George Goon (Goon Fook Go): The Early Years. By John Goon
My father's early life and ancestry were
always a bit murky. This was in stark contrast to my Mom’s (Grace Moy) family
history since her grandmother, both parents, and a brother (with a spouse and three
kids) lived very close by. Not so with my Dad's family. His relatives were scattered
to the distant winds. It's not that he was secretive; it's just that my father
never made a big deal about his upbringing, especially the pre-WWII period. My
brother (Lyman), sister (Dorleen), and I weren’t that inquisitive, and my
father didn’t volunteer things spontaneously. What we got when we did probe
were responses that were straightforward and without elaboration. Dad might
grapple for the right English phrase to express an idea, but he didn't apply any
extra window dressing. Over time, each family member would learn bits and
pieces about my Dad’s early life, but it was hard to see and fully appreciate the
whole tapestry of his life.
In the late 80’s, we began to fill in the gaps.
Lyman started a Goon Family genealogy chart that expanded our awareness of past
and current relatives and I tape recorded two interview sessions with my father.
The genealogy chart is an ongoing enterprise with long term benefits. The taped
interview ended after two 1-hour sessions, but the words were transcribed and
saved.
This article summarizes the material from the
1998 taped interview. The interview attempted to open new ground on the pre-war
and wartime experiences initially and to explore details of the post-war era later.
The interview reached 1948 before being put on hold.
The act of researching my father’s past was a
novel and sobering experience. The young George Goon seemed alien and removed
in my eyes; a stranger plucked from the pages of a paperback historical
non-fiction. The family connection made it impossible to avoid being pulled into
the past with him as he tackled one life challenge after another. It felt
doubly weird to know that my father contended with adult circumstances at an
age when I was just starting High School and knew diddlysquat about the world
around me. He went on to serve in the war, to marry, to start his own business,
to raise three kids, and to move out to the suburbs; all the while garnering
the admiration and respect of practically everyone he met. He and my Mom made
no bones about the affection and respect that they felt for each other. As a
parent, he was much more savvy about raising his kids than anyone (the kids
especially) realized or appreciated. For these and so many other reasons, there
is no one that I love or respect more. My hope is that this article will
provide him with some pleasurable remembrances. That’s only fair since his
accomplishments have given his children and grandchildren so much pride and
joy.
1923
My father was born
on Aug. 16, 1923
in the village of Tai Hong Shee. His father was Goon Buen Sluei. His mother
was Leung Kang Yee. There was one brother and one sister. Life was tough,
especially so after Goon Buen Sluei left for the USA, leaving the mother and kids behind. My
father fought constantly with the kids in the neighborhood, gaining a
reputation for “…taking nothing from nobody…” The nature of the
grandfather-grandmother relationship and their economic arrangements remains
unclear. This Grandfather later died in Boston MA and his remains were returned to China for burial.
1938
At age 13 or 14, my
father’s family moved to Malaysia. The reasons for that move are obscure, but
were presumably economically driven. He spent a year there before being shipped
to Boston. The circumstances surrounding the travel passage
arrangements are also vague. What is clear is that my father was extremely
devoted to his mother and the separation was stressful for everyone.
1939
My father was 15
when he arrived by steamer ship in Boston MA. He lived with an uncle (one of two in the city) and spent a year getting
acclimated.
1940
Dad went to New York City to go to school and learn English. He lived
with Yu Sing, his brother-in-law (Yu Sing was married to my father’s sister. The
sister was still in China.). Dad attended PS 37 on South 3rd Street in Brooklyn, NY, and earned his keep by working at his brother-in-law's laundry. {Yu Sing has since passed away, but is survived
by three sons and a daughter. Two sons, Till Doong and Henry Moy, live in New
York, as does the daughter, Koh Yueng.}
Dad's English was
not very good, but he worked hard and got by. He had lots of friends (there
were plenty of Moys in NYC to socialize with) and had a good time in NYC. {Dad never had problems making friends
wherever he traveled. It was a knack.} After 9 months in NYC, he returned
to Boston.
1941
In Boston, he stayed at a YMCA and shared a room with
Joe Yung. They became fast friends and attended technical training in arc
welding from a government subsidized class. The found jobs as arc welders working
for the Geo. Lawley shipyards and they were there when the war with Japan began.
During this time, Dad
met Cousin Esther G. Kee, who was to have a lasting and important influence on
his life. The Boston area is heavily populated by Goon family members,
and Esther's father happened to be one of them. He was also a WWI veteran. Esther’s
father had passed away, but Esther’s mother had heard that my father was related
to her husband and invited him over for tea. That became the beginning of an
enduring relationship.
1942
Dad and Joe Yung worked
at the shipyards for four months before going to Canal Street in NYC to enlist. The time was 1942 and it
was common knowledge that the Army needed Chinese Americans to fight in the China-Burma-India
campaign. Dad was 18. {Dad and Joe lost
contact with each other after the war, but they became reacquainted during a 14th
Air Force Reunion
Convention in 1997 at NYC.}
From NYC, Dad was transported
to Fort Dix, NJ, for registration and processing. From there he went to Patterson Field, OH, for 3-4 four months of training. After that, he ended up at an air
force depot at Springfield,
IL, while the Army decided how to dole out assignments.
