Chester Fong was born in San Francisco, California on October 14, 1924. He was raised by his parents Lowe Tai On and Choy Ying Wah, who had emigrated from China in the early 1900s to live in the city's Chinatown district. During the Depression in the 1930s, Lowe and his family suffered many hardships, but his family was able to overcome them and become stronger.

Chester enlisted in the US Army in 1943 at the age of eighteen and served for two years in the Army Air Force. During his tour of duty in the European Theater of Operations with the US Eighth Air Force, he flew with his crew member aboard a B-24 Liberator heavy bomber on 22 combat missions over Germany. At the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, Chester was honorably discharged from the Army. He was awarded an EAME Service Medal with three bronze stars, as well as an Air Medal with two OLC for his service to his country.

Coming home from the war, Chester Fong continued his education as a graphic designer. He specialized in Graphic Design at the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco Art Institute). Subsequently, Chet became a successful freelance designer, and worked for many commercial, private, and educational companies in the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. His expertise was in marketing, advertising, and package design. He completed a vast array of projects for Del Monte Corporation, Wells Fargo Bank, Standard Oil of California, Pacific Lithograph Company, Minnesota Western and many other corporate industries.

Loving serigraphy, Chester had a large home studio where he created various art forms using silk screen printing. In addition to being a creative artist, Chester had far-ranging interests that included military history, politics, and current world events. During his free time, he collected a prodigious amount of audio, video, and newsprint material on WW II. His collections easily ran into the hundreds of items. Along with his large library of books, he became a lifelong student of history.

When Chet turned ninety years of age, he began writing a manuscript based on his wartime experiences. He had always wanted to write and publish a book about being a combat veteran and how it shaped the man he would become. It was difficult for him, and he was not sure if he would be able to finish his work. But with the help of family members, Chet was able to complete his memoir.