Ms. V. Moy at the American Legion Post 1291 last week.
Today Victoria Moy read an excerpt from her book "Fighting for the Dream."
Fighting for the Dream, by Victoria Moy, 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, from the lens of Chinese Americans who served.
Listen to a reading of "Fighting for the Dream" by Victoria Moy
Limited Time Offer Until 6/9/18
Click for FREE book sample
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About the book
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, from the lens of Chinese Americans who served. We see also how wars affected Chinese American communities.
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.
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 and 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
Book Reviews
“Victoria Moy adds corrective knowledge about the contributions of Chinese Americans in the U.S. military… Fighting for the Dream is a must-read for anyone interested in the role of the military in the larger and ever-expanding story of the American people.
- William David Estrada, Curator and Chair of History, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Author, The Los Angeles Plaza: Sacred and Contested Space
“Victoria Moy tells American history of the last hundred years from a fresh and startling angle. Moy captures the aspirations and inner conflicts of veterans from WWII to Afghanistan with subtlety and nuances never found in traditional historical narratives. Most importantly, this monumental oral history pays tribute to a group of underappreciated Chinese immigrants and their descendants in their role as Americans defending their country.”
Peter Kwong
- Peter Kwong, Distinguished Professor, Hunter College/City University of New York. Author, Chinese America: The Untold Story of America’s Oldest New Community
“I am an American, born in Hong Kong and raised in New York. I remember as a teen, joining the military was probably the furthest from my mind. After serving ten years in the Air Force, which was totally unplanned, i remember reflecting upon my own military career, the highs and lows, the best friends I made during my time, and the one thing I could never forget, getting sent over to the Persian Gulf. When I came across this book, I said to myself, this is fantastic, a book about Asians, for Asians, told by Asians. This book is very important to the Chinese American community. When I joined the Air Force, I had no idea what I was getting in to. I was a lost teenager and had wished I read something like this before shipping out. This book accumulates the life stories of so many of our elders and Uncles who served in our country's military. From World War 2 to the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, the Persian Gulf and both Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As an elder now, I definitely recommend this book to all young Asians who are thinking of joining and to history majors out there, who document our Chinese American history. We have so many heroes tell their stories and tell it so candidly. The author does a great job interviewing and exploring these Veterans insights and what they remember most. She also talks of their great achievements in spite of the racism they faced. As someone who talks and counsels young people in our community, I want to thank Victoria Moy for compiling all these stories. My experience and the experience of those before me will help guide the next generation of young Asians in their military quests. I take the time to talk to as many young people as I can when they inquire about joining our military. I tell them everything so they can better decide if this is truly what they want to do. Pick up this book, you won't regret it.”
- Yuk Tam, Veteran
“The relationship between China and the U.S. is as important today as it has ever been. We need to remember how Chinese and Americans and Chinese/Americans have cooperated in the past to change the future of our world. Fighting For The Dream provides first-person testimonies of these historical moments from World War II, and stories from generations following.”
- Nell Calloway, Granddaughter of General Chennault of The Flying Tigers.
Director, The Chennault Aviation and Military Museum
“These personal stories of Asian American men and women proudly serving our country in the past seven decades are powerful and can inspire future generations.”
Judy Chu, U.S. Congresswoman
- Judy Chu, U.S. Congresswoman (D-California)
Limited Time Offer Until 6/9/18
Click for FREE book sample
About Victoria Moy
Victoria Moy is also a New York and Los Angeles-based playwright and screenwriter, and writes an arts review column for Alhambra Source. The Founder and Artistic Director of Owl’s March, a new media theater company, she was born and raised in Manhattan’s Chinatown in New York City. She has written for Huffington Post, New York Press, Brooklyn Rail, Foreign Policy’s Tea Leaf Nation and other publications. She is a graduate of Yung Wing Public School 124, The Dalton School, Dartmouth College, and holds a M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from University of Southern California. She speaks Cantonese and Mandarin.
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Limited Time Offer Until 6/9/18
Click for FREE book sample
Memorial Day Parade
Free Cantonese Lessons
Every Sunday at First Chinese Baptist Church from 12-12:50 PM.Location: 21 Pell Street, New York, NY
Limited Time Offer Until 6/9/18
Click for FREE book sample
With access to the world best developer for unlimited small jobs, where will you spend your new found time?
Available to fix any small jobs from $39 /month.
