Up & Coming Weekly

May 11, 2021

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM MAY 12-18, 2021 UCW 11 DOD observes Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month by DAVID VERGUN Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have helped shape the history of the United States, and many of their lives have been dramatically influ- enced by moments in U.S. history. Every May, the Defense Department joins the rest of the nation in celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. e observance originated in a congressional bill in 1977 by U.S. Reps. Frank Horton, R-N.Y., and Norman Y. Mineta, D-Calif. ey introduced a House resolution that called on the president to proclaim the first 10 days of May as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. e following month, U.S. Sens. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Spark Matsunaga, D-Hawaii, introduced a similar bill in the Senate. Both were passed in 1978. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush designat- ed the month of May as Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. May was chosen to commemorate the immigration of the first Japa- nese to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and to mark the anniversary of the completion of the transconti- nental railroad on May 10, 1869. e majority of workers on the western portion of the line were Chinese immigrants. Today, Asian and Pacific Islanders make up around 3% of the military's active duty, National Guardsmen and reservists. Although small in number, their contributions to America's wars have been tremendous. ou- sands deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Other examples are but a small sampling: •e 100th Infantry Battalion, composed of Jap- anese Americans during World War II, achieved noteworthy service in the 1944 Italian campaign. •Retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, who was of Japanese descent, became the Army chief of staff in 1999 and was later secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. •Marine Corps Maj. Kurt Chew-Een Lee, who's of Chinese descent, was awarded the Navy Cross Medal for extraordinary heroism in leading a counterattack against enemy forces during the Korean War. He also served during World War II and the Vietnam War. •Cpl. Joseph Pierce, a soldier in the Union Army who fought in both the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg as a member of the 14th Connecticut Infantry, was one of about 50 Chinese Americans who enlisted during the U.S. Civil War. •Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Telesforo Trini- dad, who was of Filipino descent, became the first Asian American to receive the Medal of Honor after rescuing two shipmates when an explo- sion occurred aboard the armored cruiser USS San Diego in 1915. Risking his own life, Trinidad entered a smoke-filled fire room and carried sail- ors to safety before being injured when a boiler exploded. In years since then, 31 service members of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage were awarded Medals of Honor. •rough the Navy's female reserve program during World War II, Asian American women also supported the war effort, mainly as linguists and nurses. Navy Lt. Susan Ahn Cuddy blazed a trail when she became the first Asian American woman to become an officer and the first female to operate flexible-mount or turret-mounted ma- chine guns on an aircraft in the Navy. She joined the military alongside her brothers in 1942 after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. e daughter of Ko- rean immigrants, Cuddy would go on to become a code breaker and the first female Navy gunnery officer. Kurt Chew-Een Lee, then a Marine Corps first lieutenant, poses for a photo during the Korean War. (Marine Corps photo) FEATURE DAVID VERGUN, Department of Defense News. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Susan Ahn Cuddy, a Navy Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES, poses in uniform in 1942 with her brothers Ralph and Philip (center), who served in the Navy and Army, respectively. (Navy photo) Asian and Pacific Islanders serve on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Bear shortly after the end of the Civil War. (Coast Guard photo) Christian music station local your

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