Operation: WWII Chinese American G.I.

Join the Bay Area Chinese Genealogy Group (BACGG), the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP), and the Chinese Historical Society of America (CHSA) for Operation: WWII Chinese American G.I.

This webinar is recognized by the Department of Defense, as a Commemorative Partner, as it celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII. The webinar precedes a September ceremony that will honor Chinese American WWII Veterans. Further information on the September ceremony is forthcoming.

Operation: WWII Chinese American G.I. will not just explore dates and places significant to Chinese American World War II history, but also but explore the war through the lens of the world’s largest private collection of Chinese American, and military memorabilia. Additionally,  a clip from the film We Served with Pride, will be shown. This film features 15 Chinese American WWII Veterans who served with uncommon valor, as a common virtue.

The keynote speaker is Montgomery Hom, the Executive Producer for the California Ceremony, an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, author, and military historian. He will be joined by Major General William S. Chen, the first Chinese-American to wear 2-star rank in the U.S. Army, and Connie Young Yu, Trustee Emeritus Board Member of the Chinese Historical Society of America.

Click here to register today! Please note: space is limited, so early registration is the best way to gain a Zoom spot.

Questions about the event can be directed to Gail Chong at gailchong1970@gmail.com.

Learn more about WWII Chinese American GI Project.

Monty Hom is an independent producer and a long time production and historical military subject matter specialist. Monty consults on many Hollywood film and TV productions. His work can be seen in the Academy Award nominated film, Ford V. Ferrari. His Emmy nominated PBS film, We Served with Pride, Chinese American Experience in WWII will be relaunched as a new re-mastered version for its 20th anniversary in 2021. As a young boy, hearing stories of an uncle who was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne during the invasion of Normandy, kick-started his deep passion for researching and collecting artifacts, and data on Chinese Americans in WWII. Today, this collection is the largest, privately held grouping of its kind. His wife is a long serving United States Naval officer presently deployed in Northern Afghanistan.

William S. Chen (retired), better known as Bill Chen, is a third-generation Chinese-American.  Bill served as a career U.S. Army officer for over 32 years and retired as a Major General-the first Chinese-American to wear a 2-star rank in the U.S. Army. As a Major General, he commanded the U.S. Army Missile Command during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the Army’s largest deployment and subsequent combat use of Army missiles in history.  Later, he served as the Army’s first Program Executive Officer for Missile Defense-directing all the Army’s theater and national missile defense programs.

Author and historian Connie Young Yu grew up in San Francisco. Her father was John C. Young, a Colonel in the US Army Reserve. Connie has been a community activist all her life. She was former Chair of the Board of Trustees of Hakone Gardens Foundation, and Trustee Emeritus Board Member of the Chinese Historical Society of America. Yu was a founding member of the Angel Island Immigration Station Historical Advisory Committee that saved the immigration barracks for preservation. Connie was the co-editor of Voices from the Railroad: Stories by descendants of Chinese railroad workers. At the 150th Anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, she gave the opening Commencement speech at the Promontory Point, Golden Spike Ceremony.