“Is this patriot enough?“ Asian-American veteran shows scars in powerful speech denouncing racism

Lee Wong, a 69-year-old local official in Ohio and a veteran who served 20 years in the U.S. military, revealed his scars during a trustee meeting in West Chester during a powerful speech denouncing racism. Wong said he was mostly quiet about the discrimination he faced since immigrating to the U.S. from China as a teen for fear of repercussions, but felt compelled to share his story during a meeting last week in light of the recent uptick in Asian American hate crimes. “There are some ignorant people that will come up to me and say that I don’t look American - or patriotic enough. Now that really gets my goat,“ he said. Wong then stood up and lifted his shirt to reveal a huge scar across his chest. “Now, is this patriot enough?“ he asked. “People look at me strange, and dare to question my loyalty to this I read the U.S. are all the same. We are equal.“ For more info, please go to