Some recruits went to Florida for airplane mechanic or quartermaster training. My dad went to Camp Crowder, Missouri for advanced radio operator training. The Camp Crowder group became the 987th Signal Operations
Company. {For more details about the Camp Crowder
experience and the 987th’s tour of duty in China,
see Wayne Wong’s book, “American Paper Son”.}
My father qualified
as a high speed Morse code radio operator, achieving 25 words per minute (wpm).
At that speed, the transmission is so rapid that a special key is needed and a typewriter
must be used to record messages. Fast listening and fast typing were
prerequisites for the job. It takes 2-3 weeks to reach 5-10 wpm and about 5-6
months to reach 25 wpm. My father was proud of his ability to excel.
1943 to 1945
The 987th
Signal Operations Company saw action against the Japanese along the Indo-China
border. Dad and Joe Yung served together throughout war and were discharged at
war's end in 1945. {This interview didn’t
delve into the war period at all. The intent was to cover the war in subsequent
interviews.}
1946
Dad returned to the USA for discharge at Fort David. After a month of civilian inactivity, he
re-enlisted in February 1946 for 3 more years. The Army sent him to Shanghai in March 1946 as part of the US effort to broker a peace settlement between
the Communists and the Nationalists. In June 1946, he received a 3 month
furlough (His "bonus" for re-enlisting). He went to visit his mother and
ended up in a pre-arranged marriage to my Mom.
It took time to get
my Mom out of China. When my father first tried to move her to Canton, he ran into Army rules and regulations that
required more legal proof of marriage. My Mom returned to her small village,
but was later able to join my father at his new duty station in Peking (Beijing). They stayed there for about 9 months.
1947
Around February 1947,
the American troops were pulled back to the USA. My Mom was taken back to the US on an Army transport along with a group of
12-14 other war brides. They landed at an Oakland CA Army base and were processed
along with their spouses. My parents traveled back to Boston, MA and rented an apartment for a few months. It turned out that my Mom's father
lived in Washington DC so they decided to pack up everything and set out for Washington DC to find him.
They discovered that
Mom's father was a high rolling local gambler who never sent money back to China to help support the family. This was a
severe disappointment because this grandfather had received a fairly good Chinese
education and had actually worked in a bank while in China. He had a high school education, although not
much college. The newlyweds stayed with him in his hotel room apartment for a
while until they could settle down in the city somehow. Mom started vocational
school to learn English and a trade (seamstress), but they knew that they could
not afford to stay at the hotel.
As fate would have
it, my parents met George Moy and his family while eating in the hotel restaurant.
They became good friends and George and his wife, Bo Gee, eventually offered to
provide my Mom with room and board while my Dad finished his tour of duty at Fort Monmouth, NJ. There was a year to go on his enlistment so this offer was a godsend.
In return for room, board, and $20/week, my Mom worked in the Moy restaurant
and watched over the two Moy children. {I
remember going to the Moy family restaurant for lunch during my elementary
school days, but I had no idea how pivotal they were to my family. The Moys
eventually raised three daughters (Mabel, Beverly, and Belva) and a son
(George, Jr.).}
With Mom taken care
of, my father devoted his attention to completing his enlistment. He served in an
instructors company for 3-4 months and taught new radio operators. He was then assigned
to Eniwetok, near Guam, as a radio operator. Eniwetok is a pacific atomic bomb test range and Dad was
"stuck there for six months". While there, he “witnessed” an A-bomb
test from about 25 miles away. He was “protected” by goggles and garments. For
this participation he received a letter of commendation. There were no medical
checks performed before or after that my father can recall.
1948
My father returned
to Fort
Monmouth NJ where he was assigned to MP duty near Ashbury Park. He served as CPL of the Guard and inspected
the guard stations and MP status. Life was satisfactory and Dad fulfilled the
remainder of his service obligation. {Dad
did mention a truck accident where he fell and ended up in the military
hospital for a short while, but there was no apparent consequential damage. He
got out of the service in one piece.}
Dad returned to DC and
collected $20/week unemployment for about three months. He finally found work
at the Good Earth restaurant near 16th and K Street NW and stayed there for several years. My
parents managed to save $3,000 to $4,000 during this time which helped with the
start up of a hand laundry business later on.
The taped interview transcript concludes here.
The project is far from complete and large gaps remain. In particular, the war
years (1943 to 1945) content is woefully under-represented. The critical early
1950’s also needs to be fleshed out. I hope to get new WWII material during the
2006 Reunion and
to conduct a second round of interviews with Dad over the summer. Every vet’s
story has something to offer and deserves to be heard.
1950’s
George and his sons Lyman and John at his
Laundry.
2000 to Date
George at Christmas
with one of his favorite hats.
George and Connie on
George’s 80th Birthday.
George with some of
his grandchildren, grandniece and grandnephew