Francis B. Wai

"Francis Wai" redirects here. Not to be confused with Francis Lai.
Francis Brown Wai
Captain Francis B. Wai, U.S. Army
Born(1917-04-14)April 14, 1917
Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii
DiedOctober 20, 1944(1944-10-20) (aged 27)
Leyte, Philippines
Place of burial
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Hawaii
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service1940 – 1944
Rank Captain
Unit34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsMedal of Honor[n 1]
Purple Heart

Francis Brown Wai (April 14, 1917 – October 20, 1944) was a United States Army captain who was killed in action during the U.S. amphibious assault and liberation of the Philippine Islands from Japan in 1944, during World War II. He was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously for extraordinary heroism in action on Leyte.[2]

As a youngster, Wai liked to surf and he played several sports in high school and college. He graduated from college with a degree in finance. Although he initially planned to work with his father, he joined the Hawaii National Guard in 1940, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1941.

Wai was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), the United States' second highest decoration for valor in combat. After an extensive review of military awards in 2000, his DSC was upgraded to the Medal of Honor (MOH).[3][4] Wai is the only Chinese American soldier to ever receive the Medal of Honor.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b United States Army Center of Military History, 34th Infantry Honors
  2. ^ C-Span, Pacific Americans Awarded Congressional Medal of Honor, June 21, 2000
  3. ^ Williams, Rudi (May 19, 2000). "21 Asian American World War II Vets to Get Medal of Honor". American Forces Press Service. Archived from the original on May 11, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  4. ^ McDermott, Anne (June 21, 2000). "Clinton awards Medal of Honor to 22 Asian-American World War II veterans". CNN. Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
  5. ^ Owens 2004, p. 22.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ballad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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