De: "Donald
Menzi" <dmenzi@earthlink.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: "Bringing the Wilders'
Date: jeudi 1 juillet
2004 4:26
Hi, folks.
I
recently was asked to give a speech to the closing banquet of the 10th
Sino-American
Conference on Education, expressing my feelings about participating in the
conference. Since it deals largely with
the Wilders, who were interned in Weihsien in 1943, I thought some of you might
be interested in reading it.
I
already tried to send this, and also a page of illustrations, but the text
document got bounced back. I've deleted
a map, which I'll send separately, so I think this time it will get through.
Hope
you enjoy it.
Donald
Menzi
De: "Donald
Menzi" <dmenzi@earthlink.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Date: jeudi 1 juillet
2004 4:36
Here's
the map of
Donald
De: "Dwight W. Whipple"
<thewhipples@comcast.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: "Bringing the Wilders'
Date: jeudi 1 juillet 2004
Thanks for the documents. It adds a great deal to our memories
Of
Weihsien.
~Dwight W. Whipple
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re:
Weihsien Inmates
Date: jeudi 8 juillet 2004
Ron,
What a remarkable contribution to
history! Bless you!
Mary Previte
De: "leopold pander"
<pander.nl@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Once in a Lifetime,
Date: mercredi 14 juillet 2004
Dear
Norman,
Thanks for sending the colour photograph
taken in 1988: "Once in a Lifetime".
To
see it, there is a new chapter in your chapter on
http://users.skynet.be/bk217033/Weihsien/index.htm (Click in the
"Log-Book). The picture itself is subdivided in three horizontal pieces.
Now
is the who is who ? ----- who
can help? I'll be exploring your scrap-books ---
Best
regards
Leopold
De: <cliffnorman@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Once in a Lifetime,
Date: mercredi 14 juillet 2004
Leopold,
The picture is magnificent. Top left - Henry Lack, Bernard Welch,
Roland
Stedeford - that should give you the right page of names. Emmanuel was there, and he could help. Please be encouraged.
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Once in a Lifetime,
Date: mercredi 14 juillet 2004
Leopold,
I
had not visited your site for a while, I just did and it is magnificent!
Donald
De:
<MTPrevite@aol.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Passing of a generation
Date: vendredi 23 juillet 2004
Hello,
Everybody,
With
August 17, the anniversary of our liberation, approaching, I’ve been feeling
grateful once again for the remarkable men who liberated us. Why not drop a note to the three surviving
members of the rescue team: Jim Moore,
Jim Hannon, and Tad Nagaki?
Mary Previte
Passing
of a Generation
Won't
Be Long And They Will Be
Gone
From a Military Doctor
I
am a doctor specializing in the Emergency Departments of the only two military
Level One-trauma centers, both in
One
tends to become jaded by the long hours, lack of sleep, food, family contact
and the endless parade of human suffering passing before you. The arrival of another ambulance does not
mean more pay, only more work.
Most
often, it is a victim from a motor vehicle crash. Often it is a person of
dubious character who has been shot or stabbed. With our large military retiree
population, it is often a nursing home patient.
Even
with my enlisted service and minimal combat experience in
I
saw "Saving Private Ryan." I was touched deeply. Not so much by the
carnage, but by the sacrifices of so many.
I was touched most by the scene of the elderly survivor at the
graveside, asking his wife if he'd been a good man. I realized that I had seen
these same men and women coming through my Emergency
Dept.
and had not realized what magnificent sacrifices they had made. The things they
did for me and everyone else that has lived on this planet since the end of
that conflict are priceless.
Situation
permitting, I now try to ask my patients about their
experiences.
They
would never bring up the subject without the inquiry. I have been privileged to an amazing array of
experiences, recounted in the brief minutes allowed in an Emergency Dept.
encounter. These experiences have revealed the incredible individuals I have
had the honor of serving in a medical capacity, many on their last admission to
the hospital.
There
was a frail, elderly woman, who reassured my young enlisted medic, trying to
start an IV line in her arm. She remained calm and poised, despite her illness
and the multiple needle-sticks into her fragile veins. She was what we call a
«hard stick." As the medic made another attempt, I noticed a number tattooed
across her forearm. I touched it with
one finger and looked into her eyes. She
simply said, "
Also,
there was this long retired Colonel, who as a young officer had parachuted from
his burning plane over a
He
asked if he could use the phone to make a long distance call to his daughter
who lived 7 miles away. With great pride we told him that he could not, as he'd
done enough for his country and the least we could do was get him a taxi home,
even if we had to pay for it ourselves.
My only regret was that my shift wouldn't end for several hours, and I
couldn't drive him myself.
I
was there the night MSgt. Roy Benavidez came through the Emergency Dept. for
the last time. He was very sick. I was not the doctor taking care of him, but I
walked to his bedside and took his hand. I said nothing. He was so sick; he
didn’t know I was there. I'd read his Congressional Medal of Honor citation and
wanted to shake his hand. He died a few days later.
The
gentleman who served with Merrill's Marauders, the survivor of the
Bataan
Death March, the survivor of Omaha Beach, the 101 year old World War I veteran,
the former POW held in frozen North
Korea, the former Special Forces medic - now with non-operable liver cancer, the former Viet
Nam Corps Commander. I remember these
citizens.
I
may still groan when yet another ambulance comes in, but now I am much more
aware of what an honor it is to serve these particular men and women.
I
have seen a Congress who would turn their back on these individuals who've
sacrificed so much to protect our liberty. I see later generations that seem to
be totally engrossed in abusing these same liberties, won with such sacrifice.
It
has become my personal endeavor to make the nurses and young enlisted medics
aware of these amazing individuals when I encounter them in our Emergency Dept.
Their response to these particular citizens has made Me
think that perhaps all is not lost in the next generation.
Written
By CPT. Stephen R. Ellison, M.D.
De: "Pamela
Masters" <pamela@hendersonhouse.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Passing of a generation
Date: samedi 24 juillet 2004
Thank
you Mary.
I forwarded this beautiful message quite a while back...guess I missed your
name on my mailing list, I'm sorry. I
have to say, I cried again when I read it this time. Let's never forget these» great and glorious
givers" who put their love of people, God, and country, above all else.
Love - Pamela
De: "Laura
Hope-Gill" <laurahopegill@aol.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: A letter from 1945
Date: lundi 26 juillet 2004
Dear
Weihsien people,
It
has been a long time since I have posted--and it's great to see the discussions
continue. I left the list a year or so
ago to focus on my new baby, a healthy daughter I've named Andaluna. She's wonderful.
My
contribution is a transcribing of a letter my grandfather received after the
war from a friend, Dr. Wang. The letter
shows the decisive moment when my grandparents' lives turned toward Weihsien. I wonder what other stories you all may have.
. . .
Dear
Dr. Hope-Gill,
In answer to your letter of the 20/8, I
wish to tell you that I thought very carefully about the discussion re
repatriation between you and your wife, at which I was present. A few remarks, for which I remember the exact
words, are quoted verbatim below. I
recall the attitude of both parties clearly.
Mrs.
Hope-Gill had been talking for several days about repatriation to the States,
but reserved her decision until she could be assured of your also being
permitted to go.
