'It's our duty': Asian American veterans honor war dead in NJ while calling for end to hate

Mary Chao
NorthJersey.com

Growing up on Manhattan's Lower East Side in an immigrant family, Fang Wong looked up to military service members. When he received a military scholarship in 1969, he beamed with pride.

It was the Vietnam War era and instead of waiting to be drafted, Wong enlisted. He was initially sent to Germany as an Army private before serving in Vietnam from 1970 to 1972.

"We enjoy the freedom of this country,"  Wong, of East Brunswick, said on Monday. "It's our duty to serve. You can't just take. You give."

Under sunny skies, the now-73-year-old and other Asian American service members joined more than 100 community members for the first ever National Day of Solidarity Against Hate on the steps of Jersey City's City Hall.   

New Jersey was one of 36 communities across the country to commemorate the event, which was inspired by a wave of violence over the past year against Asian Americans.  Held on Memorial Day, the vigil honored the fallen men and women who gave their lives for freedom, while highlighting the contributions Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have made in America, especially military veterans. 

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Wong worked in Army administration in Vietnam when the need arose for a Chinese language translator. China was moving into Laos at that point, and he was one of two people  who could speak Mandarin and Cantonese.

There were advantages and disadvantages being an Asian American in the Army during the war, Wong recalled.

"Both sides look at you suspiciously," he said.

The upside is he blended in with the locals, Wong said.

Wong would go on to become a career soldier, retiring as a chief warrant officer after 20 years. He then settled in East Brunswick with his wife Barbara and his son Eric, working for a defense contractor as a second career.

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The event featured speeches by a more than dozen elected officials, Asian activists and veterans. Traditional Chinese dragon and lion dances added a touch of festivity. 

Several organizations sponsored the vigil, including the Chinese American Heritage Foundation, Jersey Promise, the Yellow Whistle Initiative, Families with Children from China of Greater New York,  API Rainbow Parents, American Legion Post 1291 and OCAdvocates of New Jersey, which stands for Organization of Chinese Advocates.   

Virginia Ng, 70, one of the organizers, grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and was taunted with racial slurs throughout her youth. She didn't speak up because the Asian culture then was to keep quiet, she said 

For the past 30 years, she has worked as an activist with OCAdvocates and is now speaking out against injustices against Asian Americans.  

"I got tired of being picked on," said Ng, of Monroe in Middlesex County. "Now I fight back."

According to a May 6 report by the nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate, which has been tracking bias incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, there were 6,603 incidents nationally in the year that ended in March, as Asian Americans became scapegoats for the pandemic that started in Wuhan, China.

"It's important for us to all stand together against this rise in Asian hate crimes,"  Jersey City Councilman at-large Rolando Lavarro, Jr., the city's first Asian elected official, told the crowd.  "We cannot allow this to continue."

Attendees carried signs that read "No More Silence" and "Justice for Asians."

Ludi Hughes, 65, of Fair Lawn, chairwoman of the Filipino American Festival, joined in the vigil in a show of unity.

"Hate crimes need to be stopped," Hughes said. "There is no need for hate in America."  

Mary Chao 趙 慶 華 covers the Asian community and real estate for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news out of North Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: mchao@northjersey.com