In 2018 there were fifty four Chinese restaurants in Springfield, Missouri; each and every one of which owes its existence to one man: David Leong.[1] I have blogged in the past about David Leong and his family’s restaurant Leong’s Asian Diner in Springfield, Missouri. One week ago today Wing Yin “David” Leong passed away quietly at home, just days short of his 100th birthday.
The Sunflower Village Historic District was listed in the National Register in 2014 as a rare example of “temporary” war-time housing that was built by the federal government in 1943 and evolved into housing for veterans during the post-war housing shortages.
As we experience the 75th anniversary of the day the Allied Forces invaded Europe it is worth noting why the day was so vital then and now. The sacrifices of the men that day were monumental. According to the U.S. Army, more than 160,000 men crossed the English Channel to five beaches in Normandy, France marking the greatest sea-borne invasion in history.[1] Nine thousand Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded. Over 100,000 of their brave comrades made it off those beaches and on to defeat Nazi Germany.