The Royse City American Legion post celebrated its inaugural Tri-County Hero Award, naming Bruce Chim as the first recipient of the recognition. The award was conceived to recognize those unsung heroes who go above and beyond in the community. They must have served in the military or be a first responder. Chim is a member of the U.S. Army and is currently stationed in Fort Hood, but resides in Royse City since he is about to retire from the military.
His story starts out many years ago as a child when he escaped the horrors of the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s under the Khmer Rouge, a radical regime under despot Pol Pot. Under this regime it is estimated that 2 million people were killed, although no one knows for sure just how many. Bruce spent approximately 6 years traveling from refugee camp to refugee camp until he found himself in America.
Bruce made the determination at the age of 17 to join the U.S. Army. He was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. This was the same campaign that post adjutant Jason Castleberry was part of. In fact, they spent time at the same bases during the same 2003-2004 deployment. "We were both experiencing some of the same experiences but from a different perspective," Jason said. "He had such a different path than myself, but we ended up at the same point with the same mission. Now more than 10 years later we are here in the Rockwall/Royse City area talking about it."
Anytime we have a chance to honor a servicemember or veteran for what they do for others is something we cherish. We want to thank the CGH Realty team for being the January sponsor.