USNA Chinese Culture Club

05/31/2020

Today is the last day of the AAPI Heritage Month, please enjoy this video by the U.S. Consulate General Chiang Mai Thailand which features some unique stories of their staff.

05/23/2020

First Lieutenant Kurt Chew-Een Lee drew ire when he showed up to lead a platoon in Baker Company, 1/7th Marines. As the first Chinese-American officer in the history of the United States Marine Corps, there were doubts about his ability to lead men into the Korean War. Despite their attempts to reassign him, he made it clear he was in the Marine Corps for one reason. He was there to kill communists.

He proved just that during the Battle of Sudong Gorge when he singlehandedly charged a significantly larger Chinese enemy force during a nighttime battle on 2-3 November 1950. His strategic bursts of fire and random movements made the Chinese troops believe they were under fire from a significantly larger force. As they returned fire, their muzzle flashes made them easy targets for Baker Company Marines.

On several occasions, he got so close to the Chinese lines that he was able to yell contradictory and confusing instructions in Mandarin Chinese. By his own account, he was able to even convince a squad of Chinese troops to cease fire by indicating he was a fellow Chinese comrade, before dropping a very American gr***de into their foxhole. The Chinese routed chaotically and Lieutenant Lee was awarded the Navy Cross. He had been shot twice during his one-man charge and was ordered back to Japan to recover. This did not align with his world-view of annihilating every last communist on the peninsula. He quickly stole an Army jeep and went back to the front lines.

On 2 December 1950, he was assigned a lead element to relieve Fox Company, 1/7th Marines from their encirclement in the Toktong Pass during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. He’d be the point man of a 500-man element, guiding them in the extreme cold and poor visibility against a significantly numerically superior foe.

He didn’t show up unprepared. He kitted up with several double-taped 30-round M1 Carbine magazines which had been “skilfully acquired” from Army quartermasters by his brother Army 1st Lieutenant Chew “Buck” Lee (later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross).

That extra firepower came in handy when the Chinese attacked and quickly pinned down the Marine element. Lee did what he did best and pressed the attack right back, ascending uphill towards the Chinese with his fellow Marines. Despite his right arm being still in cast from earlier wounds, and taking another bullet just above his cast, he was still able to shoot down two Chinese soldiers at close range. The speed and aggression of the Marines’ counterattack under Lee’s leadership caused an equally fast Chinese retreat. Over the next 6 days, Lee would continue to lead his men until he was wounded again and forcibly evacuated. His aggressive leadership would allow Fox Company to escape their encirclement; he was awarded a Silver Star.

Lee would continue to serve in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War as an intelligence officer and retired in 1968 as a Major. He lived a quiet life after the war, speaking regularly about his Marine Corps experiences. Kurt Chew-Een Lee passed away aged 88 in 2014. Many of his fellow Marines often commented that Lee should have won a Medal of Honor on both occasions.

04/29/2020

A modest turnout for our virtual and final GBM of the year.
We talked the things we did, what we liked and not liked, the direction of the club for the following year and discussed cultural reactions around the world to COVID-19.

Looking forward to great things from the incoming staff in spite of the amount of uncertainty surrounding us now.

02/17/2020

MIDN 4/C Justin Chu made a nice video documenting our time at the DC Chinese New Year parade, go check it out! The link will have it start in the segment for the parade. And yes we are aware he decided to use Kpop for the background music.

We participated in the parade to celebrate the festival as a cultural event and to support our Chinese American Veterans. We do not associate ourselves politically to any other groups/symbols present.

Here's a couple clips I mashed together of stuff I like to do over the weekends at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Let me know in the comments if y...

02/02/2020

🧧🎊🎉 Happy Chinese New Year all! Today is day 9 of 15 of CNY. Last week, the club had the honor of marching in the D.C. Chinese New Year Parade along with Chinese American Veterans and the Moy Family Association. We had the opportunity to interact with our incredible veterans and amazing leaders of the Chinese American community. Overall, a great day of festivities and reunion.

We are excited for a great year ahead moving forward with the ceremony for the Congressional Gold Medal for our Chinese American Veterans in WW2. Catch us at the parade again next year!

Wishing all a prosperous year filled with joy!



Follow the club on https://www.instagram.com/usna_ccc/ and the Chinese American WW2 Recognition Project on https://www.caww2.org/!

01/26/2020

We'll be at the Chinese New Year parade in D.C. tomorrow! Begins at 2pm from 6th & Eye St NW to 6th & H St NW. See you there!

https://dcparade.com/the-us-naval-academys-cadets-march-to-honor-chi-am-wwii-vets/

11/27/2019

Last Thursday, Midshipmen at the Naval Academy received their hard earned service assignments. Chinese Culture Club currently has 4 board members on its staff that received their prized service assignments! Congratulations!
Yixin Ye: Singapore Navy
Fritz Porter: Marine Pilot
Julia Zhu: Surface Warfare Officer (Nuclear)
Kevin Lu: Navy Pilot

11/15/2019

Before the parade, some mids from Chinese Culture Club on the Veterans Day MO decided to do a food crawl of Flushing, NY. Here are some of the foods that we ate!!!

11/14/2019

This past weekend, members of Chinese Culture Club joined members of American Legion Post 1291 to march in the Veterans Day Dedication Parade in Chinatown. Everyone involved had a ton of fun and enjoyed some liberty in the big apple.

10/21/2019

This past Sunday, Chinese Culture Club members attended a talk story with 1882 Foundation. We were really inspired to meet these people who are so committed to sharing the stories of Chinese Americans and look forward to doing more culturally enriching activities like this. We were gifted a book called, "Three Coins," by Russell Low. This book follows a young Chinese girl's story as she persevered through circumstances like slavery and the Chinese Exclusion Act to form the foundations of Chinese American society today. All participants felt extremely moved by the talk and hope to attend more events like these in the future.

10/04/2019

This past Tuesday, midshipmen in Chinese Culture Club educated themselves by learning about the conflict associated with Hong Kong. Learning about global current events like this is critical to understanding Chinese culture and integral to becoming a better officer. This discussion was held during our biweekly tea session in which we drink tea and eat Chinese snacks while discussing topics relevant to Chinese Culture! 😀👍