Chinese Americans who served in WWII honored

WASHINGTON — Seventy-five years after World War II ended, Congress is honoring thousands of Chinese Americans who served the United States in the war, earning citations for heroism — including the Medal of Honor — despite discrimination that included limits on numbers allowed in the U.S.

Nearly 20,000 people of Chinese ancestry served in the U.S. military during World War II, including about 40% who were not U.S. citizens due to laws such as the Chinese Exclusion Act. That law made it illegal for Chinese laborers to immigrate to America and limited the Chinese population in the U.S. for more than 60 years.

Chinese Americans served in all major branches of the military, including the so-called Flying Tigers, the 14th Air Service that flew missions in the China-Burma-India Theater. For their service to the nation during the war, Chinese-American veterans were honored at a Congressional Gold Medal ceremony Wednesday.

“Despite coming from different backgrounds, Chinese-American service members fought alongside their fellow Americans with a shared love for their country,” said Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.

Among those honored posthumously Wednesday were former U.S. Sens. Hiram Fong and Daniel Akaka, both of Hawaii. Fong, a Republican, served in the Army Air Force, while Akaka, a Democrat, was in the Army Corps of Engineers, stationed in the Northern Mariana Islands.

Army Capt. Francis B. Wai, who was awarded the Medal of Honor, the highest military award given by the United States, also was recognized as a Gold Medal recipient. He was killed while saving fellow soldiers during an attack in the Philippines.