Wah Kau Kong

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2017}}{{Infobox military person

| image = Wau Kau Kong.jpg

| birth_date = January 17, 1919

| death_date = {{deathdateandage|1944|2|22|1919|1|14|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Honolulu, Hawaii

| death_place = over Blomberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

| placeofburial = National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

|allegiance={{flag|United States of America}}

|branch=25px United States Army Air Forces

| serviceyears = 1942{{endash}}44

| rank = Second Lieutenant

| unit = 353rd Fighter Squadron
354th Fighter Group

| battles = World War II

| awards= 30px Purple Heart
30px Air Medal

}}

{{Infobox Chinese|t=江華九|s=江华九|p=Jiāng Huájiǔ|j= Gong¹ Waa⁴ Gau²|ci = {{IPAc-yue|g|ong|1|-|w|aa|4|.|g|au|2}}}}

Wah Kau Kong (Chinese: 江華九; January 17, 1919 – February 22, 1944) was the first Chinese American fighter pilot. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, 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.

After completing flight school, Kong became a P-51 Mustang 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, who shared his story on the Senate floor.{{Cite web |date=December 1, 1994 |title=Congressional Record, Volume 140 Issue 149 (Thursday, December 1, 1994) |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CREC-1994-12-01/html/CREC-1994-12-01-pt1-PgS82.htm |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=www.govinfo.gov}}

Early life

Kong was born on January 17, 1919, in Palama, a neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. He was one of the five children of Yip Hoon Kong and May Wong Shee Kong. He graduated from McKinley High School in 1936.{{Cite news|url=http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/08/20/news/story8.html|title=WWII pilot not forgotten|last=Kakesako|first=Gregg K.|date=August 20, 1999|work=Honolulu Star-Bulletin|access-date=February 1, 2017}}

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 program. He competed in swimming, basketball, and track, while also taking flying lessons. Kong was working towards his master's degree in chemistry when he volunteered for military duty in early 1942, after the Attack on Pearl Harbor.{{Cite journal|year=1994|title=Wah Kau Kong, The Nation's First Chinese-American Fighter Pilot|url=https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1994-12-01/html/CREC-1994-12-01-pt1-PgS82.htm|journal=Congressional Record|volume=140|issue=149}}

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, and on October 23 Kong boarded a convoy for England.

He was assigned to the 353rd Fighter Squadron of the 354th Fighter Group at RAF Boxted, flying a P-51B Mustang, 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,{{sfn|Blake|2008|p=78}} which was his twelfth mission.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/60975561/?terms=%22wau%2Bkau%2Bkong%22|title=Lieut. Wau Kau Kong Gets First German Plane in Battle|last=Bealmear|first=Austin|date=February 14, 1944|work=Corsicana Daily Sun|agency=Associated Press|page=10|access-date=February 1, 2017|via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} His victory was mentioned in Time magazine on February 28.

=Final mission=

On his fourteenth mission, Kong was shot down over Blomberg, Germany on February 22. Kong shared in a kill{{sfn|Newton|Senning|1978|p=308}} of a Messerschmitt Me 410 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.{{Cite news|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/uk/ulster/belfast/northern-ireland-stars-and-stripes/clippings/war/18687|title=Air Force News|date=March 11, 1944|work=Northern Ireland Stars and Stripes|page=2|access-date=February 1, 2017|via=Newspaperarchive.com}} Kong's aircraft exploded and disintegrated in the air,{{Cite web|url=https://www.fold3.com/image/28615521?terms=wau%20kau%20kong|title=Missing Air Crew Report 43-12393|last=Bradley|first=Jack T.|date=March 1, 1944|publisher=Ancestry.com|page=5|access-date=February 1, 2017|url-access=subscription |work=Fold3}} and his remains were buried by the Germans two days later.{{sfn|Blake|2008|p=86}}

In the early summer of 1945, after the end of the war in Europe, his childhood friend, Mun Charn Wong located his remains which were then re-buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery. 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:

style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

|colspan="3"|250px

colspan="3"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Purple Heart BAR.svg|width=106}}{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|name=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon|width=106}}

|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

|

|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}}

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" !Badge \| colspan="7"\|Pilot Badge
1st row \| colspan="4"\|Purple Heart \| colspan="4"\|Air Medal
2nd row \| colspan="3"\|American Campaign Medal \| colspan="3"\|European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal w/one bronze service star for the Air Offensive, Europe campaign. \| colspan="3"\|World War II Victory Medal
Unit Award \| colspan="7"\|Presidential Unit Citation

class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"

!Badge

| colspan="7"|Pilot Badge

1st row

| colspan="4"|Purple Heart

| colspan="4"|Air Medal

2nd row

| colspan="3"|American Campaign Medal

| colspan="3"|European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal w/one bronze service star for the Air Offensive, Europe campaign.

| colspan="3"|World War II Victory Medal

Unit Award

| colspan="7"|Presidential Unit Citation

References

= Notes =

= Bibliography =

[http://starbulletin.com/1999/08/20/news/story8.html Honolulu Star-Bulletin, "WWII pilot not forgotten", by Gregg K. Kakesako, August 20, 1999].
[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-1994-12-01/html/CREC-1994-12-01-pt1-PgS82.htm Speech by United States Senator for Hawaii, Daniel Akaka, commemorating Kong, August 20, 1999]
[http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,796468,00.html Time, "Kong Gets a German", February 28, 1944.]
{{cite book|last=Blake|first= Steve |year=2008|title=The Pioneer Mustang Group: The 354th Fighter Group in World War II|location= Atglen, PA|publisher=Schiffer Publishing| ISBN=978-0-7643-2925-8}}
{{cite book|url=https://www.dafhistory.af.mil/Portals/16/documents/Studies/51-100/AFD-090601-121.pdf|title=USAF Credits for the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft, World War II, USAF Historical Study No. 85|last2=Senning|first2=Calvin F.|date=1978|publisher=Research Studies Institute, USAF Historical Division, Air University|orig-date=1963|last1=Newton|first1=Wesely P. Jr.}}