At
the discussion in question, the permission evidently had not yet been granted,
because all the pros and cons of a possible separation were considered. You pointed out to Mrs. Hope-Gill that no one
knew how soon you might be sent to concentration camp, that it would be best
for her to leave while she had yet the chance.
You mentioned about your plans, which could not be carried out if you
had to look after a family. (You had
previously mentioned to my husband [Dr. S.K. Wang, M.D], that if your wife
would go, you intended to join the 8th Route Army, rather than be sent to
concentration camp, and inquired about how to make contact with their troops in
the hills.) You did wonder if Mrs.
Hope-Gill could manage with two young children.
It clearly would have eased your mind if she had decided to go. (Next page :)
Mrs.
Hope-Gill was tearful: "It may be years before we meet again. Just think of my sister. Her baby is two years old and the father has
not seen it yet."
You: "---and whatever happens to me, you will
be with your parents."
The
question of baggage came up. You asked
me: "Do you think she could manage with the children and baggage?"
Mrs
Hope-Gill: "Oh, Don, I don't see
how I could, you know what a bad sailor I am."
She
was assured that there are always kind people to help, however she seemed most
unwilling to consider the departure without you.
A
few days later, Mrs. Hope-Gill mentioned at a tea: "I am glad I've decided
to stay, a wife should stay with her husband." She seemed pleased that the question was
settled and subsequently voiced no regret over her decision.
I
trust that this is the information you desire and will be glad to help you if
further necessary.
With
best wishes,
Yours
Most
sincerely
(Mrs.) Dorothy Wang
Laura
Hope-Gill
Grand-daughter
of internees
Dr.
Donald Hope-Gill
Grace
Hope-Gill
(Their
sons: Herbert and Charles)
De: "Gay Talbot
Stratford" <stillbrk@eagle.ca
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: A letter from 1945
Date: mardi 27 juillet 2004
Dear
Laura,
As
I was reading your letter, I could not help thinking of Mrs Wang, my first
piano teacher to whom i owe my lifelong passion for music and the foundation
was the best I could have received. She was Swiss. She met her husband while
they were both studying in the
PS
the piano lessons took place in Linsi near Tongshan
De: "Laura
Hope-Gill" <laurahopegill@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: How You Got There
Date: mardi 27 juillet 2004
Hello,
everyone--
I
am wondering how everyone arrived? For
instance, my grandparents got there by walking first through Tianjin/Tientsin
then train (I am unclear on what kind of train--passenger or other). Did the train go right up to the camp?
When
I was there two summers ago it was a bit of a cab ride from the train station--
memories?
Sincerely,
Laura
De: "Laura Hope-Gill"
<laurahopegill@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: A letter from 1945
Date: mardi 27 juillet 2004
Thank
you for sharing such a lovely memory. Laura
De: "Ron
Bridge" <rwbridge@freeuk.com
À: "Weihsien
Chatline" <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: How You Got There
Date: mardi 27 juillet 2004
The
people from
They
were passenger trains but third class coaches ie wooden slat seats. The journey
was from Tiansjin to
On
arrival Weihsien it was open trucks to the camp.
rgds
Ron Bridge
De: "Joyce
Cook" <bobjoyce@tpg.com.au
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: How You Got There
Date: mercredi 28 juillet 2004
I clearly remember being taken with my family and others by open truck to Tsingtao Railway and then on the floor of carriages without seats but with tatami mats on the floor. On arrival at WeiHsien, as Ron says, on to open trucks to the camp. Joyce Bradbury----
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: How You Got There
Date: mercredi 28 juillet 2004
The concentration camp was a green dot amidst open fields. The Chefoo contingent arrived at Weihsien in "lorries" -- open trucks. I remember the crowd of prisoners inside the gates watching us as our large contingent arrived. I can only guess their dismay at knowing this many new arrivals would be sharing their already crowded space.
Mary Previte
De: "Raymond Moore"
<raym82@hotmail.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Forgotten Christmas's
Date: lundi 2 août 2004
Hi everyone,
I was with the
Recently I have been trying to remember how we celebrated Christmas in each place.
I remember Chefoo Christmas mainly because
my parents arranged for my Auntie Jessie (
Then my mind is a blank once we were interned. I remember a lot about
Temple Hill, but cannot remember celebrating Christmas there. And when I came to try and remember Chrsitmas's in Weihsien, my mind is a blank. Can anyone who was at Weihsien jog my memory in any way?
After the War, I cannot remember Christmas
in
I do however remember Christmas's in Kuling. They were always white
Christmas's which may be part of the reason that I remember them. They were magical times and the snow and the silence were awesome to me. I remember that Santa used to come in late on Christmas Eve, after we were all asleep, and leave a stocking at the end of each bed, which we would discover the next morning - early! I remember that I received gifts, apart from the stocking which was mainly edible, of lengths of rope, pen knives etc. I can remember singing carols on Christmas Eve around the area to other European families. I can remember Christmas services - but not very clearly.
Can any of you Weihsien people who seem to have such amazingly clear memories of those days, fill me in on "Christmas in Weihsien", please.
I enjoy all the little snippets that appear on this site.
Ray (Raymond) Moore
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Fwd: Father Scanlon's Memoir
Date: mardi 10 août 2004
Date:
Mon, 09 Aug 2004
To: weihsien@topica.com
From: Donald Menzi <dmenzi@earthlink.net
Subject:
Father Scanlon's Memoir
I seem to remember that quite a while ago someone mentioned that Fr.
Scanlon (the egg-smuggler) had written some kind of a memoir of his time
in Weihsien. Can anyone tell me more about it, especially if there is any
way to get a copy?
Thanks
Don
De: "Raymond Moore"
<raym82@hotmail.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: RE:
Father Scanlon's Memoir
Date: mardi 10 août 2004
Hi Donald
I have just finished reading Father Scanlan's book "Stars in the Sky" which
I purchased second hand on 2 June 2004 through Abe Books on their website abebooks.com. It cost me $12.95 US dollars. I enjoyed it and presume this is the book you are asking about.
Regards
Ray Moore
De: "Joyce Cook" <bobjoyce@tpg.com.au
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Father Scanlon's Memoir
Date: mardi 10 août 2004
``````
Father Patrick Scanlan wrote "Stars In
The Sky"in 1984,
Hong Kong Trappist Pubications. I have a photostat copy only.
Consisting of some 347 pages.. Mary Previte may be abe to help as she
suggested (In May 2002) trying Abbot Thomas Davis, Abbey of New Clairvaux,
Vina,
De: "
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re:
Father Scanlon's Memoir
Date: mardi 10 août 2004
If anyone does get a copy I suspect t hat there will not be enough second-hand copies for all I would appreciate sight of it. IN the meantime Ray if the book gives any proper names of priests interned and where they were in
Chillies Oast,
Many thanks
Rgds
Ron
De: "leopold pander"
<pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Fw: Father Scanlon's
Memoir
Date: mardi 10 août 2004
18:05
I could include it on the WeihsienPictureGallery, if it is OK for you :-))
Best Regards,
Leopold
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Fw: Father Scanlon's Memoir
Date: mardi 10 août 2004
When I checked this morning there were still several copies of Fr.
Scanlan's book listed at www.abe.com.
