General Imagery
Upon United States' entry into World War II, Asian Americans enlisted for military service in great numbers. Already serving on duty during the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 was Commander Gordon Chung-Hoon, the first Asian American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1934. He would later receive the Navy Cross for his actions on April 14, 1945, when a kamikaze plane hit the ship he was commanding USS Sigsbee (DD-502). Chung-Hoon would also become the U.S. Navy's first Asian American flag officer, and USS Chung-Hoon (DDG-93) is named in his honor. Besides Asian American enlisted men still serving as stewards onboard ships, Asian American females served as nurses and linguists as Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (WAVES). Amongst the women who served as WAVES was Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy, the first Korean American woman in the U.S. Navy and the first female Navy gunnery officer.
Other resources
NHHC Asian Americans-Pacific Islanders Focus
Image: 80-G-68660: USS Cuttlefish (SS-171). Asian American mess attendant onboard. Official U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
