John C. Young

John Chew Young (; June 16, 1912 – October 27, 1987), Chinese American, was born in San Jose, California. A key figure in the development of Chinatown, San Francisco, he was one of the original board members of the Chinese Historical Society of America, and a decorated American World War II army veteran of the China Burma India Theater. He was celebrated as one of the 20 individuals from San Francisco history "who was heroic in stature and who contributed significantly to the building of the San Francisco we know today" as part of the Called to Rise monument by Thomas Marsh in the Financial District. The monument's inscription describes Young as "an Engineer from Stanford University [who] devoted himself to the improvement of San Francisco's Chinatown and helped found the annual Chinese New Years Parade." Early and personal life John C. Young was the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Young Soong Quong. John's father came to California as a farm laborer in 1881, at the age of 11. John was born in 1912 and grew up in San Jose Chinatown; he attended public schools in San Jose. After graduating with a degree in petroleum engineering from Stanford University in 1937, he married Mary Lee Young (Chinese: 李心如 Pinyin: Li Ruxin. December 1, 1908 – January 14, 2002), a San Francisco born Chinese American, and they had three children: Janey Young Cheu, Connie Young Yu, and Alfred John Young. Military career Commissioned in the United States Army at the outbreak of World War II, Young served in the China Burma India Theater—initially to organize the airdrop of supplies to troops and to Dr. Gordon Seagrave, "the Burma Surgeon"; and then as a member of the liaison group under General Joseph Stilwell. Young spent more than two years along the Burma Road, training and advising Chinese troops in ordnance activities and participated in the Salween campaign. At the Battle of Mount Song (Songshan Mountain), he and other U.S. Army engineers (Peter S. Hopkins and Carlos Spaht), helped design and implement the strategy of tunneling and placing TNT charges that destroyed the core of that Japanese stronghold. After the road was opened, he helped equip the Chinese armies with new American weapons. "John Young was awarded one of China's highest decorations, the Grand Order of the Cloud and Banner, for his aid in opening the man-made, 1,000-mile lifeline. For his service as a U.S. Army Combat Liaison Officer in World War II, he was awarded the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal.