On this 4th of July, my father, Goon C. Ng was awarded the US Congressional Gold Medal for serving in the US Army in WWII. He along with over 20,000 Chinese Americans enlisted or were drafted into all branches of the US military. After serving honorably, trained in Fort Dix and deployed in Germany, he returned as a US citizen.
On this 4th of July, I stood up as the nearest of kin to accept the Congressional Gold Medal on behalf of my mother who was still in China and was only able to immigrate to the US because of my father’s citizenship and the compassion of First Baptist Church of Boston.
On this 4th of July, I stood on the shoulders of my father’s courage and my grandfather’s brave first arrival in the US in 1910 to be born on US soil in the shadows of Fenway Park.
On this 4th of July, our children and our grandchildren represent our family’s 4th and 5th generations of Ngs who have lived or claimed the United States as their country, right or wrong.
On this 4th of July, we honor our veterans and we pray for no more wars.
On this 4th of July, no longer will we be seen as perpetual foreigners. We are Americans.