(East-West Question) Luo Shiping: Why did the rescue of American pilots in World War II 80 years ago become a model of friendship between China and the United States?
China News Agency, Nanchang, June 18th: How did the rescue of American pilots in World War II 80 years ago become a model of Sino-US friendship?
——An exclusive interview with Luo Shiping, honorary president of the Anti-Japanese War Culture Research Association, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province
China News Agency reporter Liu Zhankun
On April 18, 1942, 16 American bombers raided Tokyo, Japan and other places (also known as the "Doolittle Raid" operation).
What is the historical background and what happened to this operation?
How was the American pilot who landed in China rescued by the Chinese people?
How did this rescue become a model of friendship between China and the United States?
Luo Shiping, Honorary President of the Anti-Japanese War Culture Research Association of Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province, has long studied local history, regional economy and Anti-Japanese War culture, especially in-depth research on the "Doolittle Raid" operation.
Recently, Luo Shiping accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "Dongxiwen", telling about the 80-year-old historical memory of the Anti-Japanese War.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service: What was the historical background and process of the "Doolittle Raid" during the World Anti-Fascist War 80 years ago?
Luo Shiping:
On April 18, 1942, the United States successfully carried out the "Doolittle Raid" operation, the first military bombing of the Japanese mainland, which was a major event in World War II.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt instructed the military to organize forces as soon as possible to retaliate against Japan.
U.S. Navy Deputy Chief of Staff Colonel Francis Roll proposed the idea of land-based bombers taking off from the aircraft carrier to attack Tokyo. General Arnold, the commander of the U.S. Army Air Forces, made the decision. Lieutenant Colonel Special identified 16 B-25 bombers of the 17th Medium Bomber Group of the Army Aviation Corps for the mission.
On April 2, 1942, 16 B-25 bombers with 5 crew members and 80 pilots departed aboard the USS Hornet.
According to the plan, the U.S. aircraft carrier fleet arrived at the scheduled position in the waters controlled by the Japanese army on April 18, and launched an air strike in the early morning of the 19th.
As the carrier fleet was spotted by Japanese patrol boats in the early morning of April 18, Doolittle and Hornet Captain Mitchell decided that the bombers would take off from the Hornet 10 hours earlier.
At noon, 16 B-25 bombers flew over Japan one after another. After successfully bombing military and industrial targets in Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Kobe and Osaka, they returned to China's Zhejiang Quzhou, Lishui and Jiangxi Yushan airports as planned.
China News Service: Why did the American bombers land in China after the bombing of Japan? What is the most legendary part of the entire Doolittle Raid?
Luo Shiping
: Doolittle's initial operational plan was to take off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and fly to Vladivostok in the Soviet Union after the air raid on Tokyo, so that the voyage could be shortened by 600 nautical miles. After landing, these bombers were temporarily handed over to the Soviet Union, and the crews to return to the United States.
To this end, the White House sent commissioners to the Soviet Union for secret talks, but to no avail.
The reason is that the Soviet Union signed the "Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Treaty" with Japan in April 1941 in order to avoid the dilemma of two-front warfare. The Soviet Union did not want to offend Japan with its cooperation with the US military.
Therefore, the United States believes that even if the Soviet Union agrees to land, the crew is in danger of being handed over to the Japanese side.
After the plan to land in the Soviet Union was rejected, the United States decided to fly southwest along the southern coast of Japan to Quzhou, Lishui and Jiangxi Yushan airports in eastern China, and then fly to Chongqing after refueling.
Due to the early timing of Doolittle's operation, insufficient flight range, and the failure of the US military to notify the Chinese side in time, the navigation of Quzhou, Lishui and Yushan airports has been closed.
When the fuel was about to run out, 15 planes abandoned their parachutes over Zhejiang and Jiangxi or made forced landings along the coast.
Unit 8 could not fly to the Chinese coast due to fuel consumption, and could only land in Vladivostok, which is closer to the coast.
The most legendary part of the entire Doolittle raid was the parachuting of the American pilots. Although the pilots had undergone three weeks of intensive training before the raid, skydiving in China was completely different.
The pilot landed from the sky in the dark and windy night in a foreign country, where the enemy and the enemy intersected. There were dangers everywhere, but he was once again fortunate to be rescued heroically by a Chinese he had never known before.
The picture shows the son of James Marcia, the navigator of "Operation Doolittle" Unit 14, and Thomas Marcia, a retired U.S. Army officer, for the 80th anniversary of "Operation Doolittle" "Father and the Guangfeng Villagers who rescued him" " oil painting, expressing his gratitude to the people of Shangrao and Guangfeng in Jiangxi.
(Photo courtesy of the interviewee)
China News Service: How did the American pilot who forced landing or parachuting in China be rescued by the local people? How did this rescue become a model of friendship between China and the United States?
Luo Shiping:
The first reaction of local Chinese villagers when they heard the sound of the plane was that they thought it was a Japanese plane. Many villagers had never seen an American.
The navigator of Unit 13, Campbell, ushered in the dawn near the well in Langbu Village, Poyang County, Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province. A villager came to fetch water in the early morning and suddenly saw Campbell by the well. He was so shocked that he dropped his bucket and shouted. and escape.
After communicating, they knew that American pilots were friends who helped China fight Japan, so they should protect the safety of their friends at any cost.
At that time, most ordinary Chinese thought so and did so.
