I am reminded of the case of Willis Augustus Lee (1888-1945), Vice Admiral, USN. During his days at Annapolis, he acquired the nickname "Ching Chong" because of his name, his fondness for the Far East, and possibly his appearance (he was actually a distant relative of Robert E. Lee).
His Annapolis history came in handy during a naval battle in WWII. He was commanding a couple of battle wagons against the Japanese. However, in the "fog of war", things got confused, and other US forces sicced PT boats on Lee's forces.
His radio operators heard the order go out on the radio. Lee got on the radio to Guadalcanal and demanded that the boats be called off. However, his identity was questioned. He responded, "This is Ching Chong China Lee! Chinese, catchee? Refer your boss about Ching Lee. Call off your boys!" Guadalcanal answered, "Identity established. We are not after you."
