Francis Wai (2014) - Hall of Fame

Francis Wai

Induction:
2014

Captain Francis B. Wai was not only a four-sport athlete at UCLA, but an American war hero and Bruin pioneer. A quarterback for Coach Bill Spaulding, Wai lettered for the Bruins in 1937-38, playing his final season with UCLA legends Kenny Washington and Woody Strode. In the last two games of the 1938 season, Wai helped lead UCLA to road victories over the Honolulu Town Team and the University of Hawaii in the inaugural Pineapple Bowl. But it was in the Pacific Theatre of WWII that Wai, who attained the rank of Captain, established his legacy. On Oct. 20, 1944, he voluntarily commanded a group of leaderless, disorganized and trapped American soldiers at Red Beach in Leyte, Philippine Islands. Repeatedly exposing himself to enemy fire so that the soldiers could advance, Wai lost his life just as the unit captured the last Japanese pillbox. The soldiers, inspired by his heroism and courage, managed to capture and secure the beachhead. In 2000, Wai posthumously received the Congressional Medal of Honor, becoming the first American of Chinese descent and the first UCLA student-athlete to be awarded the United States' highest military honor.