By Edith Gong, 2023 CHCP Co-Vice President of Marketing/Outreach

Over 300 people visited the Chinese American Historical Museum (CAHM) during the Spirit of '45 event on August 12 to hear special presentations on the 2nd floor. 

Judy Petray spoke about Honor Flight Bay Area, part of the Honor Flight Network whose mission is to transport America's veterans, free of charge, to Washington, DC to visit those memorials built in dedication to their service and sacrifice.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, short snippets of two documentaries were shown and discussed: "More than a Medal" and "Our Story of War and Remembrance."

"More than a Medal" is a documentary researching minority veterans from WWI, who despite valorous deeds, may have been unjustly denied awards due to race or religion. The decorated Chinese American WWI Veteran from the San Jose area, Sing Lau Kee (aka Lau Sing Kee) was featured in the documentary. His granddaughter, Laura Lau Kee, was present to share her memories and thoughts about his deeds and his nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor. CAHM is honored to have some of Sing Lau Kee's medals and photos in the museum on display.

"Our Story of War and Remembrance" tells the stories of four Chinese American WWII veterans of the San Francisco Bay Area in a moving documentary of patriotism as they served to defend the America that had denied them rights under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The documentary was produced by CHCP's Student Docent Cultural Ambassador Program (SDCAP). The shortened version of this documentary can be viewed below: