In recognition of May as Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Col. Samuel Lee, command chaplain, Northern Regional Medical Command Headquarters, gives remarks May 14 during an event called Many Cultures, One Voice: Promote Equality and...

The Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall Community celebrated Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month May 14 with a presentation and food sampling at the community center on the Fort Myer portion of the joint base.

"When we talk about what it means to be Asian-American, to me it is a commitment to country, to family, to community," said Army Chaplain (Col.) Samuel Lee, who served as guest speaker for the event.

Asian-American Pacific Islander Month was established in 1977 when then-Congressmen Frank Horton and Norman Mineta and then-Sen. Daniel Inouye introduced resolutions asking then-President Jimmy Carter to declare the first 10 days of May, the month when the first Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States in 1843, as Asian/Pacific Heritage Week. Carter made it an annual recognition in 1978 and in 1990 then-President George H.W. Bush proclaimed the entire of May to be Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Lee, who currently serves as chaplain for the Northern Regional Medical Command, said he felt God's call to serve as an Army chaplain while he was studying for his second master's degree at Grace Theological Seminary in Indiana. He has the distinction of being the first Asian-American division chaplain and Army War College Resident selectee in the history of the Army. He is also the first chaplain to obtain 3Y (space activity certification) through the Command General Staff College resident course.

"We are stewards of what we have been given," Lee told the Marines, Soldiers and civilians gathered at the event. "That matters to all of us. We have the responsibility of cherishing the freedom we have ... so the next generation has better hope than we have."

Noting that the theme of the month is Many Cultures, One Voice: Promote Equality and Inclusion, Headquarters and Service Battalion, Headquarters Marine Corps, Henderson Hall Commander Col. Anthony S. Barnes, who served as host for the event, to spend time thinking about

"I encourage you to reflect on what it means to be from cultures that have made us so strong," he said.