[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 1, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2818-H2819]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING REAR ADMIRAL MING ERH CHANG

  (Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)

[[Page H2819]]

  

  Mrs. KIGGANS of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
life and service of the first naturalized Asian American to become a 
flag officer in the United States Navy, Rear Admiral Ming Erh Chang.
  He was born in Shanghai, China, in 1932. Just over a decade later, in 
1946, his family immigrated to the United States to escape the Chinese 
Communist Party.
  His dream was to attend the U.S. Naval Academy. However, because he 
was not a citizen, he was not allowed to do so. He was not deterred.
  Instead, he attended the College of William and Mary. After 
graduating, he joined the Navy in 1958, becoming one of the first 
officers to earn the rank of admiral after completing officer candidate 
school rather than the Naval Academy.
  Rear Admiral Chang served our Nation honorably for 34 years before 
retiring in 1992. He dedicated the rest of his life to mentoring and 
promoting young Asian Americans so they could achieve the American 
Dream as he had done.
  Rear Admiral Chang passed away in October 2017. He embodied what it 
meant to an American, to serve our great Nation, and to carve a path 
forward for future generations of Asian Americans. It is a privilege to 
honor his legacy here today.

                          ____________________