2023 Chinatown ID Seafair Parade

The 2023 Chinatown Seafair Parade took place on Sunday, July 23, 2023.  Cathay Post #186 had the honor of leading the parade as the official "color guard."  The following Cathay Post members formed the color guard detail:  

• Tony Chinn, U.S. Army

• Robert Dela-Cruz, U.S. Army 

• Danny Ing, U.S. Air Force

• Warren Yee, U.S. Army  

With the help of the Puget Sound Military Vehicle Collectors Club, Retired U.S. Navy Commander, Wil Painter brought his vintage "M38A1" military jeep to take part in the parade.  Our hope was to have some of our living World War II veterans ride in the jeep.  Unfortunately, none were able to attend.  Instead, we had Post Commander, Haydon Mar and post member Jerry Q. Lee ride in the jeep. 

Post member, Gerald Chang and his wife Hayley and a few veteran friends brought their motorcycles to be part of our contingent.  Members of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Seattle Lodge (CACA) also participated along side us to promote our AAPI Hometown Hero Celebrations.  

Cathay Post #186 and CACA are the sponsoring organizations to honor our Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) military service members and first responders.  The next Hometown Hero Celebration will take place on September 14, 2024 at the Museum of Flight.

Special Recognition:

• Ivan Urnovitz, President Puget Sound Military Vehicle Collector Club (PSMVC)

• Commander Wil Painter, U.S. Navy (Retired), PSMVC Member

• Lt Col Mike Yaguchi, Niesei Veterans Committee Commander

• Seattle Chinese Baptist Church Boy Scout Troop 254

• Chinese American Citizens Alliance, Seattle Lodge

• Darsie Dela-Cruz and Carol Wong, Publicity Table at Hing Hay Park

Cathay Post #186 will host an online fundraising auction this Fall, and your support is needed.

Each year, Cathay Post #186 invests our resources to help our youth and our community. Since our founding, we have contributed nearly $100,000 to our scholarship program alone. We have and continue to support many other charities and community programs.

Help us to continue this important mission with a tax-deductible* donation for our very first “online” auction.

Please consider donation of items such as:

· Gift cards for restaurants, home improvement, travel, groceries.

· Tickets to various forms of entertainment such as sports events or artistic performances (musical, ballets, plays, concerts, symphonies).

· Travel vouchers or airline award tickets.

· Sports or celebrity memorabilia, and monetary donations are always gratefully welcome.

Select photos from our 26 July 2023 meeting. We want to thank Chief Cheol Kang, Chief of the Community Programs and Services Division for the King County Sheriff's Office for coming out to speak to us.  Thanks to everyone who came to our meeting.  We hope to see all of you at our August meeting and our Post Officer Installation Banquet in September.     

PRESS RELEASE - July 11, 2023,   WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Pvt. Wing O. Hom, 20, of Boston, Massachusetts, missing in action during World War II, was accounted for on April 6, 2023.

In February 1944, Hom was assigned to the Company B, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division. On Feb. 2, Hom went missing in action when his unit engaged in defensive fighting against German Forces near the town of Cisterna di Latina, Italy.  His body was not recovered, and the Germans never reported him a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a finding of death on Feb. 3, 1945.

Following the war, the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC), Army Quartermaster Corps, was the organization tasked with recovering missing American personnel in the European Theater. In 1946, AGRC investigators recovered a set of remains designated as X-541 Nettuno, three miles west of Cisterna thought to be associated with Hom. The investigators didn’t have enough identifying data to positively ID the remains and they were interred at USMC Nettuno, which is now Sicily-Rome American Cemetery.  He was declared non-recoverable May 10, 1949.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Anzio battlefield, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains designated X-541 Nettuno recovered near Cisterna in September 1944, possibly belonged to Hom. The remains which had been buried at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuna, Italy in 1948, were disinterred in September 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.

To identify Hom remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), analysis.

Hom’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Sicily-Rome American Cemetery an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Nettuno, Italy, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Hom will be buried in Brooklyn, New York on Oct. 11, 2023.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.

Hom’s personnel profile can be viewed at: https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000001nzXLeEAM.

HAYDON MAR, U.S. Army Veteran

• Military Service:  U.S. Army

• Military Occupation Specialty:  Dental Officer

• Officer Candidate School:  Fort Sam Houston, 1989 

• Commissioning Officer:  Commissioned by Haydon's father, LTC James Mar, U.S. Army,  Charter member and Past Commander of Cathay Post #186.

• Advanced General Dentistry Training:  Fort Campbell, 1990  

• Duty Assignments:

  • 2nd Forward Support BN, 2nd ID, Camp Casey, Korea

  • DENTAC, Ft Ord, CA

  • Dental Army Reserve Unit, Ft Lewis, WA

• Current Cathay Post #186 Post Commander

“Heroes don’t wear capes or tights ... they wear dog tags and combat boots.”

Thank You for your Service, Haydon Mar!

Cathay Post member, Lloyd Hara recently emailed us and said:

“Excellent newsletter…keep up the great work.”

Lloyd is a long time Cathay Post member and a past commander of our post.  Lloyd has a very distinguished public service career as Seattle Port Commissioner, Seattle City Treasurer and King County Assessor just to name a few.  He founded the Seattle International District Rotary Club and is a past president of the Japanese American Citizens League, Seattle Chapter.  

Read the magazine article in the University of Washington alumni magazine that tells his story of public service.  

Thanks Lloyd for your encouragement, your public service, and your sustained support of Cathay Post #186.  

Every year, from Armed Forces Day to Labor Day, Blue Star Museums offer free admission to active-duty military personnel, including the National Guard and Reserves, and their families. On average, more than 2,000 museums participate, including nature centers, zoos, and children's museums.  There are many museums in Seattle that participate in this program.  Check out the Blue Star Museums website for more information.  

Submit Your Intent to File a Claim

The Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT Act) is the biggest expansion of Veteran health care and benefits in generations. VA encourages all eligible Veterans and survivors to file a claim — or submit their intent to file a claim — for PACT Act-related benefits now. If you notify VA of your intent to file before Aug. 10, 2023, you may be able to get retroactive payments to Aug. 10, 2022, when the PACT Act became law. Learn how to let VA know of your intent to file.  Go to:  https://www.va.gov/resources/your-intent-to-file-a-va-claim/

BE A MEMBER OF CATHAY POST #186 

& THE AMERICAN LEGION

The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. It is the nation's largest wartime veterans service organization, committed to mentoring youth and sponsorship of wholesome programs in our communities, advocating patriotism and honor, promoting strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans.

The American Legion's success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives.

If you have served at least one day of active military duty since

December 7, 1941 and were honorably discharged or you are still serving active military duty honorably, you are eligible for membership with The American Legion.

Come to our meeting and check us out.  If you want to join the Cathay Post #186, please contact Adjutant Kent Wong and he can sign you up.    

Let's make a difference in our Community, State and Nation.    

"Veterans Strengthening America"