Elmor. Senior Colonel (PRC)’s rank insignia (1955-1965). Digital image. Senior Colonel Rank Insignia. N.p., 19 Oct. 2012. Web. Apr. 2016.
Fascinated by the back story of “The Legacy of J,” which is a literary journalism assignment from HumCore, I asked my parents about my name and its origins. Turns out, my name had no special meaning behind it other than the fact that my grandmother created that name. My dad asked why I wanted to know to which I answered, “Many people have significant reasons behind their names and I just wanted to know if I had a story behind mine.” I ended up telling him about “The Legacy of J” and how the character’s name was war-related. My dad reminded me of my great uncle who fought against the Japanese around the time of World War II. Every time I visit China, I would stay with my great aunt and great uncle. Their home was magnificently grand and they had special military chauffeurs to drive us wherever we wanted. Breakfast was delivered daily and there was 24/7 security watch. It wasn’t until my most recent visit to China that my great aunt told me about the life they led during those times that got them all these benefits.
It was during the winter, where the army was low on food, clothing was scarce, and shoes were even scarcer. There was no time to sleep as they were being chased by the Japanese. If there was a time for sleeping, they had to do it while walking. Those who couldn’t endure this agonizing trek would be captured by the Japanese or left to die. When one of their soldiers died, they would strip them of weapons, clothing, and shoes if they had any. Leaving one of your own behind was an extremely difficult thing to do but of course they had to take care of themselves before others.
During his time in the Chinese army, my great uncle was promoted to Colonel and before he retired, was promoted again to Senior Colonel (US equivalent of a Brigadier General). After he retired from the army, the Chinese set my great uncle and great aunt up with a house in the city. They worked full time but even that barely met ends need since China was in such a poor and unstable state at the time. After my great aunt saved up enough money, she brought 2 of her nieces into the city, one of whom was my mother. They took a one-way train to Guangzhou, China.
At that time, everyone wanted to move into the city where jobs were much more plentiful than in the country. My mother was only 15 years old when she boarded that train, the youngest of 5 children. It still ceases to amaze me what courage she had in taking that train. When I was 15, I was still a baby finding my way in high school. Because she was so young, my great aunt had to fake her birthdate. As to this day, she does not know her real birthday.
After learning about the lives of the Vietnamese in lecture, it caused me to think back on how different my life could have been. Reflecting back, it’s so surreal to think about the order of events that occurred. If it weren’t for my great uncle who risked his life to serve in the Chinese army, my mother would have never had the opportunity to move to Guangzhou. She would have never met my dad and I, along with my brothers, would have never been born. How I ended up in America is a different story. No, there is not a story behind my name but there is a story behind how I came to be. This story will continue to stay with me in my future endeavors as well. I constantly think about how lucky I am to be where I am because the people who got me here had their lives a whole lot tougher than I did.
War Times, Peace Times and Other Times 