Gene Shea Moy, 103, a military veteran, received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday, a week before he is set to accept the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor for distinguished achievement. Moy, who was born in China in 1917, is among the oldest living Chinese American veterans. He served in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945 and recalls deployments to the Philippines, Japan and Guadalcanal, where the Allied forces launched a successful campaign during World War II. Moy co-owned two Seattle restaurants in the 1940s and ’50s, according to his son Corey, and worked for Boeing for 27 years as a mechanic.
Moy, who will receive the Gold Medal on March 3, is among five Chinese American WWII veterans in the region to be honored this year. The Seattle chapter of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance — along with other community organizations — will collect individual recordings of veterans receiving their awards and compile them for a virtual ceremony that will be livestreamed March 13, said the alliance’s Seattle president Cathy Lee.
All other living veterans and families of deceased veterans in the region will receive their awards at a second, in-person event scheduled for Nov. 13.
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CORRECTION: A previous version of this article reported that six Chinese American WWII veterans would receive the award on March 3. It has since been updated to reflect the change.