De: "Ron
Bridge" <rwbridge@freeuk.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Father Scanlon's
Memoir
Date: mardi 10 août 2004
Leopold,
go ahead
Rgds
Ron
***
De: "Léopold
Pander" <pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Notice Board
Date: samedi 21 août 2004
Hello,
In
Do these "notices" bring back memories to you? I'd like to add a text under each picture --- but I need your help for that.
Best regards,
Leopold
De: "leopold pander"
<pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Cc: "Nicky &
Léopold" <tapol@skynet.be
Objet: Fw: RedCrossParcels
Date: samedi 21 août
2004 12:33
Hello,
Sorry
for the last message --- you got it 3 times !! My
mistake!
I hope
that the picture will be visible (in this message) --- it is the
"étiquette" of the famous corned beef we had in the Red Cross Parcels
(I guess) or was it in the enormous drums that came down from the B29s? In
Do those
two "étiquettes" make you remember something ---??
Many
thanks (in advance) for your help,
Best
regards,
Leopold
De: "Natasha Petersen"
<np57@cox.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Notice Board
Date: samedi 21 août 2004
Please
help!
How do
I get to the Notice Board?
Natasha (Petersen)
De: "Emily
Patterson Bryant" <jebryant38@yahoo.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Notice Board
Date: dimanche 22 août
2004 0:18
click on log book, after you click on
the address (URL)
http://users.skynet.be/bk217033/Weihsien/index.htm
De: "David
Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Notice Board
Date: dimanche 22 août
2004 4:42
Leopold,
Thank
you so much for all that you are doing to keep those years alive in our
memories! I was a young pre-adolescent boy during WWII, and so Weihsien was a
truly great adventure for me. Norman Cliff's contribution to all this history
is of course seminal. But your contribution is particularly helpful in enabling
us to remember
Thank
you Leopold! Thank you
Sincerely
and gratefully,
David
Birch
De: "leopold pander"
<pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Notice Board
Date: dimanche 22 août 2004
You are
quite right --- Janette told me the same thing --- so --- I
"improved" the pictogram in the left column of
Help me
write something under each of these Weihsien Notices. They MUST bring back
memories to you!
Best
regards,
Leopold
De: "Natasha Petersen"
<np57@cox.net
À: "weihsien"
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: info
Date: mardi 24 août 2004
Hello
everyone,
I
recently talked with Joan Walle Eglis. I
read Joyce Cook's recent email about her dolls etc. Joan would like to have any information on
Jimmy Basket. She saw him once quite a
few years ago after Lila, her sister, died.
There was a write-up in I believe the New York Times about Lila and Joan
having been in Weihsien. Jimmy saw the
article and got in touch with Joan.
Since that time, Joan has been unable to reach him.
Please
send me or to "weihsien" np57@cox.net Joan does not have email.
Natasha Petersen
De: "leopold
pander" <pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: outward messages
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
10:43
From
Norman Cliff's scrap-book No.4 ---
OUTWARD
MESSAGES
Number
1 - March 1945
No copy
of this communication was retained but in brief it read as follows:-
Have
you been to the West and returned? Conditions in Camp little changed from time
of your residence but wire increased although vigilance of guards less (stop).
Although no indication of this at present could you, in the event of attempt
being made to remove us from this Camp, cut communications?
Number
2 - March 1945 - Message en clear sent by O.D. Contents unknown
Number
2 - April 25th 1945
"Number
2 (stop) Acknowledge your number 3 - April 22nd (stop) Your Number 2 not yet
received but understand it adjacent awaiting opportunity deliver (stop) Thanks
news and efforts Chungking (stop) Medical supplies in camp adequate six months
therefore do not contact Egger presently (stop) Your reference money deposits
not understood - please elucidate - (stop) Agree communication difficult, in
future act only on code messages with chop (stop) Have been approached by local representative
8th Route who required report for Yenan on (a) camp conditions, (b) details
your escape, (c) feasibility removing us all to Yenan (stop) Have replied to (a) in detail, (b) nil, (c)
have explained impossibility but thank for offer assistance (stop) Use foregoing knowledge with utmost discretion
(stop) Camp conditions unchanged
(stop) Advise if any time you foresee
prospects Allied action this neighbourhood likely affect us (stop) Our Number 2
- April 25th 1945".
Number
3
"Your
Number 4 received (stop) Post Box system working satisfactorily with carpenter
(stop) Impossible us establish reliable alternative messengers so suggest you
contact Police Office boy Han or shoe-repairer or other persons through
carpenter (stop) Pass word arranged with carpenter for use with unknown
contacts (stop) We are investigating possibility building radio receiving set
and later transmitter for communication with you (stop) Following parts
required:- 4 Type 606 tubes; 3 - Six-prong sockets; 2 fixed condensers
.00025MFD; 1 Audio Transformer ratio 1/3; 1 Rheostat 10 ohms; 1 Fixed
resistance - 2 Megohms; 2 sets of headphones; 8 dry bell batteries; - 1.5 volts
(large cells) (stop) Can you send us
these and do you consider project feasible.
Our
No.3 - May 7th 1945
Number
4
"Your
Number 3 received (stop) Our idea use
radio only if Chinese contact out (stop)
Recommend greatest caution using Egger; Japanese suspect him and we are
not permitted near him; all parcels carefully examined and covered by permit
Tsingtao Consulate (stop) Expect January/February comfort possibly May (stop)
First Red enquiry (a) details nationality ages etc. internees (b) details
defence (stop) Replied (a) only (stop) Second inquiry more detailed
questionnaire said emanate from Yenan (a) treatment by guards living conditions
etc. (b) details defences (c) details your escape (d) suggested possibility
removing internees Yenan. Replied (a) Treatment reasonable conditions fair (b)
(c) ignored (d) thanked for offer but demonstrated impossibility by figures of
old young and sick (stop). We have hedged and not committed ourselves this
policy apparently successful as messenger subsequently indicated our reply
satisfactory. We gather local representative relieved not required undertake
removal (stop) Instruct your contacts confine conversations messages to de
Jaegher or Tchoo this business being handed exclusively by them plus Halton
Howard McLaren.
Our
No.4 - May 14th"
Number
5
"Your
No.6 received (stop) Carpenter contact arranged verbally (stop) Deaths 15
(stop) Medical supplies received (stop) If we are left to fend for ourselves do
you plan finance and/or feed us (stop) No Eastern news now coming in therefore
request keep us posted (stop) Learn 8th know your whereabouts and showing
excessive interest you (stop) Tubes (details) (stop)
Number
5 - May 19th 1945"
Number
6
"Your
Number 7 - 8th received. Medicines delivered by Egger officially without query
(stop) We confirm meat room contact Rations again reduced Joerg fully posted on
recent visit (stop) Senior Japanese staff and guards now being changed (stop)
Police nervy fear outside attack but generally friendly to internees.
Our 6 - July 8th"
Number
7
"Your
number 9 received Will act accordingly
Our
seven July 15th"
Number
8
"As
no contact Chinese internees selling gold silver personal effects to guards via
Tchoo Goyas etc. for cash Surplus proceeds resold to other internees for
cheques at FRB$250. to US$1.00 Camp price gold $210,000.00 Detail your
proposition (stop) Indications new chief Police cooperative General treatment
reasonable food inadequate breakfast bread water tiffin slim supper bread tea
sometimes thin soup Heavy workers mothers feeling pinch Canteen supplies
inadequate Can you finance or urge Red Cross Egger send in supplies which
preferable to Comfort money (stop) No Chungking supplies required at present
(stop) Your ten received.
