By Douglas Hsia
The federal government has designated the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta a National Heritage area, and the Town of Locke a National Historic Landmark. Locke is the most complete example of a rural agricultural Chinese American community in the US. The primary mission of the Locke Foundation – Oral History Project is to gather and preserve the stories of the Delta. Ultimately these oral histories will be archived in the Locke Boarding House Museum where historians, educators and the public will have access to the information.
This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the end of World War II. The LF is reaching out to Chinese Americans who served in WWII. These veterans may have the potential to receive the Congressional Gold Medal. If you know of any Chinese American (living or not) who is/was a WWII veteran, please contact the Chinese American WWII Veterans Recognition Project for the application or contact here.
The LF is proud to share the life and times of two WWII veterans as part of the Oral History Project. Both were residents of Locke. Ruth Jang is a rare Chinese American woman who served in the Army Air Force. Harry Jang was a highly decorated Lieutenant in the Army Air Force as a navigator.
CORPORAL RUTH JANG, 97, was definitely a rarity for any branch of the US Military service. In 1943, at 21, Ruth joined the armed forces for duty and adventure. Ruth said that she enjoyed more food than was available to her in Locke and swears that she grew an inch taller.
Her first station was Moody Field, Georgia, where her duties were as a “gopher,” delivering messages by riding a motor scooter. Ruth became the captain of the woman’s basketball team since she was taller than many of the other women players. Being an adventurous pilot took her up in a B25 Bomber dive bombing cows on a farm. She was transferred to Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York where she helped care for injured servicemen. One of her NY assignments was to escort wounded soldiers to free Broadway shows such as Showboat and the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes. Although the only Chinese in her unit, she did not experience racism or discrimination. Instead, she felt very special and popular. On weekends she enjoyed going out with her Polish, Jewish and Italian girlfriends, dancing with the servicemen and eating pizza and pickled herring for the first time.
After the war, Ruth fell in love with and married her childhood friend, Harry Jang, also from Locke. She worked with the State of California and the Sacramento Unified School District as a translator and raised three children. At age 56, Ruth earned her AA degree, then a Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education and Nutrition. True to her fun-loving nature, she spent her later years playing golf with a handicap of 17.
LIEUTENANT HARRY JANG joined the Army in 1941 just before Pearl Harbor as a private. As a Chinese, he was given a choice of being a cook or a hospital orderly. He picked orderly. He really wanted to be a pilot and had studied two years of Aeronautical Engineering, but realized it was not his strong suit. Harry, being upwardly mobile, then took the exam for officer training and ranked third out of 300 applicants. Unfortunately, he was rejected because of apparent blatant racism. Undeterred, he petitioned the Adjutant (Chief Administrative Officer), who granted him admission to the Air Force.
In 1943, he was commissioned a Lieutenant. As a navigator, he was assigned to the 367 Squadron, 306 Bomb Group in Thurleigh Field, England. His group of fighter planes was famous and suffered the most casualties of the Air Force during the entire war. The movie, “Twelve O’Clock High”, was inspired by his squadron’s valor. Harry was haunted for the rest of his life by what he saw, witnessing American airplanes being hit by anti-aircraft fire, exploding in mid-air, and shot down by German fighter planes. After flying his 35th combat mission, a friend suggested signing up for another combat tour in Asia, but Harry said, “No.” He was happy to be going home. Years later at a reunion he ran into an old cohort. Happy and relieved, he said, “Harry, I thought you died.” Harry’s plane had gone down in flames on its very next mission, along with his friend. Hearing this, Harry felt lucky indeed to have survived. For his courage and exceptional navigational skills under fire, Harry was honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross.
After his distinguished service, Harry graduated with a Master’s degree from UC Berkeley and became an architect. Lieutenant Harry Jang will be posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal as a patriotic and courageous Chinese American. Please see www.locke-foundation.org for more information.