Benjamin Ralph Kimlau (金勞少尉) (April 11, 1918 – March 5, 1944) was a Chinese American aviator and United States Air Force bomber pilot.
Benjamin Ralph Kimlau | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | April 11, 1918 Concord, Massachusetts | ||||||||||||
| Died | March 5, 1944 (aged 25) Los Negros Island, Admiralty Islands, Papua New Guinea | ||||||||||||
| Buried | near or off Los Negros Island | ||||||||||||
| Allegiance |  United States (United States Army United States Army Air Forces) | ||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1942-1944 | ||||||||||||
| Rank | 2nd Lieutenant | ||||||||||||
| Unit | 380th Bombardment Group | ||||||||||||
| Commands | 530th Squadron | ||||||||||||
| Battles / wars | Second World War | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 劉國樑 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 刘国梁 | ||||||||||||
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Kimlau was born on April 10, 1918, in Concord, MA and moved to New York City with his parents in 1932. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School. After his visit to China, he studied at Pennsylvania Military College in Chester, Pennsylvania, from 1938 to 1942.[1] Upon graduation he was promoted to Field Artillery 2nd Lieutenant. With America at war, Kimlau joined the US Army Field Artillery, but later transferred to the United States Army Air Forces 380th Bombardment Group of the Fifth Air Force. After training as a pilot, he was stationed at Fenton Airfield in Australia. In Australia, Kimlau flew B-24 Liberator bomber in missions during the New Guinea campaign. On March 5, 1944, Kimlau's bomber was attacked by the Japanese and crashed near Los Negros Island.
His bomber group was given 2 Presidential Unit Citations.
Honors
editKimlau has been honored by American Legion 1291, which named their post after him.[1] In 1962, the Benjamin Ralph Kimlau Memorial Gate (金勞紀念牌坊) was erected at Kimlau Square within Chatham Square in his memory. The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designated the Kimlau War Memorial as a landmark in June 2021.[2][3]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Post History". ltkimlau.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
- ^ Small, Zachary (2021-06-23). "City Approves Landmarks Honoring Chinese Americans and Native Americans". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-07-07.
- ^ "Kimlau War Memorial" (PDF). New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission. June 22, 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-07.