Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, April 28, “Reference News” recently published an article “Flying Books” to pursue friendship in “blood and fire casting” – The descendants of Doolittle's Operation Major Rescue to “seek relatives” across the ocean.” The full text is as follows:
In March this year, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Marcia obtained a coordinate that made him extremely happy from an email from Shangrao, China.
This is the positioning of the plane at the fall point of Jiangxi, China when Marcia's father participated in Operation Doolittle in World War II. 83 years ago, Operation Doolittle completed the first bombing of cities such as Tokyo, Japan, and became a landmark battle on the Pacific battlefield in World War II and was recorded in history.
Many people don’t know that after these bombers turned south, most of them crashed in Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other places. The Chinese military and civilians risked their lives to rescue and safely transfer the heroic actions of these parachuting pilots, creating miracles of rescue, have also become historical legends.
Over the past six years, Professor Luo Shiping, a researcher at the Anti-Japanese War Culture Research Association in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, has tried his best to find the dusty historical puzzle through more than 560 emails.
The heroic feats in the anti-fascist war connect each other's destiny. “The friendship between the peoples of China and the United States forged by blood and fire” has been baptized over time and has remained fresh forever.
In October 2018, Malaysia (center) took a photo with Ji Yunda (right) and Ji Yingjie, descendants of villagers who participated in the rescue of Dulite raiders in Wucun Town, Guangfeng, Shangrao, Jiangxi Province. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
A pursuit across time and space
With his father's collection of photos and business cards collected by him for more than 70 years, Malaysia arrived in China for the first time in 2018. As a member of the Doolittle Raiders Children's Association of the United States, this trip participated in commemorative activities in China. He set out in advance and made a special trip to Guangfeng District, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, and set foot on the “homeland of rebirth” of his father.
After Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, on April 18, 1942, US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle led 16 B-25 bombers to take off from the aircraft carrier and raided and bombed the Japanese mainland for the first time. Later, due to poor contact and insufficient fuel, 75 US military pilots abandoned their planes and parachutes in Jiangxi and other places. Chinese military and civilians risked their lives to rescue them at all costs. 64 people were successfully rescued by Chinese military and civilians and delivered them safely to the rear, creating a miracle of rescue in the history of World War II.
Marcia's father was the navigator and bombardier of Operation Doolittle crew 14. At the age of 9, Marcia saw his father and his comrades take a photo in China for the first time.
“Many of the parachuting points were occupied by Japanese troops. Some of the other crew members were seriously injured and some were captured, but the five members of the No. 14 crew were lucky enough to land in Shangrao and met kind people.” Marcia recalled that in 1960 he was still a high school student. “My father pointed to a place on the map and told me that his life was saved by Chinese villagers, government officials and soldiers here.”
The story told by his father was as clear as a movie in Marcia's mind.
Marcia's father was the third parachuting in Unit 14. He leaped over and the strong wind ripped through him, and the backpack and supplies tied to his jacket were scattered. On the top of Dapaishan Mountain in Wucun Town, Guangfeng District, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, he wrapped himself in a parachute and survived a humid rainy night.
The next morning, he went down the mountain and found a farm house and knocked on the door. This tall, white and blue-eyed “Divine Soldier” shocked the villagers who opened the door. A young man who was farming in the fields saw Marcia's father, although he was speechless, he still led him into the village.
The villagers took out eggs, honey and other food, and set fire to help him dry his clothes. After regaining his strength, Marcia's father was escorted to the township office and successfully met with other teammates.
Until his death, Marcia's father was still thinking about the young man with his trousers rolled up and his smile. From the information collected by his father in Shangrao, Marcia realized that he had to truly understand this most important experience in his father's life.
During this trip to Shangrao, Marcia did not find the person his father was looking for. He carefully wrapped the local soil and stones with his father's parachute rag, and brought it back to the United States. Before leaving, Marcia wrote a letter: “Thank you very much for your hospitality and friendship, and also for your memory of my father. I hope that the friendship between the Chinese and American people will become stronger and stronger.”
The photos and business cards brought to China by Malaysia during this trip are leading him to meet “Chinese friend” Luo Shiping.
During a commemorative event, a yellowed business card displayed by Marcia with the words “Jihao of Wangjiaxiang, Shangrao” immediately attracted Luo Shiping's attention. For the past 30 years, Luo Shiping has been excavating and protecting local cultural and historical materials and sites related to the Anti-Japanese War in Shangrao. For a long time, the story of Shangrao actively rescuing members of the Dolitt Operation Team is still little known.