Our
eight July 24th"
Number
9.
Your 11
received Very sorry hear your misfortune Interested learn cause (stop) In your
our interest strongly disapprove your proposition in view (1) question American
relations - see your number four (2) Prefer non committal policy for Camp (3)
No contact Reds last three months would have to try contact through your
messenger by Chinese letter which very dangerous (stop) Verbal message
difficult probably impossible (4) Reds must discover representative is one of
you and not from Camp thus suspecting double cross. As food etcetera situation
here not yet desperate your immediate assistance not essential therefore can
you with safety stay around quietly passing messages to from Egger Joerg and be
available for final act Alternatively if situation too tough suggest you both
contact Reds direct.
Your 12
received do not wish meddle with medicines or involve Egger (stop) Finance
fairly plentiful presently (stop) May require few ounces against future
contingencies Suggest delivery via neutral or walls. No urgency unless you
breaking our contact
Our 9 -
30th July"
De: "leopold
pander" <pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Cc: "Janette &
Pierre @ home" <pierre.ley@pandora.be
Objet: Inward Messages
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
12:10
From
Norman Cliff's scrap book No.4
INWARD
Messages
Number
1. - March
1945
No copy
of the original message has been retained but it consisted merely of details of
the code plus a statement that T. and H. had lost their chop.
Number
2
This
message is referred to in their number 3 but had not been received up to 25th
April 1945.
Number
3
"Have
your code No.2 (stop) Your reply No.1 received.
Carpenter's letter also received (stop) Can cut railway only temporarily but to
prevent movement of Camp cooperation of Air Force necessary Matter referred to
Chungking (stop) Philippines occupied now fighting Luchus. - Chinese advancing
Honan Hupeh - Allies 50 East West of Berlin - Treatment civilians in Philippines ensures all possible help from Chungking for
you (stop) Air shipment from Chungking includes money mail medicines for you -
radio for us (stop) Medicines needed, if on hand, will be sent through Egger
(he knows nothing) - deposits to accounts being made (stop) Communication
difficult essential restrict contacts with Carpenter to our business only
(stop) With 15th Tsung Tui, Chang I Hsien, April 22nd. Date
and number letters."
Number
4
"Your
No.2 received (stop) Have interviewed Carpenter with object speeding up
communications (stop) Suggest you arrange place where he can pick up and
deliver notes without waiting for suitable opportunity for personal contact
(stop) Do not use him for contact with 8th Route or any other business (stop)
Investigate and advise us of other possible means of contact as precautionary
measure; payments to carpenter arranged here (stop) American government
recently expressed strong disapproval of 8th Route (stop) Berlin occupied
(stop)
No.4 -
April 30th"
Number
3
"Your
number 3 received (stop) We will find out if parts obtainable but we do not
consider this enterprise worth the danger involved (stop) Advise when you
receive small trial medicine parcel through Egger; we are also supplying him
with money for all your Tsingtao purchases (stop) Please confirm that Comfort
money will be resumed this month (stop) Give full particulars all
correspondence with Reds (stop) Germany surrenders on eight, Mussolini and
Hitler dead; Polish question: very serious situation between England/Russia.
Number
5 - May 11th"
Number
6
"Your
No.4 received (stop) Tubes required unobtainable suggest another type (stop) If
carpenter fails contact will be made over North wall to vineyard signal whistle
time noon dates ending 1 and 6 (stop) Give number deaths since June in future
give names of deaths (stop) For your attention Tchoo buying saccharine and
victrolas bring though carpenter.
Number
6 - May 15th 1945"
Number
7
"Your
No.5 received (stop) How were medicines delivered (stop) Representative from
Chungking now here discussing means of protecting and financing Camp We expect
decision before end of June Your plans for radio strongly disapproved (stop)
Rangoon Foochow recaptured Still fighting Luchu Islands Troops equipment moving
from Europe to Pacific (stop) Suggest messages unless urgent be restricted to
two or three times a month."
Number
7 - May 20th 1945"
No.8
"No
reply received our Number 7. We are arranging contact in meat supply room
Chinese with towel on left side of belt will give letter to foreigner with
towel on head (stop) Please confirm through channel by which you receive this.
July
7th - No.8"
No.9
"Your
six received. A contact will be made trough meat room but keep this open also
do not tell either of the other
Our
nine July 12th"
No.10
"Your
seven received understand Tchoo selling gold Japs if we supply how much can you use
No.10 -
July 20th"
No.11
"This
area recently suffered heavy losses and possibilities of future help to you
uncertain Our radio contact Chungking has been cut therefore one of us may go
to Reds with object of going to Chungking (stop) Please contact Reds
immediately and find out if they will send one of us as representative of Camp
to Yenan (stop) Do not indicate yet that the proposed representative is not in
Camp Under no circumstances tell anyone that we are concerned as our position
here as regards Reds is delicate.
No.11 -
July 24th"
No.12
"Your
12 received Meat room temporarily postponed (stop) Situation here slightly
better but keep trying Red contact (stop) Our idea send in ointment through
Egger Do you want (stop) Will see what can be done re food situation but since
radio gone contact very slow.
Our 12
- July 27th"
De: "Christine Talbot Sancton"
<sancton@nbnet.nb.ca
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Lilla's Feast
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
Dear
Leopold: I have just received my copy of Lilla's Fest. www.booksattransworId.co.uk
It
looks as if it will be very interesting. Perhaps you received a complimentary
copy too.
I will
get a chance to read it once Rob leaves this weekend for
Rob's
apt address is: Rue aux Choux 47/14 1000 Bruxelles.
Is this
quite a central location?
Hope
that we can meet sometime.
Love Christine
De: "Christine
Talbot Sancton" <sancton@nbnet.nb.ca
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: apologies
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
17:17
Dear
All: I didn't mean to send my last posting to everyone just to Leopold.
Since I
am here though, I'd like to say thank you for this site as I was able to
reunite with Kay Allan Canning.
Our
families were friends in
On our
recent trip to
So
thank you for making this reunion possible.
Incidentally
we also saw Wendy Robinson Weaver on this trip whose father, Robbie Robinson
was one of the Camp doctors. Luckily our families have always maintained
contact with each other even with my mother's death in
1976.
What a
benefit this site is to so many.
Sincerely, Christine Talbot Sancton
De: "Gay Talbot Stratford"
<stillbrk@eagle.ca
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Lilla's Feast
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
Was on
the point of asking you about "Lilla's Feast "
which just came through the door. Very generous of Sheila
Lee, to be sure. Seem to heard about it,
probably from you.
When
the dust settles in the fall, I am thinking of looking over my letters from
love, g
Also,
Graham wants to know if Richard is still receiving the Beaver.
De: "Christine
Talbot Sancton" <sancton@nbnet.nb.ca
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: RE: Lilla's Feast
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
Dear
Gay: I was just going to call you. Glad you got your copy. It looks quite
interesting doesn't it?
By the
way, do you still have Gabba's latters to you when you were in the
It must
be a very difficult time for Graemie.
Love
and prayers, Chrissie
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Inward Messages//reference to
Tipton and Hummel
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
Re.
Tipton and Hummel:
Did
these fellows really accomplish anything worth while?
