Francis Brown Wai - Army
Francis Brown Wai was a captain in the United States Army and received the Medal of Honor for actions during the recapture of the Philippines from Japan in 1944. On October 20, 1944, Wai landed on the Red Beach in the Philippines, he found the soldiers in the immediate area to be leaderless, disorganized, and pinned down on the open beach. Assuming command of the soldiers around him, his demeanor and example inspired the other men to follow him. With deliberate disregard for his own personal safety, he repeatedly advanced without cover to draw Japanese machine gun and rifle fire, thus exposing the locations of the entrenched Japanese forces. Systematically, the Japanese positions were assaulted and overcome. Wai was killed leading an assault against the last Japanese pillbox in the area. For his actions, Wai was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. After an extensive review of awards in 2000, his medal was upgraded to the Medal of Honor. To date, Wai is the only Chinese American and one of only two non-Japanese Asian American officers to receive the medal.
Gordon Pai’ea Chung-Hoon - Navy
Gordon Pai’ea Chung-Hoon was of Chinese-English-Hawaiian origin and was the first AAPI graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1934. He was the recipient of the Navy Cross and Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary heroism as commanding officer of the USS Sigsbee from May 1944 to October 1945. During the Korean War, he commanded the USS John W. Thomason. He retired in October 1959 as a rear admiral, the first AAPI admiral in the U.S. Navy. The Guided Missile Destroyer USS Chung-Hoon was christened in 2003 in his honor. Clearly, Chung-Hoon was a leader and warfighter who established firsts: first AAPI to graduate from the U.S, Naval Academy, be promoted to admiral rank, and have a ship named for him. He also made his mark early on as a halfback and punter on the Navy football team. Upon his retirement, he served as the director of the Hawaiian Department of Agriculture. He died in July 1979.