page_title: Military history of Asian Americans
section_title: Interwar period
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of Asian Americans / 20th century / Interwar period
context_page_description: Asian Americans, who are Americans of Asian descent, have fought and served on behalf of the United States since the War of 1812. During the American Civil War Asian Americans fought for both the Union and the Confederacy. Afterwards Asian Americans served primarily in the U.S. Navy until the Philippine–American War.
  At the beginning of the 20th century, Asian Americans began to attend U.S. military academies, and the first Asian Americans were awarded the Medal of Honor. World War I saw Asian Americans serving as "non-whites" in the National Army. After World War I, Asian American service fell into obscurity until World War II when significant contributions by Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, and Korean Americans were documented.
  With the desegregation of the U.S. military in 1948, segregated Asian American units ceased to exist, and Asian Americans served in integrated armed forces. Asian American combatants in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts were awarded the Medal of Honor, and Asian Americans have continued to serve into the present day.
context_section_description: During the interwar period U.S. forces were involved in several minor actions, including the Russian Civil War and multiple events in the Caribbean that have since become known as the Banana Wars; also, the Yangtze Patrol was directly and indirectly affected by the Second Sino-Japanese War and other events. Between 1918 and 1933, at least 3,900 Filipino Americans served in the U.S. Navy at any given time as mess stewards, having largely replaced African Americans in that rating. Up to World War I, Filipino sailors were able to serve in a range of occupations in the U.S. Navy; however, after World War I, a rule restricted Filipinos to the ratings of officer's steward and mess attendant. These restrictions did not extend to the Insular Force, which was limited to 500 individuals from Guam or the Philippines.
  In 1934, Gordon Pai'ea Chung-Hoon became the first Asian American U.S. citizen to graduate from the Naval Academy, and the first Asian American West Point graduate, Wing Fook Jung, graduated in 1940.  In 1940, Japanese Americans were the largest ethnicity of Asian Americans, followed by (in order of population) Chinese Americans, Filipino Americans, Hindu Americans, and Korean Americans.
  In 1937, the Second Sino-Japanese War began. A Chinese American, Arthur Chin, had gone to China in 1934 and joined the Republic of China Air Force, and flew as a fighter pilot. During the war Chin becoming the first American flying ace of World War II, with eight victories. He was later awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Air Medal.
  In September 1939, war broke out in Europe following the German invasion of Poland. The U.S. officially remained neutral, but Americans became involved in combat while serving in other countries' militaries in units such as the Flying Tigers in China and the Eagle Squadrons that served with the Royal Air Force shortly after the Battle of Britain; U.S. forces also provided logistic support through the cash and carry program, and by undertaking convoy escort duties in the Atlantic. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the U.S. officially declared war, and from that point on Asian Americans were on the front lines as U.S. civilians. Asian Americans from Oahu, including Japanese Americans, assisted with aid efforts following the attack. On the other side of the Pacific Ocean, Philippine Commonwealth forces, under U.S. command since July 1941, prepared for an attack that would come nine hours later.
caption: Filipino aviation cadets being trained by a U.S. Marine on use of a M1917 Browning machine gun in the Philippine Islands
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