“Operation Doolittle has close ties with Shangrao.” Luo Shiping said that the order to fully rescue the American pilot was issued by the Third War Zone Command located in Shangrao. “Three planes crashed in Shangrao during Operation Doolittle, and more than 10 team members were rescued here.”
When Luo Shiping saw the old photos collected by Marcia, he seemed to have found the key to open the door to dusty history, and his heart was surging. “It was only during the exchange that Malaysia had visited Guangfeng, Shangrao, and felt that it was very similar to his father's description.”
After attending the commemorative event, Marcia returned to the United States. The pursuit of the historical footprints of Dulite's operation in Shangrao was not blocked by the Pacific Ocean.
In November 2018, Luo Shiping received the first email from Marcia: “I hope to continue to maintain our communication and restore that history together.” The communication and cross-oceanic cooperation between the two began.
Marcia consulted literature in the United States and collected clues; Luo Shiping searched and investigated on the spot in Shangrao. The two places are flying books and restoring history, and the historical picture of Dulite's operation in Shangrao rescue has become clearer and clearer.
Love between life and death
The two yellowed photos found by Marcia in the album treasured by her father became a breakthrough for “searching relatives” across the ocean.
In one photo, a short-haired girl stood behind an American pilot wearing a flight jacket, with her mouth wide open and her eyes looking surprised. There is also a photo of more than 10 villagers in Guangfeng, Shangrao standing in front of the farm house. The clear face and clear direction made Luo Shiping excited.
“According to Jack Sims' self-report, these two photos are the faces of the villagers who rescued him.” Luo Shiping took the photos to search the local area and found the descendants of Guan Wenqing, a villager in Guangfeng, Miliangao Village, Shangrao Guangfeng, who rescued Sims.
The shy and surprised girl in the photo is Guan Wenqing's youngest daughter Guan Dongxiang. “I saw an American pilot who parachuted and landed in the village for the first time. I was only 9 years old.” Guan Dongxiang recalled that her father was a rare literate person in the village at that time. Sims parachuted and landed halfway up the mountain. He slept in a parachute until early in the morning before he was discovered. His father and villagers took him down the mountain.
“The family brought two roasted sweet potatoes for the American pilot. He happily finished it. He also grabbed a handful of bean-like candies and distributed them to us.” Guan Dongxiang said, “No one had seen them at that time and didn't dare to eat them. I just tasted them first. They were sweet and the taste was still remembered.”
Guan Wenqing then brought Chinese soldiers from the township office and escorted Sims to the county town together. Nine days later, Sims returned to Miliangao Village with his camera and took this set of precious photos. “My father recalled this experience and always mentioned that American pilots fought against Japanese invaders with us, and helping them is what the Chinese should do,” said Guan Dongxiang.
Although he was not a villager who rescued his father, Marcia was still happy for the breakthrough he made by the Dorit Operations team members to “find relatives”. After learning that the girl in the photo was found, Marcia quickly replied to the email: “Professor Luo, your research is amazing. It's amazing that these people in the photo can be found after more than 80 years! I'm glad these people survived the punishment of the Japanese.”
In order to defeat the common enemy, Japanese fascism, Doolittle operated rescue operations, and the Chinese and American people entrusted their lives and death. After the American pilots were safely transferred, the Chinese military and civilians who were bravely rescued were retaliated by the Japanese army and even encountered inhumane bacterial warfare.
In the summer of 1942, Ziyun Village, Zaotou Town, Guangxin District, Shangrao City, 40 kilometers away from the rescued place of Malaysia's father, was bombed by Japanese planes and swept the Japanese army. 95-year-old villager Su Chaoshun lifted his trouser legs and showed reporters the wound scars on his legs.
“Short after the Japanese army entered the village, the knees were always ulcerated and pus flowed from below the knees every year.” Su Chaoshun said that due to the influence of the Japanese army's bacterial war, 4 or 5 people in the village had their feet rotten all year round. “Some old people even had their feet rotten to the end, and they were very painful all their lives.”
According to statistics, after Doolittle's operation, the angry Japanese army massacred 250,000 Chinese civilians. Luo Shiping said that the story of Doolittle's operation in Shangrao rescue wrote a heroic song of defending justice with blood and pursuing peace, carrying the deep friendship created by the Chinese and American people with their lives.