The kind-hearted villagers actively searched for, covered, transferred and rescued the American pilots. They used their shoulders and manpower to carry the sleepy and hungry American pilots from the mountains and mountains. At the same time, immediately report to the Chinese military and the government for protection, and escort the pilots safely to the government and Chinese military stations.
Village rescue to protect American pilots is actually very dangerous.
One is that some pilots landed in the virgin forests with high mountains and high mountains. Stevens, the No. 4 crew, walked for four days and four nights in the deep mountains and old forests before meeting the villagers. Second, some pilots' landing areas are intertwined with enemy-occupied areas, and the escorting pilots are prone to encounter the Japanese army, and there will be bombings by Japanese aircraft on the way; third, the villagers did not expect that the Japanese army immediately carried out brutal military retaliation. For this, the people of Zhejiang and Jiangxi paid a heavy price of 250,000 casualties.
The anti-fascist friendship between the Chinese and American people is forged with blood.
The picture shows the distribution map of 15 American bombers landed in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and Anhui regions during the "Doolittle Operation".
Produced by Luo Shiping
The raid is legendary, and their experience in China is one of the best.
The pilots of the raid are legendary heroes, as are the Chinese people who made great sacrifices to rescue the American pilots.
The rescue of the pilots in Operation Doolittle can be called a model of friendship between China and the United States.
Under the heroic rescue of the Chinese people, a total of 64 pilots of 75 pilots of 15 B25 bombers were successfully rescued in the areas of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui and Fujian and evacuated safely to the rear.
The five pilots who landed in Vladivostok fled the Soviet Union and returned home.
In this operation, 3 people died during parachuting and forced landing, and 8 people were captured by the Japanese army (3 people were executed by the Japanese army, 1 person died in prison, and 4 people were released after the war).
In the more than a year after the operation, 12 of the 64 surviving team members died in flight missions in the China-Burma-India battlefield, North Africa and Europe battlefield. Only 61 of the 80 raid members of the Doolittle operation returned to the United States after the war.
China News Agency reporter: What is the inspiration and significance of commemorating the "Doolittle Action" in the current era and international environment?
Luo Shiping:
The Doolittle raid and the rescue of American pilots were major events in the history of World War II. They also built a bridge of peace and friendship between the Chinese and American people, which will always be memorable.
At present, there are three implications.
On April 18, 2022, the video conference of the "Doolittle Operation" Shangrao Rescue 80th Anniversary Event, Chinese and foreign people communicated through the video connection "cloud".
Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Lixin
1. The Chinese and American peoples deepen their friendship.
During the World Anti-Fascist War, the Chinese and American people have forged a friendship forged with blood, and the friendship between the peoples will not change with the passage of time.
For example, Lu Zhengnan, a villager in Langbu, is proud of his grandfather and father's feat of rescuing the pilot of Unit 13.
Descendants of the villagers in Wucun Town, Guangfeng, who rescued the pilot of the No. 14 crew, said that they will always remember the story of American pilots who helped China fight against Japan and their parents who were not afraid of sacrifice to save American pilots.
The people of Shangrao, Jiangxi still have heroic reverence for the Doolittle operation, and warmly welcome the descendants of the Doolittle operation to come to Shangrao to pursue the Chinese memory of the heroic father. It is hoped that Sino-US relations, like the anti-fascist alliance, will continue forever.
2. China-US cooperation achieves win-win results.
The Anti-Japanese War began in 1931. China alone fought against the Japanese fascists. It was very difficult and suffered heavy losses.
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the U.S. military suffered repeated defeats on the battlefield.
The Doolittle Raid officially opened the anti-fascist alliance between China and the United States, and the World Anti-Fascist War was victorious, and Japan was finally completely defeated.
In today's world, the development of Sino-US relations affects the whole world.
When China and the United States reconcile, the two countries benefit and the world benefits; when China and the United States fight, the two countries suffer and the world suffers.
Cooperation will benefit both, while confrontation will hurt both. This should be the consensus of Sino-US relations.
Adhering to this consensus will surely lead to a path of mutual benefit and win-win for a community with a shared future for mankind.
3. Jointly uphold world peace.
The Doolittle raid was a turning point in China's war of resistance against Japan, for which Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces suffered heavy casualties.
China persisted in the War of Resistance for 14 years, paid the price of 35 million casualties, and made great contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.
Today commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Doolittle raid rescue is to remember history, cherish the memory of heroes, develop the traditional friendship of mutual help, maintain the hard-won world peace, arouse the yearning and perseverance of the people of China and the United States for world peace, and join hands to create peace beautiful future world.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Luo Shiping, born in 1954, is a professor of the Party School of Shangrao Municipal Party Committee, Jiangxi Province, and honorary president of Shangrao Anti-Japanese War Culture Research Association. He has written more than 20 academic monographs such as "Advantages and Disadvantages of Late Development" and "Research on New Urbanization Paths", and has provided more than 200 suggestions; he has conducted in-depth research on the cultural history of the Anti-Japanese War such as "Doolittle Action" for a long time, and wrote "Shangrao Rescue American Doolittle Pilots" Historic Facts", "Report on the Pilot's Investigation of the 13th Crew of the Poyang Rescue of the Doolittle Operation", "The Investigation of the Crash Site of the US Doolittle Operation No. 12 Plane in Wuyuan County", was invited as the New York Film Academy's "Turious History: America, China". and the interview guest of the documentary Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.