thedrifter
07-05-03, 01:52 PM
Chinatown Honors Marine Who Helped Topple Saddam Statue
(New York-AP, July 4, 2003) — A Marine whose image was broadcast around the world as he helped pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad was honored Friday by other Chinese-American veterans during Chinatown's Independence Day celebrations.
"It's overwhelming," Chin said of the media attention he has received. "But maybe through my actions we can help the community and I can try to make a difference."
Chin, uncomfortable with the media spotlight, spoke briefly during the ceremony and answered few questions afterward. He downplayed his role in the statue's fall in Baghdad, saying the flag was given to him by a lieutenant who was working at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
"I didn't realize the world was watching. I was just trying to do my job," he said. "That was about it."
Fang A. Wong, the department commander for the American Legion in New York state, said Chin has helped people become more aware of the military service that Chinese-Americans have provided to the United States, which he says dates back as far as the Civil War.
"It's good what Eddie did. It captures everyone's attention. All of a sudden it's on live TV - here's a Chinese-American soldier, serving the United States," Wong said. "You don't know how much that will do for the image of Chinese people. We should not be looked at as being outsiders anymore."
Chin, 23, joined the American Legion's branch in Chinatown and was officially presented its hat during the ceremony. He also received a plaque from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New York.
Shortly after wrapping the U.S. flag around the towering Saddam's face, military officials - highly conscious of anything that could be interpreted as a sign of American occupation -ordered Chin to take it down. He then replaced it with an Iraqi flag, and the bronze statue was soon pulled down.
"I can't see how anybody can even touch him for doing the wrong thing. He was following orders," said Wong, a Vietnam War veteran.
"And it proves the American spirit. GIs are GIs. When we go there, we raise our flag," he said. "Look at all the nations we've saved. We move in, we move out. We help them rebuild their nations."
Chin was a corporal in the Marines when the statue was pulled down, but was promoted to sergeant before he left the corps. He has enrolled at New York City College of Technology to study architecture.
Chin and his family are ethnic Chinese from Myanmar, formerly Burma. They moved to the United States when Chin was 1 week old.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_070403_marine.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
(New York-AP, July 4, 2003) — A Marine whose image was broadcast around the world as he helped pull down a statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad was honored Friday by other Chinese-American veterans during Chinatown's Independence Day celebrations.
"It's overwhelming," Chin said of the media attention he has received. "But maybe through my actions we can help the community and I can try to make a difference."
Chin, uncomfortable with the media spotlight, spoke briefly during the ceremony and answered few questions afterward. He downplayed his role in the statue's fall in Baghdad, saying the flag was given to him by a lieutenant who was working at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
"I didn't realize the world was watching. I was just trying to do my job," he said. "That was about it."
Fang A. Wong, the department commander for the American Legion in New York state, said Chin has helped people become more aware of the military service that Chinese-Americans have provided to the United States, which he says dates back as far as the Civil War.
"It's good what Eddie did. It captures everyone's attention. All of a sudden it's on live TV - here's a Chinese-American soldier, serving the United States," Wong said. "You don't know how much that will do for the image of Chinese people. We should not be looked at as being outsiders anymore."
Chin, 23, joined the American Legion's branch in Chinatown and was officially presented its hat during the ceremony. He also received a plaque from the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New York.
Shortly after wrapping the U.S. flag around the towering Saddam's face, military officials - highly conscious of anything that could be interpreted as a sign of American occupation -ordered Chin to take it down. He then replaced it with an Iraqi flag, and the bronze statue was soon pulled down.
"I can't see how anybody can even touch him for doing the wrong thing. He was following orders," said Wong, a Vietnam War veteran.
"And it proves the American spirit. GIs are GIs. When we go there, we raise our flag," he said. "Look at all the nations we've saved. We move in, we move out. We help them rebuild their nations."
Chin was a corporal in the Marines when the statue was pulled down, but was promoted to sergeant before he left the corps. He has enrolled at New York City College of Technology to study architecture.
Chin and his family are ethnic Chinese from Myanmar, formerly Burma. They moved to the United States when Chin was 1 week old.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_070403_marine.html
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: