| Coral Wong Pietsch | |
|---|---|
BG Pietsch in Judge's robe |
|
| Born | Waterloo, Iowa |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | USAR/JAG |
| Years of service | 1974[1]-2007[2] |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Battles/wars | Operation Iraqi Freedom[3] |
Coral Wong Pietsch (Chinese: 珊瑚黄皮茨奇; Pinyin: Shānhú Huáng Pí Cí Qí) was a Brigadier General in the United States Army Reserve. She was also the first Asian American woman to reach the rank of Brigadier General in the United States Army.[4]
Born in Waterloo, Iowa, to a Chinese immigrant father from Canton, China who had come to the United States to start an Chinese restaurant,[1] and a Czech American mother, she grew up feeling different than her peers during the height of the Cold War, often being mocked for her Asian half of her ethnicity.[5] Initially earning a bachelor's degree in theatre, and later a master's degree in drama, she went on to attend The Catholic University of America to attend law school. There she would meet her future husband, an army officer who was also attending to become a lawyer.[1]
Commissioned into the Judge Advocate General Corps in 1974, she was assigned to Eighth Army in Korea then to Fort Shafter, Hawaii, completing her active duty requirement, and transferring to the Army Reserves. After active duty, she settled down and began to reside in Hawaii with her husband and became a civilian attorney for U.S. Army Pacific. While a reservist she had been deployed to Johnston Atoll, Japan, the Philippines, Washington D.C.,[1] and Iraq.[3] She was a chair commissioner of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, with her term expiring while deployed.[6]