Despite dedicating a lifetime to uncovering stories, they often came unannounced. An impromptu moment only amplified the impact of a new exhibit Montgomery “Monty” Hom worked so hard to curate.
During a panel discussion of veterans on Friday, July 3, at the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library, an attendee revealed herself to be a U.S. Air Force vet who relayed messages between military members in the Korean War.
“This Filipina woman from Hawaii said she has lived in Monterey Park for 65 years,” curator of the exhibition, Hom, said. “It was a touching moment — people were clapping and cheering.”
Other speakers included a 94-year-old Korean War Marine and one of the few Vietnamese combatants who fought for the U.S. during the Vietnam War, as well as Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, and state Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena.
The exhibit, “Duty, Honor, Country, Courage,” in honor of 250 years of American independence, tells the stories of local Asian American service members with rare military artifacts from Hom’s extensive personal collection.
“It’s kind of sensory overload,” Hom said, recalling attendees’ surprise at the amount of information presented. “We have this one gallery that’s basically all Chinese [veterans], and there’s well over 25 stories. There’s limited room in the library; I felt, let me just make it full-on impact.”
Hom, of Redondo Beach, is the founder of the Chinese American G.I. Project and curator of historical exhibits at Los Angeles’ Bob Hope Patriotic Hall. His early interest in Chinese American military history was shaped by his upbringing in San Francisco’s Chinatown surrounded by World War II veterans, including family members who he went on to interview for his work.
“I kind of bit on the bug of history when I was a kid, because I heard a story regarding an uncle who was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne who jumped into Normandy on June 6, 1944,” Hom said. “He lived to tell me about it, and I have all his stuff… that led me to say, there’s got to be more stories.”
Local Vietnam veteran Peter Chow, founder of the National Organization of Asian American Veterans, which now encompasses the Chinese American G.I. Project, influenced Hom’s shift to highlighting Asian Americans in the military more broadly.
Monterey Park Council member Vinh T. Ngo, who also spoke at the opening, had urged Hom to bring his work to the San Gabriel Valley, “the heart of the Asian community.” The Bruggemeyer exhibit arose from Ngo and other elected officials’ support and advocacy.
“When we celebrate 250 for the states, we need to showcase the contributions of all the diverse people in it,” Ngo said. “Monty’s exhibit shows Asian Americans’ service has contributed to the melting pot of America.”
Selected profiles included Hom’s own godmother Maggie Gee, one of two Chinese-American women pilots during World War II who later led illustrious careers in nuclear physics and politics, and Delbert Wong, who served as a B-17 navigator during World War II before becoming the first Asian American Superior Court judge in the early 1950s.
A poster features Filipino nurses of World War II.
Hom emphasized the importance of sharing often-overlooked stories of Asian women in the military, pointing to an example from the exhibition of Filipina guerrilla fighters against Japan in World War II.
“These ladies were kick-butt ruthless,” Hom said. “There was a girl who was just barely 18, and she had at least 10 kills known.”
Hom pointed to a generational divide in veteran experiences as another factor in expanding his multimedia work.
Given fewer opportunities for younger veterans to gather and reflect in-person, Hom is planning on taking his work to a wider audience, from an exhibition in the nation’s capital, to hopes for a television series.
The “Duty, Honor, Country, Courage” exhibition will be on display in the Monterey Park Bruggemeyer Library lobby from July 3 through July 31.
The library is located at 318 S. Ramona Avenue, Monterey Park. For more information on library programs, visit www.montereypark.ca.gov/Library or follow us on social media at @MontereyParkLib.
Ellen Wang is an intern with the Southern California News Group through a partnership with the Los Angeles chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA/LA).