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USS Midway Hosts Seventh Annual Asian Heritage Awards
The trip to San Diego from Washington for Navy Capt. Cynthia Macri last weekend was full of surprises. A little more than half-way there, an elderly man on her flight took ill and collapsed. A physician, Macri attended the man as best she could, then asked the captain of the flight to divert the plane to Omaha, so the man could be taken to the hospital.
Later, Saturday evening, her name was called to receive the Seventh Annual Asian Heritage Award for Military Service, presented by Congresswoman Susan Davis of San Diego, a champion of veterans affairs, who beforehand praised the military for their sacrifices beyond the call of duty.
“That’s what I do,” Macri, the daughter of a renowned plant geneticist and a World War II Japanese relocation camp internee, told the audience of some 500 in attendance aboard the USS Midway. “I am not an extrovert by any means. I just do my job.”
Macri was among 15 men and women of Asian descent honored for their achievements and community service as part of the Seventh Annual Asian Heritage Awards.
Dr. Lilly Cheng, who followed Macri, in accepting the Humanitarian Outreach Award for her 40 years of global work on cross-cultural communication and speech pathology, told the audience that “speech-language communication” is a human right. That award was presented by Navy Rear Admiral Ron MacLaren, who said, “I am honored to be able to give back to my (Korean) roots and to honor those who have achieved so much.” The U.S. Navy was among the major sponsors of the Awards. Other major sponsors included the Avery-Tsui Foundation, Ford Motor Company Fund, Barona Resort and Casino and Phamatech of San Diego. Added MacLaren: “The important thing about events like these is to show how diverse our Navy community is.”
Indeed, the night was as diverse as any could be – from five-month-old Rhys Dann, half Thai and half Welsh, who came in a tux, with his parents, to show support for grandma Rosalynn Carmen, co-founder of the Awards, to octogenarian and retired chief boatswain’s mate Richard Kong, who, proudly in uniform, rendered the Pledge of Allegiance. Before that, a Junior Navy ROTC color guard comprised of Asian American high school students from Troy High School in Fullerton, California, presented the colors.
The theme of the event was set at the opening by the One Dream Children’s Choir of San Diego, led by Darleen Herriman, a teacher at Francis Parker School. The 65 youngsters, all dressed in ethnic attire and representing the event’s theme of inclusiveness, sang “One World,” a musical composition written by Chinese composer Wang Lee Hom.
The message resonated throughout the night, even to the end, when Tom Hom, who received the final honor for Special Recognition, told the current generation of Asian Americans that they need to “reach outside the box and embrace all cultures.”
While ethnic enclaves like Chinatown in San Francisco are important for the older generation, said Hom, “second and third generations” have to embrace the greater community. “By blending the ancient wisdom of Asia with the dynamic culture of America, you can make a new and wonderful contribution,” he said.
A large part of the audience had come to honor Hom, 83, who received the major award for breaking ground more than a generation ago as the first Asian American in San Diego to hold public office. Hom was elected to the San Diego City Council and later became only the third member of the California Assembly. In pres… |
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