Christina Henry

Vanessa Uba

US History

March 29, 2001

Biography of Samuel Huang

Sam Huang was born in China in 1935 to J.L. and Dorothy Huang. J.L. Huang fought during World War II in China and he was a general and part of the American Volunteer Group, or better known as the Flying Tigers, and spent over 30 years in the military. (“I realized that being a military man, I had to obey orders. I would try to be home if I could help it” J.L. Huang (Samuel’s father). After Dorothy gave birth to her second child, Sam Huang, she became very sick and later died. Sam and his older brother David received much care and affection from J.L. Huang’s mother-in-law and grandfather.

Both Sam and his brother David were war babies. “They moved form Nanking to other places in the interior, finally reaching Chungking, the wartime capital of China” (J.L.Huang). According to J.L. Huang, they had to travel under refugee conditions, in which there no accommodations, no schedules, no comforts, no assurances of arrival at destination. People were forced to travel with the crowd and they were very fortunate if their families could stay together. Their life was very difficult in Chungking. Sam recalled some of the horrifying things that he had seen. The Japanese often used rape and torture as a weapon. However, J.L. and his sons managed to keep their spirits high in spite of the bombings by the Japanese. People had to hide in their mountain dugouts to escape the consistent bombings by the Japanese. When the bombings ceased, which was only for a short time, “people came out from their mountain dugouts to see if their homes were still there and to resume their lives again until the next day” (J.L. Huang). These were the circumstances of the war that Sam and David, as well as thousands of other people, had to deal with. Sam recalled that the hardest part of the war was the fear of being captured. In addition, sanitary conditions were very poor, and people would often contract TB and other contagious diseases. Not only did the Huang’s have to deal with these circumstances, but Sam and David’s education was totally neglected because of the war. However, David managed to go through high school and join the military. But “Sam was misfortunate from the start” (J.L. Huang).

At the age of ten, Samuel Huang had contracted TB. “During the Japanese war days, with the best of medical facilities [they] had on hand, [they] could not cure the TB, which was lodged in his right ankle bone” (J.L. Huang). Two of his father’s best friends, Ambassador, General Patrick Hurley and General Claire Chennault, saw Sam limping and asked the State Department for permission to send him to the United States for treatment. When Sam was ten years old, he sailed on the military hospital ship, the ST. OLEF, to the U.S. The doctor, in a desperate attempt to save his life, amputated his leg. Today, Sam has an artificial leg and lives a normal life. Sam stated that he is extremely thankful to the Americans that brought him to the US, for he owes General Hurley and General Chennault his life. Sam’s move to the US proved to be very fortunate, for his educational training. He graduated from the University of New York with a B.S. in art. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. from St. John’s University in Queens, New York. Sam taught biochemistry in New York for several years. He is now living in Riverside, California, where he is now teaching.

Samuel Huang is currently doing a mural at the March Field Museum, which is carved out of wood. He is dedicating this mural to General C.L. Chennault and the Flying Tigers, in which his father was also apart of. President Franklin Roosevelt admired Chennault, which is shown in his February 1942 letter to the General: “The outstanding gallantry and conspicuous daring that the American Volunteer Group combined with their unbelievable efficiency is a source of tremendous pride throughout the whole of America. The fact that they have labored under the shortages and difficulties keenly appreciated…” Sam also greatly admires Chennault because he saved his life. Sam is also portraying several events and stories that took place during World War II in China, which will be located on the mural. Sam added that he wants Americans to know that they should be very proud of America, for they did not use rape and torture as a weapon during the war.

These things and many more are being portrayed by Samuel in his “dedication mural” because he wishes not only to remind people of what went on during World War II in China, but also to show his thankfulness to America for the kindness Americans have bestowed upon him, as well as others. Many will truly appreciate this mural.