Moving

San Jose Man Amongst Final Dwelling World Warfare II Chinese language-American U.S. Military Veterans – CBS San Francisco

SAN JOSE (KPIX) – Navy veteran George Gange plays the music, but he says his 95-year-old neighbor John Buck Chew is the one who leaves a song in his heart.

“He’s an amazing World War II Army veteran,” said Gange.

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Chew is one of roughly 20,000 Chinese Americans who served in World War II, and veteran groups believe he is one of fewer than 300 still alive today.

“I was proud to be in the army and to help my country,” said Chew.

Born in San Francisco, he was drafted into the US Army immediately after graduating from high school.

He trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky, and then served as a tank driver in the Philippines and Japan from 1945 until his recruitment ended in 1946.

He remembers when the Japanese fired mortars into their camp.

“The tank commander was looking for caves in the hills. We fired into the hills where the caves are located and tried to get them out of there,” Chew recalled.

For his military service, this husband, father and grandfather received the gold medal of the Congress.

But what inspires neighbors and Gange is how the former flower grower has served his community almost daily for the past forty years.

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John walked a three-mile stretch of his Berryessa neighborhood in San Jose picking up trash.

“They throw the garbage on the street. This is wrong! Makes the neighborhood look awful so as I go I may as well be doing my part, ”Chew said.

He hasn’t been able to pick up as much rubbish since he started using a walker in 2019, but on his walks he still shares some of the persimmons he picks and dries from his 30-year-old tree to his neighbors.

“It’s inspiring to see someone who, despite their age, is very kind, compassionate, and engaging in the community,” said Gange.

In honor of Chew’s 95th birthday in April, Gange urges people to donate at least 95 cents to their favorite charity to help veterans or those recovering from COVID-19.

Chew will graduate from Independence High School in June with the class of 2021.

After the war, he started a flower shop and never returned for his diploma.

Chew says he’ll just keep going.

“That’s the worst part of sitting down and saying, ‘I’m going to retire. ‘Just keep moving,’ he said after Gange played patriotic songs on his Filipino banjo, known as praise.

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Chew on soldiers one step and one patriotic song at a time.

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