Just before Christmas, Congress honored a 96-year-old Chinese-American with one of the nation’s highest awards.
In an online ceremony, Randall Ching, who served as an Army Ranger in World War II, finally joined the ranks of Chinese-American World War II veterans receiving the Congressional Gold Medal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called it “a celebration of courage and patriotism.”
Some 20,000 veterans were honored for their service in World War II under a bill passed by Congress in 2018 authorizing the medal, which remained in effect for much of World War II after the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, which greatly restricted Chinese immigration to the United States and made discrimination against ethnic Chinese common in the country.
Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA), who represents California’s 41st District, said, “With this honor, we tell a more complete story about the people who fought for America during World War II and the personal and systemic challenges they faced.”
Takano said, “We are forever grateful to these brave servicemen and women who paved the way for the U.S. Army to become more diverse and inclusive.”
Randall Ching served in the Army’s elite 5th Artillery Infantry Battalion and is believed to be the only Chinese-American Ranger in World War II.
“At the time, I didn’t think I was the only Chinese-American Ranger,” he said. “But now looking back, I’m proud.”
Randall Ching was born in San Francisco and grew up in Chinatown until the early 1930s, when his parents moved the family back to China to escape the Great Depression. After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, Randall Ching served briefly in the Chinese Army before returning to the United States. He was drafted into the U.S. Army at the age of 18 to serve.
He was initially assigned to the 75th Infantry Division and began attending training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was later transferred to the newly formed 5th Ranger Infantry Battalion.
On June 6, 1944, he and his comrades landed on Omaha Beach, the bloodiest battlefield of the Normandy campaign.
He said his strongest memory of the war was “trying to stay alive in the fight.
“I used all the skills I learned from training camp,” he said.
He was awarded the Bronze Star for gallant service at the end of the war in 1945.
Pelosi said, “His patriotism and courage inspired his family, inspiring his son to serve in the Navy to Vietnam and his grandson to serve in the Marine Corps in Iraq – a proud family legacy.”
Randall Ching said the award is an honor.
He said, “I want present and future generations to remember the lives lost in war to preserve the freedoms they have now. Don’t take it for granted.”
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