Congresswoman gives long-overdue honor

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) - On Tuesday, United States Army nurse Rebecca Chung, a World War II veteran, posthumously received her honorable discharge.

Her daughter, Deborah Chung, explained, "We love our mother so much and we always wanted the best for her. She was a very humble person and she never pushed for it, and that's part of the reason why we did push for it."

But had this day come even last month, Rebecca Chung would have been alive to celebrate the recognition of her service. Instead, her daughter stepped in to receive the papers presented by Congresswoman Kathy Hochul.

"Their family has been waiting for 70 years for the recognition that their mother deserved. She stepped up at a time when we were at war. She was a Chinese citizen; she teamed up with the American AirCore. She was a nurse for them; she was protecting American citizens," stated Hochul.

Rebecca Chung passed away December 7th: Pearl Harbor Day. She wrote a book after the war about her experiences, but right now the only copies are in Chinese. However, her daughter says she is in the process of translating "Piloted To Serve" into English so everyone can read the stories about the role Chinese-Americans played in world war II.

Rebecca Chung was recruited to serve with the first American volunteer group of the Chinese AirForce, commonly known as the "Flying Tigers," who fought against Japan.

"I'm very humbled by the fact that my mom did play a role in that part of history. I'm an American citizen and I love my country. It gives me a lot of excitement that my mother, even though she wasn't an American, she did play a role in the history of my country," said Deborah.