Alisa Kim held signs honoring her aunt Ruby Tape and her father Jack G. Kim, who both served in World War II // Photo by Michelle Shen

The following is an excerpt from 11/12/25 AsAmNews of Asian American Media Inc:

By Michelle Shen

On a blustery New York City morning, nearly 50 Chinese Americans came out to march in honor of their relatives who served in World War II.

Donning hats and gloves to shield from the brisk wind, they proudly carried posterboards with black-and-white photographs of their loved ones, who served as cooks, medics, and Flying Tigers in the European and Pacific theaters of war.

Many Chinese Americans enlisted during WWII despite being denied citizenship. Here are some of the stories of these veterans, told by their relatives:

The year was 1942 when Ruby Kim Tape, at the age of 44, tried to enlist in the military. The military initially turned her down, stating that she was too close to the maximum age of 45, but she was very determined to join, reaching out to another recruiter and acing her written and physical tests.

She was eventually accepted and sent to Camp Ritchie during World War II to conduct intelligence work. Besides serving in the military, Tape also went on a quest to find her sister, whom she had left in China in the early 1900s. 

Ruby Tape is the sister-in-law of Mamie Tape, the young girl behind one of the most consequential Supreme Court cases in American history. In the 1880s, at just eight years old, Mamie Tape was denied entrance to a local San Francisco school due to her Chinese heritage. Her parents filed a lawsuit in a local court, and the case eventually reached the Supreme Court, where they won one of the earliest cases to desegregate public schools. 

Among those representing the Tape family in the parade was Alisa Kim, the niece of Ruby Tape. She also held a poster honoring her father, Jack G. Kim, who served alongside his sister in the Army during World War II.

Ben F. Lee was only a teenager in San Francisco when he joined the military, serving as an interpreter, cook and infantryman. He returned to the West Coast after the war, where he raised a large family. His three granddaughters represented him in the Veterans Day Parade, one of whom is a longtime veteran herself.

“I am also a retired 26-year service veteran, straight reservist with five years [of] active duty,” said Yvonne Eng Chung, one of Lee’s granddaughters in the parade. “He was the fun grandpa.”

Da Yee Lin, Kim Wing Ngai, Ming Bow Yee, and Arthur William Chan, among others, were part of the famed Flying Tigers, Chinese Americans who helped China defend against attacks from the Japanese. Ngai’s first cousin Hay Hom, served alongside him in the Army during World War II, and their children marched side by side in the parade. Andrea Chan, daughter of Arthur William Chan, marched along her husband, whose father also served as a Flying Tiger in World War II.

“My father was the captain, and my father-in-law was a private but he was in the Merchant Marines in China during that time,” Chan said. “It’s good that they are finally acknowledging the World War II Chinese veterans.”