Fighting for the Dream

Fighting for the Dream is a collection of oral histories of 40 Chinese American men and women-ages 24 to 94-who served in wars from World War II to conflicts in Afghanistan. These individuals defied boundaries, went against their cultural grain, and changed history. Through their personal stories, we see a greater tapestry that is the story of America in the last hundred years. This collection includes interviews with the first Asian American general (John Fugh), the first Asian American Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy (Frederick Pang), the first Asian American full unrestricted Marine (Kurt Lee), the first Asian American National Commander of the American Legion (Fang Wong), the first Asian American judge in New York State (Randall Eng), as well as some of the 20,000 Chinese Americans - a quarter of the Chinese American population at the time - who served during World War II. This collection also features the stories of: World War II veterans Genson Lum, Peter Woo, Kay Wong Chin, Dr. Wing Mar, Al Chinn, Earl Jung, Tom Wah Sun Lew, Mack Pong, Sam Jue, Richard Y.W. Chin, Richard Goon, Lester Fong, Elsie Seetoo, Wayne H. Wong Korean War veterans Kurt Lee, Rita K. Chow Vietnam War veterans John Gerald Miki, David J. Louie, Gabe Mui, Richard Wong, Thomas Wing Persian Gulf War veterans Tony Lee, Mimi Wang Iraq & Afghanistan veterans Chi Szeto, Pakee Fang, Michael Chan, See-wan Szeto, Welton Chang, Wilem Wong, Cindy Wu, Howard Chin, Cliff Chen, Juliet Shum, Mo Pan, Astrid Szeto, William Chan