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By U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ed Shank
On April 28, 2022, in an ornate ballroom inside the Army Navy Country Club in Arlington, Virginia, more than 350 attendees gathered to say goodbye to a very popular U.S. Army Signal Corps general officer.
Maj. Gen. Garrett S. Yee concluded his 35th year of service as assistant to the director of the Defense Information Systems Agency. Guests traveled from as far as Germany, Hawaii and South Korea to attend his retirement ceremony in-person. Online attendees numbered in the hundreds.
It was the general’s “George Bailey moment” — the final scene in Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life” when the entire room is filled with people showing appreciation for the impact one individual has made in each of their lives.
While most military retirements at the general officer level tend to be solemn, stuffy occasions, Yee’s ceremony was more like a large family reunion. Everyone in attendance was cheerful as general officers and presidential cabinet members mingled with Yee’s childhood friends and college classmates. The general’s wife, Maria, children, Alissa and Michael, and mother, Michiko, were greeted by dozens who thank them for their support.
Every officer, non-commissioned officer and civilian who served on Yee’s staff throughout his three-decade career was there, most of them meeting for the first time, each knowing the others through story and reputation to the point they consider themselves members of the same family.
Ten minutes before the ceremony kicked-off, Air Force Lt. Col. Angel Nelson, Yee’s former executive officer at DISA, walked to the front of the room to set the tone.
“How’s everyone doing today!?” Nelson shouted, her New Jersey accent on full display. The room exploded with applause!
“There are a lot of people in this room today. Let’s find out how we all know Garrett. Who here has deployed with General Yee to Iraq?” she asks.
“HOOAHs” bursted like popcorn throughout the room as multiple hands were raised.
“Who has deployed with him to Afghanistan?”
This time a unified “HOOAH” erupts. Some hands stay raised as more go up.
By the time Nelson finished her list of deployments and stateside assignments, the energy in the room resembled the live studio audience of “Saturday Night Live” broadcast. Everyone was smiling, in good spirits and anxious to see what would come next.
Don Means Jr., Director of DISA’s Operations and Infrastructure Center and emcee of the event, announced the arrival of the official party. The National Anthem was sung by Yee’s former executive assistant, Shanda-Monique Barnes, which was followed by a prayer from the former U.S. Army Chief of Chaplains, retired Maj. Gen. Paul Hurley. A one-minute, pre-recorded video from Gen. James C. McConville, 40th Chief of Staff of the Army, was then played.
“Garrett and Maria,” the general said in his video, “I cannot thank you enough for your tremendous service and your commitment to our Soldiers, our civilians, to our family and to our nation. You have an incredibly rich family history in our military and you have truly lived up to the legacy of serving with honor.”
Hosting the event was DISA director, Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert J. Skinner. Skinner began his remarks by saying to Yee, “If you want to know what an impact you’ve had, look around this room.”
Turning to the audience, Skinner said, “Garrett’s goal was to increase our engagements. When he first started, we were doing an average of about 50 engagements a year. Now those engagements have gone up to 250 a year.”
Skinner credited the increase in the agencies communications with Yee’s ability to relate to everyone, no matter how junior or senior, and explain how the mission relates to each individual.
“Our relationships are better than they’ve ever been,” Skinner said, “and that’s due to what Garrett has done across the board.”
The guest speaker was Honorable Eric K. Shinseki, a retired Army general who served as both 34th Chief of Staff of the Army and the seventh United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. As the first Asian American to serve in each of those offices, Yee credited Shinseki for being a role model throughout his career.
“Every day I would walk past your portrait in the hallway of the Pentagon and was inspired by your service,” Yee told Shinseki in his remarks. “As an Asian American to see all that you’ve achieved really made a difference. Thank you for your inspiration.”
Of all the attendees no one none seemed happier than an elderly Asian woman seated in the front row. Garrett’s mother, Michiko, a vibrant Japanese-American woman in her 80s, flew from Northern California to witness something she would have thought impossible as a child. In his speech, Shinseki gave insight as to why.
“The Yee family is a remarkable American story about duty and service,” the retired four-star said. “Mitchiko Ino was one of 120,000 Japanese in this country evicted from their homes following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Yet, despite the injustice and harshness of incarceration, all of Michiko’s four brothers would ultimately serve in the military.”
Shinseki went on to list 17 military veterans in the Yee’s immediate family that have served since the Second World War. The list included Garrett’s Chinese American father, Gilbert; his Uncle Jimmie Ino, who was awarded a Purple Heart for wounds received fighting with the all-Japanese American 442nd Infantry Regiment; and his Aunt Sue Kumagai, a Vietnam veteran and one of the first Asian-American women to reach the rank of colonel in the Army.
Shinseki then pointed out that, once Garrett is retired, his nephew, Army Spc. Gera Vera will become “the last of this family who has given so much to our country in peace and in war, defending freedom and liberty.
Shinseki’s speech was followed by award presentations to Maj. Gen. Yee that included the Army Signal Corps’s Silver Order of Mercury and a Bronze Public Service Medallion presented by Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Paul M. Nakasone.
Maria Yee was awarded the Signal Corps Regimental Association’s Silver Wahatchee Award presented to individuals who have voluntarily contributed in a significant long-term service to the improvement of the Signal Corps community. Both Yee children were presented a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of their late grandfather’s service as a Chinese American during World War II.
“I wish he could have been here today,” Yee said of his father. “He was able to see my promotion to brigadier general in 2013, then passed a year later while I was deployed. We were headed back into Iraq and I wasn’t able to get back to be with him. So my sister, Grace, put the phone to his ear and I was able to say goodbye. That is part of the sacrifice of being a member of the military.”
From his father, Yee says he inherited a deep commitment to serving one’s community. From his mother, Yee says he learned something just as valuable.
“My mother was incarcerated during World War II for being Japanese American,” Yee says. “It’s a very painful part of our history. It took strength, courage and grit to get through that, but she did. Her gift to me was that same strength, courage and grit that got me to get to where I’m at today.”
Yee turned to address his mother. “It’s a remarkable statement that, within your lifetime, you went from being imprisoned by an armed military to having a son become a two-star general in that same Army. Mom, you did well.”
Yee then turned to his wife, who he met in when they were just 15 years old and married before Garrett received his commission.
“I was deployed away from home for a total of 42 months,” Maj. Gen. Yee said. “If you would have met Maria while I was away, you would not have known that she may have be going through a very difficult time. Because that’s not Maria. She’s easy-going. She’s grounded. She’s easy to talk to. She never burdens you with her problems. She makes us all better. She is the definition of a resilient, military spouse. I know that there’s a place in heaven for Maria.”
In closing, Yee reflected on his long career.
“It’s gone by in the blink of an eye,” he said. “The thing I will miss most is the privilege of leading America’s sons and daughters. What I’m most grateful for is those who came before, those who served and are not here today. I’ve stood on their shoulders for the past 35 years. Now it’s my turn to step aside and lend my shoulder. To serve my nation in uniform has been an honor.”
Yee stepped from behind the podium saying, “This is Maj. Gen. Garrett Yee, signing off the net for the last time.”
The retired general saluted the crowd, which erupted in a standing ovation.
| Date Taken: | 12.29.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 12.29.2022 12:13 |
| Story ID: | 436045 |
| Location: | ARLINGTON, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 394 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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