I
seriously wonder if any good they may have done was not outweighed by the harm
that came to us in the camp through their rather sensational escapade!
They
got a lot of "mileage" for themselves out of their adventure. And
Laurie Tipton finally managed to get himself the post of
But
what did they do for others that really amounted to anything?
There
were sizeable inconveniences for the other prisoners. Many people had to be
shifted to other quarters. I think relations with our captors were almost
certainly put under a severe strain.
The
civilian camp became more and more like a real 'concentration camp!' A massive barbed-wire entanglement was added
to the perimeter of our quarters, quite a bit of Chinese farmland being lost to
the farmers. And I wonder what more vicious recriminations were taken out
against some of the Chinese people when the Japanese started looking for
scapegoats. And I'm very sure the
Japanese would not have been satisfied until they had made some unfortunate
innocents suffer. After all 'face' is of high importance to the Japanese! And
they were truly humiliated by this 'great escape' by these civilians in their charge!
We had
until T&H's (to me) questionable accomplishment, only had one roll call per
day, a rather laid-back, relaxed count that took place around
What
some among us today don't seem to realize is this. We were all CIVILIAN
internees, and in our particular camp we were guarded by CIVILIAN police. I
certainly did not think of these police as "the enemy!" Although of course I knew they were on the
"other side!"
Major
Staiger, according to Goopy (Mr. S.G. Martin) in his book giving the history of
the
Goopy
is not so benevolent toward Tipton and Hummel! And says that
they returned to the camp "full of pride" because of their escape.
He says that the American officer in charge of repatriation asked T&H,
"Are you in the camp or not?"
If you are in the camp, I am responsible to return you to wherever you
want to go. If you're not in the camp (in other words you want to come and go
as you please), I have no responsibility for you. You can find your own way
home!" Goopy says they had to
surrender their dignity (in Goopy's words) and come back to live in the camp
and abide by camp rules.
At the
time (I was thirteen) and I regarded Tipton and Hummel as heroes. Today I don't really think so!
What do
you think?
De: <cliffnorman@aol.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Inward Messages//reference to Tipton and Hummel
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
To
David Birth -
You are wrong on several counts re. the Escape -
1. After their escape Tipton
obtained from Chongking a radio set, which was dropped to him by
air. This enabled them to send war news
to us through the sess pool coolies.
2. I have produced a brochure
entitled LOOKING BACK TO WEIHSIEN in which there are copies of the
correspondence between T&H and the camp committee, and between Chinese army
leaders and the camp committee, who were anxious to save us from the Japs doing
anything drastic at the end. This we
also owe to T&H.
3. The Jap guards were Consular
Police.
4.
Staiger did not treat the Japs in a way to save their face, but because
he knew there was a civil war going on around us, and we needed the extra help
of the Japs.
Do consider these
points. Norman Cliff.
De: "Albert
Dezutter" <albertdezutter@worldnet.att.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Inward Messages//reference to Tipton and Hummel
Date: jeudi 26 août 2004
David,
I think
you raise some good points. Personally, I have no clear opinion as to whether
or not their escape did us any good, although from Tipton's book, it appears
they kept in touch with American forces around
Just on
a historical note, it was Arthur Hummel, not Laurence Tipton, who became
ambassador to
Albert de Zutter
De:
<MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Inward Messages//reference to Tipton and Hummel
Date: vendredi 27 août 2004 0:59
When
Arthur Hummell spoke
to a high power gathering of
-- coordinated by the Philadelphia Inquirer's economics
columnist --a few years ago, I had the
delight of giving this very proper group my child's-eye -- and very exuberant -- view of the escape
of Hummell and Tipton from Weihsien.
Bless
my soul! Someone told me later that my
mischievous account that night was more interesting than Hummel's speech on
international economics. Lesson learned
-- even economists like a good story.
Mary
Taylor Previte
De: "David
Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Inward Messages//reference to Tipton and Hummel
Date: vendredi 27 août 2004
Good
for you, Mary! I think my own Child's
Eye View of Messrs Tipton and Hummel was probably much like yours! What they
did was dashing, brave and very, very exciting! Perhaps there was an element of
foolhardiness in it too! But shucks! We
were kids and to us these guys could do no wrong!
I'd
love to be present and hear personally your account of almost anything that
happened back in those dim and distant days, from your 'child's eye view!'
Blessings!
David
Birch
MTPrevite@aol.com
wrote:
When
Arthur Hummell spoke to a high power gathering of
-- coordinated by the Philadelphia Inquirer's economics
columnist --a few years ago, I had the delight of giving this very proper group
my child's-eye -- and very exuberant -- view of the escape of Hummell and
Tipton from Weihsien.
Bless
my soul! Someone told me later that my mischievous account that night was more
interesting than Hummel's speech on international economics. Lesson learned --
even economists like a good story.
Mary
Taylor Previte
De: "David
Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Inward Messages//reference to Tipton and Hummel
Date: vendredi 27 août 2004
You are
wrong on at least one count:
My name
is not David Birth but David Birch!
Second:
I think it is a great mistake today to refer to our captors by the derogatory
title "Japs!" As the sons of missionaries, we of all people ought to
know this. David Michell served for a number of years as an OMF missionary in
Remember
that one of those courageous Cesspool coolies paid for his valor with his life.
He was shot! What about his poor widow and children?
The
enemy may have made life difficult for them!
Did I
say the Japanese were NOT consular police? I said they were civilian police.
You are splitting hairs if you call me on this! I understood very well that
their role prior to the war had been to guard embassies (consulates).
Major Staiger (in command of the
party) found that
the
Japanese had disarmed themselves. He went to
the
Japanese commandant and said, 'We are a
humanitarian
force. We are here to evacuate the
aged and
the sick. You are still in command. You
and your
troops will continue to guard the camp from
attack and
to maintain food supplies.' This was an
admirable
approach. It gave the commandant his
position;
he did not lose face though he surrendered
his
sword . .
.
On pages 126, 126, Mr. Martin says:
In those days Hummel and Tipton,
who had escaped,
turned up
in camp, full of pride at their achievement. But
the American
officer in charge summoned them to his
presence
and asked, 'Are you in this camp or not? If you
are in
this camp, I am responsible to get you to
or
am not
responsible.' So they had to pocket
their dignity
and come
back into camp.
I must
respectfully disagree with you in your charge that I am "wrong" on
the counts you cite. I did NOT say that
Tipton and Hummel did not do anything that you said they did. I did however
question whether the "good" they did was sufficient to balance out
the cost to those of us in the camp and to others. I still wonder. I don't
absolutely know, but I do not think what they did was worth it! They were young
and adventurous, and what they did, in my personal opinion largely gave them a
heady experience and perhaps the illusion they were making a tremendous contribution
to the effort of saving our lives. In retrospect, it did not have much if
anything to do with that at all. It cost at least one poor innocent Chinese
coolie his life, and could have caused a lot more trouble for a lot more of us!
Reading
between the lines in Goopy's book, I think that T&H used their experience
"fighting with the guerillas" (as if!), to raise their own personal
profiles. A young tobacco company rep, in my opinion, managed to wangle a plum
appointment later on as
Finally,
why do you accuse me of being wrong when I am merely citing Mr Martin. Don't you have the courage to say that in your
humble opinion, your old teacher SGM was wrong?
