John Liu Fugh was the first Chinese American to attain general officer status in the U.S. Army. He was of Manchu descent. He was the 33rd Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Army.
In 1961, Fugh was commissioned into the US Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. He was stationed in San Francisco, Vietnam, and Europe, and was also part of the Military Assistance Advisory Group in Taipei, Republic of China from 1969 to 1972. From 1973 to 1976, Fugh served as the legal advisor to the Ballistic Missile Defense Office. From 1976 to 1978, Fugh held the position of Staff Judge Advocate for the Third Armored Division in Frankfurt, Germany. From 1979 to 1982, Fugh was the legal advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense. From 1982 to 1984, Fugh served as the Chief of Army Litigation. In 1984, Fugh was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General, and became the Assistant Judge Advocate General for Civil Law. In this position, he created the Army's first environmental law division and the procurement fraud division. He was the first Chinese American to become a general in the United States Army. Fugh was then promoted to The Judge Advocate General, a position he held from July 26, 1991 to September 30, 1993. As TJAG, Fugh was legal advisor to the Army Chief of Staff for the Persian Gulf War. During his time as The Judge Advocate General, Fugh established a human rights training program for developing countries and published the War Crimes Report, the first American effort since World War II to systematically document enemy war crimes. Fugh formed the Desert Storm Assessment Team to study Judge Advocate General Corps doctrine and combat roles. Fugh retired from active duty in 1993 with the rank of Major General, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by the Army Chief of Staff. After retiring from the Army, Fugh joined the Richmond, Virginia-headquartered law firm of McGuire, Woods, Battle and Boothe as a partner in its Washington, D. C. office. In 1995, Fugh joined McDonnell Douglas-China as President, responsible for strategic direction of business in China. Following the merger of McDonnell Douglas with Boeing, Fugh served as Executive Vice President of Boeing China, Inc. In 1997, Fugh joined Enron International China as Chairman, developing relations with the Chinese government.
Retirement and death
Fugh retired from Enron in 2001 and was then active in Sino-American relations, co-chairing and later chairing the Committee of 100, a non-partisan membership organization of over 150 prominent Chinese Americans, including I.M. Pei and Yo Yo Ma. Its dual mission is to encourage a constructive relationship between the U.S. and Greater China, as well as to strengthen Chinese American participation in American life. Fugh was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Atlantic Council of the United States, as well as a board member of the National Chinese American Memorial Foundation, and a member of the Asia Society's Washington Center Advisory Committee, until his death on May 11, 2010, at the age of 75 due to heart attack. Fugh's family continued by his wife June Chung, Connie Chung's elder sister; his daughter Justina Fugh and her husband Jonathan Frenzel; his son Jarrett Fugh and his wife Tracey; and his four grandchildren Jeremy and Joshua Frenzel and Isabelle and Sophia Fugh. They lived together in Virginia until Fugh's death.
Awards and decorations
Awards
In 2004, Fugh was awarded the Chinese American Pioneer Award by the Organization of Chinese Americans for: "Illustrious accomplishments in his field, and contribution to the Chinese-American community." In 2008, Fugh was recognized as an Outstanding American by Choice at a White House ceremony by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. In 2008 Fugh received the Trailblazer Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