On April 18, 2022, the Jiangxi Provincial People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries held a video conference to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Dulite Operation Shangrao rescue, inviting the children of the Dulite Operation Team members to meet with the descendants of the people involved in the rescue in the “cloud”.
During this online meeting, Malaysia not only met his old friend Luo Shiping, but also expressed his gratitude in his speech, “Thank you the people of Jiangxi for their rescue of their father, and thank the Chinese people for never forgetting this history and doing a lot of research on it.”
Legendary friendship is being continued
83 years ago, when the plane turned around and headed towards China, no one was confident about what would happen in the future. Since the 1990s, the children of the Dolitt Operation Team have come to China one after another to revisit the landing location of their parents' parachuting, and look for “relatives” who have helped. They also could not predict whether it would be a futile situation.
As time goes by, after Marcia's father parachuted, he went down the mountain to knock on the farmhouse and the first young farmer he met, and he never found it. However, according to the information sent by Malaysia's email, Luo Shiping found out one by one after Marcia's father arrived in the county town, and provided the translated information of Guangfeng Shanjiang Middle School principal Yu Baiyan, military doctor Chen Baocong, frontline Daily editor-in-chief Huanxiang and other personnel, and helped Malaysia contact their descendants.
“If my father hadn't survived, I wouldn't have been here. I always want to see the descendants of the Chinese who helped my father in 1942.” Marcia said thanks to Professor Luo for his efforts to enable us to connect.
In order to make up for the regret, Marcia chose to use oil paintings to restore the scene where his father was rescued. In May 2021, Marcia sent an email to consult Luo Shiping: “I am creating an oil painting of 'father and the villagers who rescued him'. Are the clothes in the painting right?”
“The weather was very cold at that time, and the villagers had to add cotton to the robes, which were longer than the knees. The buttons were not in the middle, but on the left. The first time they saw Americans, they must have been surprised; the villagers holding umbrellas alone were taller than your father, which was inconsistent…”
Luo Shiping and Marcia repeatedly communicated with the revision of the details, hoping that this oil painting could become a precious memorial symbolizing the friendship between the Chinese and American peoples.
Although most of them communicate through online video and email, both of them regard each other as “true old friends”.
In order to approve the information provided by Malaysia, Luo Shiping visited all the crashes and landing locations of the Dorit Operation in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province, explored the site, interviewed villagers, and formed an inspection report. The relevant content was shared with Malaysia as soon as possible. Marcia bluntly stated that Professor Luo’s research and investigation ability is unparalleled, “Every research can bring a lot of surprises.”
In addition to providing a large amount of research data, whenever Malaysia sees floods, earthquakes and other situations in southern China, it will send an email to see if Shangrao is affected. “I rarely see an American having such feelings for him.” Luo Shiping said that the common concern for the history of the Dolitt operation has closely linked us.
The story of Marcia and Luo Shiping's cross-oceanic cooperation in “seeking relatives” was made into a documentary “Remembrance and Searching Crossing Time and Space”. On April 18 last year, the documentary was played at the movie meeting to commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the “Dolit Shangrao Rescue Operation” held by the Chinese Embassy in the United States.
Seeing his father and his own experience on the screen on the spot, Marcia burst into tears at the scene. He said that he would continue to search and dig out the historical memory of the Doolittle rescue operation, and inherit and carry forward the friendship between his father and China. Jing Quan, the Minister of the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said at the movie viewing meeting that the story of Sino-US relations is written by the people and will be created by the people in the future. The people of the two countries should respect each other, communicate with each other, learn from each other, and appreciate each other.
Now, the members of Operation Dolitt and later generations have established the Dolitt Bomber Team Association, the Dolitt Raiders Children's Association and other organizations, and hold commemorative activities every year to thank and remember the Chinese people who participated in the rescue. The descendants of some rescuers who have never walked out of the mountains were also invited to visit the United States.
Feishu is still continuing, and the “finding of relatives” has not stopped. “Operation Doolittle represents the older generation of China and the United States in World War II, for the common goal of anti-fascism, working together to fight and ultimately win.” Luo Shiping said that we will continue to study this history, hoping to tell the story of the raid and rescue of Operation Doolittle to the young generation of China and the United States, so that more people can know this history and inherit this friendship of “blood and fire forged”. (Reporter Li Jinfeng and Chen Yushan)