Please
consider what I have written. You do not have to agree. I think we may always
differ in our opinions here.
Sincerely
G David
Birch
PS I don't know whether you recall or not, but
when I was thirteen years old, and a bit of a hero-worshiper I suppose, you had
me running quite a few errands to the Camp noticeboards to take down some of
the notices that had been up for a week or so. I think perhaps it may have
looked a bit better for a grubby 13-yr-old youngster to be scrounging notices
than for a dignified young man in his twenties. (Do I a belated acknowledgment for
this invaluable service to posterity? Asked with tongue in cheek and in all friendliness
HAVE
DONE. I GREATLY VALUE THE INSIGHT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME THROUGH YOUR WRITING WHICH
I HAVE OFTEN QUOTED!
Very
sincerely
David
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: My emails re
T&H
Date: vendredi 27 août 2004
Sorry
for the repetitions of the same email transmission. I don't quite know how that
happened!
De: "David
Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: The Escape Escapade or
"The Great Escape"
Date: vendredi 27 août 2004
Albert,
Thanks
for your gentle reply to my email! I appreciate your not rejecting my points
out of hand! I know I may be "going against the grain," in my view of
Tipton's and Hummel's usefulness (or otherwise) in the matter of their escape.
And I was wrong, as you gently pointed out, in the matter of the identity of
the
Again
thank you, Albert, for your kindly reply to my email!
David
De: "leopold
pander" <pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: The Escape Escapade or "The Great
Escape"
Date: samedi 28 août 2004
Hello,
I would
like to say ---
Dear
David,
Whatever
you may think about it, thank you for taking all those pieces of paper from the
notice board.
Dear
Norman,
Thank
you for keeping all those precious documents for so long and also thank you for
lending them to me. Slowly and surely, they are coming on my little web site ---- Two
thousand visitors so far and 30 Mega octets of information --- pictures and
text. --- And more to come.
Best
regards,
Leopold
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: The Escape Escapade or "The Great
Escape"Notice boards in Camp!
Date: dimanche 29 août 2004
Hey
Leopold and
Thank
you both for your outstanding contributions to our understanding of the history
of Weihsien Camp and (Leopold) for using your great computer skills to make it
possible for many more people to share in that understanding!
I'm so
glad there are people like the two of you in this world (and in our
weihsien@topica.com world-wide web community)! We really do need you men! Each of you has unique gifts as well as loads
of initiative, and a truly caring attitude toward others in the Community!
Leopold,
I am quite sure that I was not
Another
near the hospital (Block 61) where I lived in a young boys' dorm in the attic;
etc, etc!
Thanks
for your welcome email Leopold!
You too
are a CHAMP!
Sincerely
David
PS It
is amazing to learn of the thousands of visitors to the web site!!! Well done
Leopold and Norman!!!
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Liberation Day commentary on Tad Nagaki
Date: mardi 31 août 2004
Hello,
Everyone,
Each
August, I try to publish a tribute to one or more of the heroes who liberated
Weihsien. On August 17, the Scottsbluff Star-Herald in
They
also wrote a front page story about Tad and pictured him on the front page.
As you might guess, Tad says he's not a hero.
by Mary T. Previte
On August 17, I’ll say thank you to my own
American hero -- from
Tad Nagaki saved my life in 1945 -- an American hero who
parachuted from a low-flying B-24 “Liberator” to rescue me and 1,400 Allied
prisoners from the Weihsien Concentration Camp in Weihsien. We were prisoners of the
Japanese.
When I tracked him down in 1997, Tad was a
widower, 78 years old farming corn and beans and sugar beets in
Let me tell his story. Tad grew up near
It was a simple equation: You love your country, you must be willing to fight for it, to face death,
to suffer injuries. His mother proudly
put a blue star in their window to show that her son was serving his country.
After
Tad Nagaki volunteered for the Office of
Strategic Services (OSS) and the first espionage unit the
But he has a Japanese face.
Didn’t he know, I asked him when I tracked
him down, that as an ethnic Japanese, if the Japanese
caught him, he’d be the first they would have tortured and killed? Didn’t he know their most ghastly
interrogation techniques would come first?
Didn’t he know -- of course, he did -- the ritual executions of
Americans, would follow -- oh, yes -- by the Japanese warriors’ code of
Bushido,
which prescribed execution by beheading?
I shudder still to think of it.
And in
“I never gave it any thought,” he
says. “I am an American.” He makes it
sound so simple. “I am an American.”
He is also a hero.
“In war,” Tad said, “ if
you’re going to think about that, you’re not going to make a very good
soldier.”
I will never, ever forget the day that Tad
Nagaki and these liberators rescued me -- six -- imagine it! Six Americans against how
many Japaneseguards.
Americans were spilling from the belly of
this low-flying B-24 bomber, dangling from parachutes that looked like giant
poppies. They were dropping into the fields outside the barrier walls. I dashed to the barracks window in time to
see the American star emblazoned on its belly.
God’s rescuing angels had come. Six gorgeous American men, sunbronzed, with meat on their bones.
It was
August 17, 1945.
“
Weihsien went mad. I raced for the entrance gate and was swept
off my feet by the pandemonium. Men
ripped off their shirts and waved at the bomber circling above. Prisoners ran in circles and pounded the
skies with their fists. They wept,
hugged, cursed, danced. Wave after wave of prisoners swept me past
the guards into the fields beyond the camp.
A mile away we found them -- six young
Americans, all in their twenties -- standing with their weapons ready,
surrounded by fields of ripening broom corn.
Advancing towards them, intoxicated with joy, came
a tidal wave of prisoners. We were free
in the open fields.
Back in the concentration camp, we trailed
our angels everywhere. My heart flipped somersaults over every one of them. We children wanted their
insignias. We wanted their signatures.
We wanted their buttons. We wanted souvenir pieces of parachutes. A girl snipped off a souvenir strand of Tad
Nagaki’s hair. They gave us our first taste of Juicy Fruit gum. We children chewed it and passed the sticky
wads from mouth to mouth.
We made them sing to us the songs of
As the decades passed, I could never
understand why six Americans would risk their lives, parachuting in a mission
to rescue 1,400 people they didn’t even know.
It was beyond my imagination. I wanted to know these men. I wanted to know what makes an American hero.
In a string of miracles I tracked them down
in 1997. I found Tad Nagaki in
In my private pilgrimage, I crisscrossed
For me, August is liberation month so I
celebrate my heroes.
Some folks tell me
Thank you, Tad and your team. It was heroes like you who saved the world. #
De: "Pamela Masters"
<pamela@hendersonhouse.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Liberation Day commentary on Tad Nagaki
Date: mardi 31 août 2004
Thank
you Mary! What a lovely tribute to a
very brave man. I guess we can all share
in your feelings, knowing that if they had not made that mission we might not
be here today. God bless them all.
Pamela
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Liberation Day commentary on Tad Nagaki
Date: mardi 31 août 2004
A
hearty "Hear, Here!" to what Pamel just said! While Mr Nagaki is an
American, he is an American of Japanese descent! And it is men like him, and
many other "Japanese" Americans in World War II, who helped us to
learn to respect not only Americans but also Japanese.
