Fallen Crusader remembered decades after Golden Dragon Massacre
Calvin Fong ’77 was caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting at the Golden Dragon restaurant in 1977.
November 17, 2020
On Sept. 4, 1977, the gang – related shooting attack that is forever known as the Golden Dragon Massacre, took place at 822 Washington Street in Chinatown, San Francisco, California, inside the Golden Dragon Restaurant.
Being stimulated by the well established quarrels, five offenders of the Chinese youth gang, the Joe Boys, attempted to kill the leaders of their rival Chinatown gang, the Wah Ching. This massacre, which left 11 injured and five dead, was vengeance for a shootout on July 4, 1977 in Chinatown’s Peace Garden with the Wah Ching, according to police reports at the time.
One of the victims fatally shot was an 18-year-old, Calvin M. Fong ’77, a recent graduate of Riordan High School.
Glen Perez ’77 met Clavin their freshman year. “Calvin had a special way of making you feel like a friend right away, but in a very genuine way,” he said. “His spirit was animated, he was kind and very bright. Never heard him say a mean thing about anyone.”
Aysaiah Radoc Manrique ’21 said, “It is sad to hear that one of our Riordan brothers died so young, not even getting the chance to live his life to the fullest.”
Calvin Fong was a staff member of The Crusader newspaper and Lance, the school yearbook.
Antoinette Perez, Glen’s wife, also knew Calvin. “We were devastated by Calvin’s death. I remember attending his funeral in Chinatown. The place was packed and the crying was just heartbreaking,” said Antoinette, a 1977 graduate of Notre Dame High School. “I am grateful for this opportunity to honor the memory of a dear and most delightful person.”
After this tragic event, a cutdown in operating hours for the Golden Dragon occurred, closing at 10 p.m. instead of the usual 3 a.m. In addition, the tourist and business traffic greatly decreased following this shooting and remained like this for a handful of weeks.
Following many attempts to continue its operation after the shooting, it was shut down after a failed health inspection, and did not reopen until May 2006.
Today, the Golden Dragon is called the Imperial Palace Restaurant. Between 1991 and 2018, the four men convicted of the killings were released on parole.
Riordan parent Janett Cabanero stated, “It is crazy to know that where we usually eat after funerals, a shooting happened 40 plus years ago.”
Glen Perez said, “I just remember feeling like — why him? He was such a bright light in the world.”