98-Year-Old World War II Veteran Receives Congressional Gold Medal

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A Sacramento-area World War II veteran, 98-year-old Joe Chew, has been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor.

Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost acknowledged the honor at a recent meeting, but the recognition comes from the WWII Chinese American Recognition Project.

“I wanted to thank him for his service and honor him with this very prestigious award,” Frost said.

The official presentation will be done in Washington D.C., and the presentation will be done by congress.

Mr. Chew was born in Red Bluff in 1921. His father had immigrated to the U.S. to flee persecution in China. He was drafted in 1945 into the 1908th Army Service Unit, Camp Beale.

“In Red Bluff, where I was born and raised, there’s five Chinese families, and most of the boys went into the service at that time,” Chew said.

After the war, Chew earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Chico State, he helped operate his family’s restaurant, then worked as a tax accountant until he retired.

He will celebrate his 99th birthday on December 25th. He is very active and enjoys going to Asian supermarkets to snag good deals and sitting at home watching sports.