The Legacy of West Point’s First Chinese Cadet
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| Ying Hsing Wen West Point Class of 1909 Photo: West Point Archives |
On May 19, 2011, my relatives and I honored my great-grandfather, Ying Hsing Wen, West Point’s first Chinese cadet who graduated in 1909. In a previous post, I discussed his background and many accomplishments during and after his West Point military academy years. Our family created two awards for deserving students within the Department of Foreign Languages.
Lieutenant Colonel and Assistant Professor of Chinese, Brady Crosier, guided us throughout the day. Staff members from the Chinese department as well as a journalist from the World Journal Chinese newspaper also joined the group.
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| Ying Hsing Wen is buried in West Point’s cemetery Photo: M.Adcock |
Before attending the awards ceremony, we visited the gravesite of my great-grandfather and great-grandmother. The gray headstone, engraved in both English and Chinese, stands tall in the beautifully landscaped cemetery. The English inscription lists basic name and date information. The Chinese words say much more – all seven children along with their birthplaces are listed. I marveled at how within these picture characters lay a depth of meaning.
Afterwards, we planned to attend the cadet parade. I had the privilege of viewing the parade last year and had been impressed with the discipline, training, and dedication of the hundreds of cadets uniformly marching on the field. At the end of the parade, highly-trained cadets had jumped from planes and expertly landed in front of the Superintendent’s box centered along the field. This year, West Point canceled the cadet parade due to inclement weather. Our gracious hosts instead provided a private tour of the campus including visiting stunning scenic areas overlooking the Hudson River.
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| Overlooking the scenic Hudson River L to R: Martha Gallagher, LTC Brady Crosier, Harriet Tung, Alfred Wen, Maria Wen Adcock and Rick Wen Photo: M.Adcock |
Next on the agenda, we attended the Department of Foreign Languages reception for the award presenters and staff. In the early afternoon, our hosts escorted us to the front row of the Thayer Hall auditorium for the awards ceremony.
Two family members presented the LTG Ying Hsing Wen Memorial Award. My Aunt Harriet Tung from Hong Kong awarded Cadet Michael Kerper the China travel Fellowship. Cadet Kerper won based on a China research paper competition. My Uncle Alfred Wen from New York City presented the Excellence in East Asian Studies award to Cadet Uzkar Ibrahim. The award, based on academic distinctions, was provided by my Aunt Margaret Chao of Maryland who could not attend the ceremony.
The two annual permanent awards represent Ying Hsing Wen’s legacy. I hope one day to bring my daughter to the ceremony to honor her heritage and great-great-grandfather.
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| Descendants of Ying Hsing Wen with award winners Cadet Uzkar Ibrahim and Cadet Michael Kerper (Photo: M.Adcock) |
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| Last year’s event included the Cadet Parade. Due to bad weather, this year’s parade was canceled. Photo: M.Adcock |
thank you
Impressive cadets!
Fantastic! What a great way to honor your history.
Michigan Mama – I just added a photo from last year’s cadet parade. As you can see it was a beautiful sunny day and the cadets were wearing wool uniforms!
Too bad that the parade was cancelled due to bad weather. You said that you viewed last year’s parade. Can you post those photos?
My daughter is just 2 years old so we’ll have to wait until she can sit still before bringing her. Thanks for the nice comments! – Maria Wen Adcock
Wonderful story! How old is your daughter? Perhaps you can bring her to the award ceremony before she goes to college.
It’s wonderful your family has such a rich history! Kudos to your great-grandfather for breaking barriers as West Point’s first Chinese cadet.
Wow! How wonderful. What a great family history!
Such a great post – and awesome part of your family history!