Wah Kau Kong (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 江華九; January 17, 1919 – February 22, 1944) was the first

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from ...

fighter pilot. Born in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, Kong became a chemist after graduating from the University of Hawaii and joined the United States Army Air Forces after the

Attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

. After completing flight school, Kong became a

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

fighter pilot in England. He claimed 1.5 victories before being killed in action on a mission over Germany in late February 1944. In 1994, he was posthumously honored in the congressional record by Hawaiian Senator

Daniel Akaka Daniel Kahikina Akaka (; September 11, 1924 – April 6, 2018) was an American educator and politician who served as a United States Senator from Hawaii from 1990 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Akaka was the first U.S. Senator of Nati ...

, who shared his story on the

Senate floor The United States Senate Chamber is a room in the north wing of the United States Capitol that has served as the legislative chamber of the United States Senate, since January 4, 1859. The Senate first convened in its current meeting place afte ...

Early life

Kong was born on January 17, 1919, in Palama, a neighborhood of

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. He was one of the five children of Yip Hoon Kong and May Wong Shee Kong. He graduated from McKinley High School in 1936. Kong studied at the University of Hawaii, from which he graduated in 1940 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, with honors. During his time at the university, Kong participated in the

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program. He competed in swimming, basketball, and track, while also taking flying lessons. Kong was working towards his master's degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

when he volunteered for military duty in early 1942, after the

Military career

He recorded the highest national score in his entrance examination and was accepted into the aviation cadet training program. Kong graduated from flight school in May 1943, becoming the first Chinese American fighter pilot. He subsequently trained on the

P-39 Airacobra The Bell P-39 Airacobra is a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. The P-39 was used by the ...

, and on October 23 Kong boarded a convoy for England. He was assigned to the

353rd Fighter Squadron The 353rd Combat Training Squadron is a United States Air Force training squadron responsible for Exercise RED FLAG – ALASKA held annually in Alaska. Overview All the activities on Alaska's three weapons training ranges – incorporating ...

of the

354th Fighter Group The 354th Fighter Group was an element of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force during World War II. The unit was known as the Pioneer Mustang Group and was the first to fly the P-51B Mustang in combat. The group served as bombe ...

at RAF Boxted, flying a

P-51B Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA ...

, which he named "Chinaman's Chance" on one side and "No Tickee No Washee" on the other. On February 11, 1944, Kong claimed his first victory, an Fw 190, while returning from a bomber escort mission to

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

, which was his twelfth mission. His victory was mentioned in ''Time'' magazine on February 28.

Final mission

On his fourteenth mission, Kong was shot down over

Blomberg Blomberg may refer to: People * Blomberg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name). * Freiherr von Blomberg family Places * Blomberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, a town in the district of Lippe, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * ...

, Germany on February 22. Kong shared in a kill of a

Messerschmitt Me 410 The Messerschmitt Me 410 ''Hornisse'' (Hornet) is a German heavy fighter and ''Schnellbomber'' used by the ''Luftwaffe'' during World War II. Though an incremental improvement of the Me 210, it had a new wing plan, longer fuselage and engine ...

with squadron leader Jack T. Bradley and was apparently hit by a stray bullet by the aircraft's rear gunner as Kong finished the plane off. Kong's aircraft exploded and disintegrated in the air, and his remains were buried by the Germans two days later. In the early summer of 1945, after the end of the war in Europe, his childhood friend,

Mun Charn Wong Mun Charn Wong (Chinese: 黃門贊; January 24, 1918 – September 17, 2002) was an American businessman. Wong served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II along with his friend, Wah Kau Kong, the first Chinese American fighter pilot. He pl ...

located his remains which were then re-buried at the

Netherlands American Cemetery Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial ( nl, Amerikaanse Begraafplaats Margraten) is a Second World War military war grave cemetery, located in the village of Margraten, east of Maastricht, in the most southern part of the Netherlands. The ...

. After the war, Wau Kau Kong was re-buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His friend Wong initiated the Wah Kau Kong Memorial Award Scholarship at the University of Hawaii in his honor.

Military awards

Kong's military decorations and awards include:

References

Notes

Bibliography

''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'', "WWII pilot not forgotten", by Gregg K. Kakesako, August 20, 1999

* ttp://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796468,00.html ''Time'', "Kong Gets a German", February 28, 1944.* *