FF Fraternity - Los Angeles Lodge | History | Members | Contact
F.F. Fraternity is the oldest Chinese fraternity in the United States, which today has evolved into a global brotherhood of academics, professionals and entrepreneurs. The original idea of F.F. was to form an organization that fosters closer cooperation and mutual support among students from China studying on the East coast.
F.F. was actually the brainchild of five Columbia students visiting five Yale students at a 1909 Yale - Harvard football game. These original ten managed to convince fourteen other students to join them in the 1910 Summer Conference of the Eastern Chinese Student Alliance Conference at Trinity College where F.F. Fraternity was formally founded. With their American education, many of these students hoped that they might one day return to China to help modernize the country. They fashioned the organization after American college fraternities, while achieving a brotherhood based on the organization's motto of "Fellowship and Service." Today, this basic premise of F.F. remains largely unchanged.
The object and purpose of the Fraternity is to cultivate fraternal love; to uphold a high standard of conduct in private and public life; to encourage a high standard of achievement; and to assist by all honorable means in the advancement of the Brothers in their work. The Fraternity has always been studiously non - political, be it Chinese, American or World Politics. The motto of the Fraternity is "Fellowship and Service," that is, to provide fellowship among Chinese and service to men and country. It is one of the philosophies that contributes to the perpetuity of the Fraternity.
There were numerous individuals who contributed to the development of the Fraternity at various stages. One of the outstanding members was a legendary Chinese diplomat and international judge, Dr. V.K. Wellington Koo, who along with other student leaders built the initial foundation of the Fraternity. Brother Wellington Koo served as an ambassador to France, Great Britain and the United States; was a participant in the founding of the League of Nations and the United Nations; and sat as a judge on the International Court of Justice in The Hague from 1957 to 1967.
V. K. Wellington Koo at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919
I.M. Pei in front of the Louvre
A generation later, another wave of students came and shaped the Fraternity. One of those energetic students was the world - renowned architect Brother I.M. Pei, whose service as the U.S. Chapter Chairman and helped steer the Fraternity during the most difficult war years. I. M. Pei went on to design the Louvre, John F. Kennedy Library, and Bank of China Tower.
During WWII, Brother Moon Chen joined the Flying Tigers as an American to support China. The Flying Tigers composed of pilots from the United States Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps, recruited under President Franklin Roosevelt's authority. Their mission was to bomb Japan and defend the Republic of China. Because the US wasn't in the war, they had to volunteer and attack the Japanese under a foreign banner. After the US entered the war, he officially fought for America. Later on, he was recognized by Chiang Kai-shek, and became his personal pilot.
Flying Tiger Moon Chen
Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia David Lam and his wife
After World War II, there came another wave of students who propelled the Fraternity to new heights. Among them was Brother David Lam, who later became the 25th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, and he was the first Chinese Canadian to be appointed as a vice-regal in Canada.
Others included Major General William “Bill” Chen, the first Chinese American to achieve the rank of Major General in the U.S. Army. Brother Bill Chen was in charge of the nuclear codes in Redstone Arsenal, United States Army post in Alabama.
And Brother Henry “Hank” Wong, a key figure in the success of NASA’s Landsat Program. Hank was the head engineer for Vandenberg Air Force Base during WWII and the mission controller on Apollo 1.
Major General William “Bill” Chen
FF Fraternity. US Chapter. Winter Reunion Banquet. December 20, 1952.
F.F. Fraternity is one of the most active and influential Chinese fraternities in the United States. The strength of the organization comes from its highly-qualified members and their determination to build on the spirit of "Fellowship and Service."
Currently, there are active Lodges of the Fraternity in Ann Arbor, Boston, Honolulu, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Singapore, Shanghai, and Taipei. From 2014 to 2024, we have initiated 100+ new Brothers worldwide with diverse background such as economics, education, engineering, medicine, law, finance, and management consulting, as well as music, entertainment, entrepreneurship and aviation.