It’s with profound sadness that we announce our father PFC Randall Ching, Company B, 5th Ranger Bn, passed away on, Wednesday 02 November 2022, at Chinese Hospital, San Francisco. He was a young 98 years old when he passed peacefully and without pain, surrounded by his family.
PFC Randall Ching is very unique among World War II veterans of Asian descent. He is the ONLY Chinese-American to have served in the ENTIRE famed 5th Ranger Battalion as a combat infantryman.
Randall Ching was born on 21 August 1924 in Chinatown, San Francisco. Due to the Great Depression, he and his family, including his brother, two sisters and their parents, traveled to and lived in China from 1933 to 1941. At the urging of his father, Randall left China and returned to the United States in 1941, ahead of the Japanese invasion. He attended Galileo High School, San Francisco between 1941-1943. But needing money, he dropped out during his senior year to work night shifts for premium pay at the Kaiser Richmond Shipyard as a welder and fitter. By 23 March 1943, he had enlisted in the United States Army.
Randall did his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. When asked whether he wanted to be a mess cook, Randall volunteered instead to be a Ranger. For his Ranger training, he was sent to Camp Forrest, TN and Fort Pierce, FL for amphibious training. Through his Ranger training, he became a feared fighting infantryman, especially with his knife-fighting ability and marksmanship. From January 1944 to October 1945, he served with the highest honors with Co. B of the 5th Ranger Bn. During this period, he earned the Bronze Star Medal with “V” (Valor) Device and one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster. (One Bronze Star, was awarded for night action at the Battle of Brest on 02 September 1944. Using just his knife so as to not draw attention to himself and his position, he first eliminated the occupants of a fortified position. And then later that night, again with just his knife, he single-handedly took out an enemy patrol. A second Bronze Star was awarded later for ground combat during the Normandy Beachhead Landing, specifically on Omaha Beach, on 06 June 1944.)
In addition to his two Bronze Star awards, Randall also earned the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal with Germany Clasp, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead (for the Normandy Beachhead Landing) and one Silver Star (for five campaigns) and the Good Conduct Medal. He also earned the coveted Combat Infantry Badge. The 5th Ranger Bn. itself earned two Army Presidential Unit Citations; and from the Government of France, the French Croix de Guerre with Silver-Gilt Star.
Additional awards were to follow. In April 2020, from a grateful government of France, Randall received the French Legion of Honor, Chevalier.
As a Chinese-American WWII Veteran, Randall in Dec 2020 received the Congressional Gold Medal. And as a US Army Ranger veteran, Randall received his second CGM earlier this year. He is one of only a handful of people to have received a second CGM.
Following his Honorable Discharge in October 1945, Randall went back to San Francisco where he briefly worked as a stock manager in his uncle-owned import/export store in the heart of Chinatown. In late 1946, he returned to China to visit his parents and there met and married the former Violet W.Y. Au, originally from Hawaii. Deciding they wanted to live the American dream and raise their family in America, in late 1947, they moved back to and settled in San Francisco where they eventually raised a son and three daughters. He initially returned to his job at the import/export store.
But from 1953 to 1954, Randall took advantage of the GI Bill to complete requirements to acquire his GED. And wanting a better life for his family, he went to night school at Heald’s College in 1954, where he received an AA Degree in Electronics Maintenance in 1959. After graduation, he worked as an electronics technician at Eimac, a division of Varian Associates in San Carlos, CA, where he was responsible for the repair and maintenance of high-energy electronics equipment. He retired after over 30 years in 1990.
Randall initially didn’t talk much about his experience or accomplishments in WWII. It was not until his son enlisted in the United States Navy and was sent to the Mekong Delta, South Vietnam to serve with the “Brown Water Navy,” that Randall began sharing his wartime experiences. His son returned home safely from active duty in Vietnam and made the Navy Reserve his career while reentering into the civilian world as well. He eventually retired as a Navy Captain. In later years, one of Randall’s grandsons carried on the proud military commitment by enlisting in the United States Marines, where he served two tours in a combat unit in Iraq as part of the Operation Iraqi Freedom task force.
Randall, in sharing his wartime experiences, said it was never about getting medals or the accolades. It was a job that had to be done when called upon by his country in its time of need.
Through his life’s experiences, Randall has taught his children the time honored values and virtues of the “old country and the new” so they not only would become mature responsible adults, but also so they would teach their children these same values and virtues; most important of these being love and devotion to one’s family and country. Randall (Violet passed in 2011) not only has his four children, but he is also blessed with seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. For Randall, family was everything to him.