The Adventures of Eddie Fung: Chinatown Kid, Texas Cowboy, Prisoner of War

by Judy Yung (Editor)

Eddie Fung has the distinction of being the only Chinese American soldier to be captured by the Japanese during World War II. He was then put to work on the Burma-Siam railroad, made famous by the film The Bridge on the River Kwai. In this moving and unforgettable memoir, Eddie recalls how he, a second-generation Chinese American born and raised in San Francisco's Chinatown, reinvented himself as a Texas cowboy before going overseas with the U.S. Army. On the way to the Philippines, his battalion was captured by the Japanese in Java and sent to Burma to undertake the impossible task of building a railroad through 262 miles of tropical jungle.

Working under brutal slave labor conditions, the men completed the railroad in fourteen months, at the cost of 12,500 POW and 70,000 Asian lives. Eddie lived to tell how his background helped him endure forty-two months of humiliation and cruelty and how his experiences as the sole Chinese American member of the most decorated Texan unit of any war shaped his later life.

227 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2007

About the author

Professor Emeritus Judy Yung is a second-generation Chinese American born and raised in San Francisco Chinatown. She received her B.A. in English Literature and Chinese Language from San Francisco State College and her Master’s in Library Science and Ph.D. in Ethnic Studies from UC Berkeley.

Judy Yung headed the Chinatown Branch Library in San Francisco and the Asian Branch Library in Oakland and worked as a journalist for East West newspaper before joining the faculty at UC Santa Cruz, where she taught courses in Asian American history, women’s studies, oral history, and mixed race.

Dedicated to reclaiming Chinese American and women’s history, she has written numerous books and articles about Chinese immigration and Chinese American women and served as a historical consultant to the Chinese Historical Society of America, the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation, and many other historical and film projects through the years.

Judy Yung is the recipient of book awards from the Before Columbus Foundation, Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS), and Western History Association; as well as the AAAS Lifetime Achievement Award and UC Santa Cruz’s Excellence through Diversity Award and Excellence in Teaching Award.

She currently resides in Santa Cruz with her husband Eddie Fung and their cat, Sparkie.

Reviews

[asia]

Interesting read!

Was an assigned reading for a class and I enjoyed it. The stories were insightful and Fung has a really humorous outlook on life, despite the hardship he faced. I think there's a lot to be learned by him.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

This unique and charming biography is written in Eddie's voice. The book, The Adventures of Eddie Fung, comes about because Judy Yung, a professor and historian, needs to interview someone who could give a Chinese perspective on the years of World War II for the Chinese American history articles she was writing. An American Army officer suggested that she talk to Eddie, who has the distinction of being the only Chinese American who survived the ordeal of being a Japanese prisoner of war.

Judy found Eddie to be a natural story teller and soon decided that his entire life was worthy of recording for posterity. She visited with him several times over a period of months, recording hours of interviews covering the different segments of Eddie's interesting life. Along the way, Eddie proposed marriage, and Judy agreed, but she continued with this project so that Eddie's story would be told.

His parents were immigrants from China but Eddie and his brother and sisters were born in the United States. His family lived in Chinatown in San Francisco in a very close knit community. As a teenager though, Eddie longed for adventure, and having seen a few western movies, he decided to move to Texas and become a cowboy. Though the ranchers he worked for knew he had no experience, they gave him a chance and he proved to be a quick learner and a hard worker. After a couple of years he met a recruiter and decided to join the Army. Since he was a minor, the Army wrote his mom, who refused to give her permission. But Eddie found a way, and eventually joined a National Guard unit. The Texas National Guard Unit was activated shortly before the US entered the war and was shipped off to Java. Their battalion was captured by the Japanese almost immediately and they became known eventually as The Lost Battalion. Their destination was Burma, where they were forced as prisoners of war to build the railroad to Siam through the rugged tropical jungle. This horrific experience was commemorated in the epic film, Bridge Over the River Kwai. They spent forty-two months in the captivity of the Japanese.

Those who survived were starving and many suffered from jungle diseases by the time they were freed. Eddie was one of those survivors. Because they had shared this horrific experience, The Lost Battalion survivors began to gather annually for reunions which continue to this day.

A key part of WWII history, Eddie's story offers a unique perspective of survival and loyalty to one's "Band of Brothers."

[John Jung · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring story about Eddie Fung, a feisty and spirited soul, who was always his own man. An account of three major parts of his life, first growing up in the confines of San Francisco Chinatown during an era when Chinese were not welcome in most parts of town, then his life in Texas discovering that the life of a cowboy is really tough, and finally, his adventures as a soldier during WW II who is captured by the Japanese and has to survive the ordeal that POWs faced. Eddie had many exciting adventures and his story is well worth reading as it holds many valuable lessons for successful living.

[Elisabeth Newbold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing oral history by the only Chinese American taken prisoner during WWII. I met him and his editor, in person, at CLA last November. He was so cute, alert (in his 80's), and got a standing ovation after a reading of excerpts. So, of course I had to buy the book--and they autographed it for me.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grabbed this because it was in the Texas section and I was desperate for something to bring Dad on laundry day. Lo and behold, he looks at it, flips through it, and says, "I remember Daddy talking about this guy." Apparently my Grandpa was stationed with Eddie Fung during WWII and Dad grew up hearing stroies about him. Pretty weird, huh?

[HaywardPublicLibrary]

August 2009 selection of the Autobiography Book Discussion Group at the Hayward Public Library. Discussion on Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 6:30 p.m.