Tony T.D. Moy

Tony proudly served in the Navy during World War II and was present at some of the most historic battles and iconic moments of the war in the Pacific. He was assigned to serve on the USS Vicksburg, CL-86, as a lookout in the battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Tony vividly recalled the raising of both American flags on the summit of Mount Suribachi. He recalled that the first flagpole looked like a crooked stick because the smoke and haze of the gunfire distorted the flagpole. He then witnessed the most iconic moment during WWII, forever memorialized in time by the Iwo Jima Memorial statue, as the second flag was raised on the summit.

During the battle at Okinawa, his ship supported the invasion by firing thousands of rounds in support of the Marines. He indicated that the Japanese kamikazes would target the larger ships, but one targeted his ship and missed it by less than one hundred yards.

Tony’s ship was assigned at the entrance to Tokyo Harbor at the end of the war to ensure that the Treaty of Surrender signing ceremony on the USS Missouri was not interrupted by any hostile forces. His ship then led the Pacific fleet back to San Francisco under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Tony was honorably discharged and was awarded four ribbons and two Battle Stars for the American Campaign, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, Philippine Independence, and WWII Victory ribbons. In 2021 he received the Congressional Gold Medal for his honorable service as a Chinese American.

After discharge, Tony earned his degree at Draper as a Mechanical Designer and worked for Arthur D. Little and Reece Corporation, among others. In the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, Tony worked on automated machines that would sew buttons on shirts, make button holes, sew the material into shirts and pants, press and fold shirts and pants so they could be inserted into plastic packaging.

During his retirement, Tony enjoyed the Red Sox, tending to his yard, going out to eat, and spending time with family and friends. He was an accomplished painter, one year winning Best in Show in the annual Massachusetts Seniors Art Contest where the top paintings were chosen as the Commonwealth’s Christmas cards. Many of his paintings were donated for fund-raising auctions, raising thousands of dollars for charities and organizations.

Tony was married to his beloved wife Josephine for 72 years until her passing in 2024. He was also predeceased by his brother, George Moy of Michigan. Survivors include his devoted and loving family: daughters Constance Psaros and her husband Brian of Weymouth; Linda Fifield and her husband Douglas of Gloucester; his son Marston Moy and his wife Andrea of Manchester, NH; and his six adoring grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Tony and Josephine’s lives will be privately celebrated this spring at the Forest Hills Cemetery Chapel in Boston.

Donations in Tony’s memory can be made to Care Dimensions Hospice House, 125 Winter Street, Lincoln, MA 01773 or Wounded Warrior Project at woundedwarriorproject.org.