And
there were Japanese as well who were not Americans,
and yet who earned our respect in those days. At Chefoo, before our School was
transfered to Weihsien, Norman Cliff will tell you that we had a "Chief of
Police" or Commandant at
I
recall our headmaster having Mr Kosaka and his deputy chief of police eating a
Sunday dinner with us as Mr Bruce's guest. I had the privilege to be sitting at
the same table! A high honor I realize
today!
I also
recall Mr Bruce's having invited the Japanese guards to play tennis with our
older boys at the prep school tennis court at Temple Hill.
Those
are truly happy memories for me. And another is my memory of the Japanese guard
at Weihsien who insisted on digging my garden patch for me after we had been
moved from Block 23 to Block 61. It was mid-summer I think. Anyway it was a
blazing hot day and the ground seemed as hard as brick! I was twelve or thirteen and slight of build
and underweight. This kind Japanese guard beckoned for me to hand him my heavy
Chinese hoe (or mattock) and dug that patch of hard-baked 'cement-like' clay
until he had the soil dug deep and pulverized. I was really grateful And successfully grew vegetables there.
Tad
Nagaki was a "great man" and there were others!
Thank
God for them all!
David
De: "Natasha
Petersen" <np57@cox.net
À: "weihsien"
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Thank you
Date: mardi 31 août 2004
Dear
Mary,
I
"ditto" what has already been said.
You have written a wonderfully warm tribute. All of us who were in Weihsien will be
eternally grateful to the American rescuers.
Many of us will also remember at least one Japanese guard who went out
of his way to be kind. Bless you, Mary,
for your deeds of kindness and thoughtfulness.
Natasha
De: "Dwight W.
Whipple" <thewhipples@comcast.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Thank you
Date: mardi 31 août 2004
Hi Weihsienites~
I'll chime in about the Japanese guards. As five to seven year olds, my cousin and I
used to play with the guards. We would
play "war" and in
~Dwight W. Whipple
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Liberation Day commentary on Tad Nagaki
Date: mardi 31 août 2004
Pamela,
Sorry I
inadvertently spelled your name "Pamel" instead of Pamela! Should have proofread my post before sending it.
Incidentally
your post was excellent!
David
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Thank you/I recall "Good" and
"Bad" on both sides
Date: mardi 31 août 2004
Unfortunately
war seems inevitable (not desirable) and there is much suffering that results
from it! I feel sure that many of our Japanese guards were conscientious,
kindly people who were in fact quite homesick for their own families and
villages back in
Japanese
and German "atrocities" were given much play in the Western media
both during the war and during its aftermath. In those days the Western media
kept from us the wrongful deeds of some of our own fighting men.
Coming
home on the USS LAVACA in Oct-Nov 1945, we sailed from
But
13-year-old David Birch also learned more than he had ever known before of the
"facts of life" from our adoptive big brothers. I remember blushing,
my face actually felt hot and flushed, when one of them showed me a photo of
his girlfriend back home. She was very pretty and attractive except that she
was totally nude! I suppose that was fairly harmless for me to see. But another
fellow told me that the marines sealed up a number of the caves on
He said
that on one occasion he and his fellow marines called in to a cave, "Come
out immediately. Take your clothes off
first!" Several men and one woman came out naked. The marine told me that
he and his buddies then shot the men to death and serial raped the woman!
WAR IS
UGLY! WAR IS HATEFUL! IT TENDS TO BRING OUT THE WORST IN MANY OF THE
PARTICIPANTS!
A poem
I learned in high school in
Scene of War: the Happy
Warrior
I saw him stab, and stab again
A
well-killed Bosch
This is
the happy warrior
This is
he!
by
Siegfried Sassoon
When we
have been doing our best to qualify for war reparations from the Japanese, we
have tended to major on the ugly memories of "the enemy" of those
days!
Thank
God we can know begin to major on the good that many, many Japanese have
accomplished..
I served in the Royal Canadian Air Force with a young Japanes-Canadian
who visited
one cent in any sort
of reparations. They sought for many years for a simple apology from the
Canadian Government.
Our
hands are hardly clean!!!!!!
David
(gdavidbirch@yahoo.com)
De: "Pamela
Masters" <pamela@hendersonhouse.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Liberation Day commentary on Tad Nagaki
Date: jeudi 2 septembre 2004
Hi
David -- If I had to apologize for every typo I made in my e-mails, the world would come to
a screeching halt for me.
Isn't
all this commentary great? -- Pamela
De: "David
Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Liberation Day commentary on Tad Nagaki
Date: jeudi 2 septembre 2004
Thank
you for your gracious attitude Pamela! Wow I shouldn't have any problem with
your name! The younger of my two grown-up daughters is a Pamela!
Yes all
this commentary is indeed great! Though I wondered after I posted it if I might incur a good deal of
"wrath" for daring to differ with the accepted view that Messrs
Tipton and Hummel really were "heroes!"
I've
had some encouraging personal emails though either agreeing that the
Japanese-Canadians were short shrifted by our national government during the
war or agreeing with my firm belief that the expression "Jap" is
offensive.
Thanks
again for your gracious note! It's great that we still have this interactive
commentary going on! It's healthy; isn't it?
David
----- Original Message -----
From: leopold
pander
Sent: Monday,
September 06, 2004
Subject: Duck
From
CIVILIAN ASSEMBLY
7 September 1945
SUBJECT: Chronological
Report on Duck
TO : Mr. Roland Dulin, Chief MO/OSS, China Theatre.
SUMMARY
1.
On August 17 the Duck Team proceeded by air to
2.
They were greeted by the civilian internees who
rushed out past the Japanese guards to welcome the parachuting men. Major
Staiger immediately made contact with the governing authorities in the camp -
the Committee of Nine administrating the local affairs of the internees and the
Japanese Consular and Police authorities representing the Japanese Government.
3.
At the conferences with these authorities Major
Staiger arranged for the Duck team to take over control of the Civilian
Assembly Camp on behalf of the Theatre Commander. Internal affairs were to be
jointly controlled by Major Staiger's group and the Camp's Committee of Nine. The
Japanese were to remain responsible for guarding the camp walls and for
provisioning and supplying the camp.
4.
From 17 August to 30 August Major Staiger and the
Duck team consolidated their position in the camp and fulfilled other
objectives of their mission - such as opening up the airfield for relief
planes, caring for health and morale conditions in the camp and negotiating
with the Japanese Authorities. On 30 August, Lt. Col. H. Weinberg arrived from
the Theater with a processing team to take over command of the Civilian
Assembly Camp, thus ending the first phase of the Duck team's
5.
In subsequent paragraphs there follows a more
detailed account of the Duck team's achievements from 17 August to 30 August.
17
AUGUST.
The Duck team in a B-24 arrived over
the target of Weihsien at approximately 0930 hours. Owing to the very scanty
photographic and other information with which they had been provided, they
could not immediately locate the Civilian Assembly Camp where the 1500 Allied
civilians were interned. A sweep was made over the area at approximately 2000
feet and, as no fire was drawn, subsequent flights were made around the area at
lower altitudes. Major Staiger, commanding the Duck team, knew only that the
internees were held in a compound some way outside of Weihsien, but from the
air several locations would have answered to this description. Finally when the
B-24 was down to around 500 feet, a compound was located in which hundreds of
people were collected, waving up at the plane. It could therefore be presumed
that this was the objective sought.
