I want to write about my Dad Chin Wee, the guy between the King and me.
The information I present here were from chats with Dad and notes from other people whom I can't recall. I think many of the notes may have come from my brothers Don and Kim. Anyone with more info or corrections is welcome to add to what we have on Chin.
Actual date of birth: Feb 15, 1916, but documented birth date is Dec 29, 1916. Don's notes say it was Jan 15, 1916.
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Chin with Mom and Grandma (I think), about 1925
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Chin's real father reportedly went bankrupt through gambling. His real mother "sold" Chin to King Mar's Mother when he was five months old. His birth parents (also Mars 馬) put him up for adoption since they could not afford to raise him.
As a child he was considered the bully in the village. If someone was crying, the first response was, "where's Chin?" His Grandmother punished him with thrashings, but she was kind to him afterwards.
Around 1938 (estimate on date), Chin was in the 11th grade in a high school receiving military and political training possibly. The school may have been high in the mountains near (or in) Hong Kong. The the school was moved to Canton due to political instability. High school students were viewed as the intelligentsia since there were no college students and students were aware of their importance for China.
During the Sino-Japanese War Japan kept bombing Canton and forced the school to close.
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Chin with Keng Lem, 1937
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Eventually 1 of 10 students stayed with the school while 9 of 10 went with Mao's Long March (~1937). Dad respected Chiang Kai-Shek and didn't leave. He stayed with his wife and his grandmother. He was able to get my Mom, his mother and grandmother to Hong Kong.
The name of his his school was Pui Ying 培英 (=Presbyterian?). About 1939, Chin graduated from Pui Ying School. It was relocated and unified with other schools. Chin was able to read and write in Chinese and English.
In 1936 he married Wong Yim Ngo. Yim's mother was at first reluctant to agree to the marriage. King's mother was second or third cousin to Yim's grand mother and convinced Yim's mother to say yes.
He became a U.S. citizen on May 6, 1940. Naturalization #83215. Port of entry Seattle, WA.
How did he get his name Chin Wee if he's King Mar's son? [Thanks to Kim and/or Don for the details]
Paper sons is a term used to refer to
Chinese people who were born in China and illegally immigrated to the
United States by purchasing fraudulent documentation which stated that
they were blood relatives to Chinese Americans who had already received
U.S. citizenship.
In 1906, the San Fransisco earthquake caused a huge fire that destroyed public birth documents. Suddenly a
new opportunity for citizenship arose: Chinese men who were already in
the United States could claim that they were born in the United States.
Other Chinese men would travel back to China as United States citizens
and report that their wives had given birth to a son. Consequently, this
made the child eligible to be a United States citizen, for which they
would receive a document. These documents could then be used for their
actual sons, or sold to friends, neighbors, and strangers. This was termed as a "slot" and would then be available for purchase to
men who had no blood relationships in the United States in order to be
eligible to enter the United States. Merchant brokers often acted as
middlemen to handle the sale of slots. [Wikipedia]
He was the paper son of "Wee Chin".
"Chin" was my Dad's uncle-in-law, though the uncle-in-law's real family name was "Lee."
Papers said Lee/Chin was a U.S.- born citizen and had four sons.
Many Chinese were brought to the U.S. by a General Lee in the Mexican-American War.
Papers said my Dad was the second son of Lee/Chin.
Draft board reversed the name order: made "Wee" the family name and "Chin" the given name.
After serving in the U.S. Army, my Dad asked to be re-nautralized. The request was denied since he already was a citizen.
Other paper sons of Lee/Chin:
"Chin Hong" was listed as the first son; he also served in the U.S. Army with Chin Wee.
"Chin On" was listed as third son.
"Chin Jeng" would have been a fourth son, but the slot was never used.
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Induction, Feb 1942
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My Dad enlisted with the U.S. Army right after Pearl Harbor. Inducted Feb 9, 1942. He attained the rank or corporal due to his education and earning a machine gunner rating. The photo of him as a cook was not the result of any racism. Anyone volunteering to be a cook was promoted. Dad volunteered.
He got an FCC Restricted Radio Telephone Operator Permit on Nov 29, 1946 from the (Board of Education of the City of New York) Veterans and Reconversion Training Program at the Manhattan Trades Center. "This permit authorizes Chin Wee to operate he classes of radio stations for which this permit is valid under the rules and regulations of the Commission, for a period of five years from the date of issuance."
Then he got a certificate for completing the Course in Radio Service and Repair, Feb 8, 1952.
In 1947 Chin returned to China in order to bring Mom to the U.S.
Another marriage ceremony was performed with the Vice Consul of the USA
in Canton on Apr 18, 1947.
He worked for King at the Pan American Cafe for many years as a cook and cashier. Then managed the Holly Cafe until it closed due to urban renewal and the building of the Century II Center. The Holly every Thanksgiving hosted free dinners for the less fortunate in Wichita. For awhile he also ran the Hong Kong Cafe, a truck stop on north Broadway, about the 3100 block.
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| The Holly Cafe | |
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In the Silver Dragon kitchen
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After selling the Holly Cafe, I drove Mom and Dad to California considering a move to Los Angeles or San Francisco. It was not to their liking and we came back to Wichita.
Then with Grandma Suzon's urging, the Silver Dragon Restaurant was opened on West Street. It wasn't a good location. There was a try working at a restaurant in Hesston, KS, then later Chin worked as a chef at the Wichita Club in the late70s but quit no liking the pace of the job.
He was a smoker certainly after being in the army and worked hard to stop and did in 1957.
Well, a hodge podge of bio info. Any contributions appreciated.
