Do Young Chang obituary

Dr. Do Young Chang, who served as a Western Michigan University professor of political and social science, died Aug. 3. He was 89.

Chang, of Windermere, Fla., joined the WMU faculty in 1971 as an associate professor of social science and retired in 1993 after nearly 22 years of service to the University. He transferred from social science to political science in 1989.

A Korean exile, Chang was born in 1923 in Yong Chun, Korea, and emigrated to the United States in 1962, earning a doctoral degree in political science at the University of Michigan.

Prior to coming to the United States, he was a three-star general and chief of staff of the South Korean Armed Forces. He attended the Do Yo University in Tokyo until 1944 with a dream of becoming a teacher, before being drafted into the Japanese Army and starting his military career. He served in the Korean Army for 17 years from its inception, as the Japanese occupation of Korea ended with World War II.  He took pride in the evolving democracy and economic growth of South Korea and, until his last days, hoped and prayed for the unification of his beloved divided nation. His autobiography, "Yearning for Home," was published in 2001.

Services

A memorial service was held Aug. 9 in Gotha, Fla.