant in Legislative Affairs and International Business Development.