In the course of the circling an
air-strip had been noted below located not far from the internment camp. A
conference now took place between Major Staiger and the pilot of the plans as
to whether a landing should be attempted. Major Staiger finally decided against
this course owing to the danger that the field might be mined. Also as the
reception of the mission by the Japanese was far from sure, Major Staiger
decided to go through with the original plan of jumping. Thus, if the worst
came to the worst, the loss in men and equipment would be minimized.
Accordingly the B-24 dropped down to about 450 feet and the Duck team bailed
out.
The names of the men composing the Duck
team and their functions in the mission are given below in the order in which
they jumped from the plane:
1. Major Stanley A.
Staiger, team leader.
2. Sgt. Tadash T. Nagaki, Japanese
interpreter.
3. Ensign James W. Moore USNR, S.I.
4. T/5 Peter C. Orlich, radio operator.
5. Eddie Wang, Chinese interpreter from
F.A.B.
6. Lst Lt. James J. Hannon, AGAS.
7. T/4 Raymond N. Hanchulak, medic.
The men left the plane in good order.
There was little opening shock, but a stiff ground wind and the low altitude of
the jump made the landing difficult. There was no open or plowed ground near
the objective so most of the men came down in high growing corn fields. Lt.
Hannon, whose parachute was swinging, sustained a shoulder injury on landing
which caused him considerable discomfort. Nevertheless in subsequent weeks he
continued to perform his duties efficiently despite bandaging.
The plan had been that major Staiger
alone of the team should leave his parachute unfurled as a check point for
subsequent drops the airplane was to make. However, by the time the men had
recovered from their landings and had begun to roll up their chutes, the crowds
of internees from the camp had rushed out to greet them. In the general
rejoicing and confusion that followed there was the ever present danger that
containers dropped from the plane would injure the people below. Fortunately
this happened in only one case. A small Chinese boy (a local spectator, not a
member of the camp) sustained a skull fracture from a falling container. He is
now recovering satisfactorily in the Camp hospital. Otherwise the drops of
supplies and equipment were effected without incident
and the members of the internment camp assisted team members in collecting the
containers and carrying them to the camp
From the confused and often hysterical
account of the internees, Major Staiger was able to form a picture of what had
taken place when the B-24 began circling the internment compound. The people
within had gone wild with joy, and when they saw the team parachuting, had
burst out past the Japanese guards at the gate - the first time they had been
outside the compound walls during two and
a half years of captivity.
Major Staiger credits this spontaneous
action on the part of the civilian internees with easing to a considerable
extent his subsequent negotiations with the Japanese. This defiance of the
guards apparently threw the authorities into such an uncertain state that all
idea of resisting the Duck team by force seemed to disappear. It was possible subsequently
for Major Staiger to take a firm line with the camp commandant who had lost
face to such an extent that he had no alternative but to accept the terms
dictated to him.
Major Staiger's
immediate concern after landing however was to determine who the governing
bodies were at the camp. He was soon informed that Committee of Nine,
composed of delegates from the interned population, administered the internal
affairs of the camp, while Japanese control was represented by the dual
authority of the Consular service and the Consular police. (For a full
discussion of this control see Appendix 1). It happened that at the time the
B-24 was circling the camp a meeting was under way between the Committee of
Nine and the Japanese controlling authorities. Major Staiger asked to be taken
directly to this meeting. As his party approached the walls of the compound the
camp band had organized and was playing "Happy Days are Here Again”.
On the way to, the meeting with the
authorities Major Staiger had met several members of the Committee of Nine who
had streamed out with the other members of the camp to greet him. Thus the
first informal conference took place as the party walked to the interview with
the Japanese authorities. Major Staiger asked the committee members for their
recommendations in the situation. He explained that the purpose of his mission
was humanitarian. Its objective was to contact the Japanese authorities and to
take care of the health and welfare of the internees until more substantial aid
could be forthcoming. He explained further first with only 7 men in his team
the task of completely taking over all responsibilities for the camp was out of
the question. In this situation it was decided between Major Staiger and the
committee members that the Japanese should be asked to retain responsibility
for provisioning the camp and guarding it against external forces while Major
Staiger's group and the Committee of Nine would be charged with joint
responsibility for administrating all internal affairs. At the Japanese
headquarters building Major Staiger met the Chief of Consular Police, Koyanagi.
Major Staiger showed Koyanagi his letter of authorization from General
Wedemeyer for the Duck mission and was then taken to see Mr. Izu of the
Japanese Consular Service, Commandant of the camp. A conference was immediately
held between Major Staiger and his officers, the Committee of Nine from the
camp, and Mr. Izu and Koyanagi and their staffs.
At this meeting Major Staiger put
forward the proposals already decided upon between himself and the Committee of
Nine - namely, that the Japanese authorities be responsible for guarding and
provisioning the camp, while the Duck team and the Committee of Nine be responsible for administrating its internal affairs. The
Japanese authorities appeared confused by the situation and felt themselves
unable to make a binding decision but agreed to accept the arrangement
temporarily. Major Staiger then stated that he and his men proposed to take up
residence at the camp and asked that suitable quarters be provided. As the only
suitable quarters were those that the Japanese authorities were occupying, they
agreed to move out. At Major Staiger's insistence, they moved out during the
dinner hour, and by the afternoon
During the conference Mr. IZU, the
consular commandant had obviously pried around to find out what courses of
action were open to him. He had inquired repeatedly what would have happened if
the Duck mission had failed. Major Staiger had informed him that in that case a
second and larger expedition would have been sent which certainly would not
have failed. Mr. Izu appeared convinced that the Americans were there to stay
and subsequent conferences with the Japanese authorities, though often
dilatory, were never openly hostile.
During the afternoon of August 17, Lt.
Hannon and Ensign Moore went out to the airfield to examine its safety for
subsequent plane, landings. Sgt. Hanchulak examined the camp for a. report on
the medical conditions. Corporal Orlich set up his radio equipment to be ready
for his first scheduled contact in the evening. Major Staiger held conferences
with the camp committee on the various problems brought about by the new
situation.
During the early afternoon a visit was
made by Mr. Koga, vice-Consul at
18
AUGUST
Major Staiger made a general inspection
of the camp. It was decided that 12 patients in the hospital were in such a
condition mentally or physically that their immediate transference to
Major Staiger called a conference with
the Japanese authorities to ask for an explanation of the happenings at the
airfield. Izu, the Consular Commandant, stated that the airfield was the
concern of the Japanese Army and that he couldn't be responsible for the Army's
activities. Major Staiger then requested that a message be sent from him to the
Japanese Army authorities, through the proper channels. His message was that he
could have no respect for an army organization that could not enforce orders.
This apparently touched the local commander's pride as he sent word that the
incident at the airfield would not be repeated and that American planes could
land freely in the future.
19
AUGUST
For the first time the Japanese army
entered the picture. Lt. Col. Jimbo and his staff came to call on the Duck
mission. That their authority was on a different plane altogether from the
Consular authority was attested to by the fact that both Mr. Koga and Mr. Izu
were asked by Col. Jimbo to withdraw when be settled down to a conference with
Major Staiger. Col. Jimbo was pained that the U.S. Government had not notified
the Japanese Government of the intended descent on the Civilian Assembly Camp
at Weihsien. He asked that Major Staiger now request General Wedemeyer to
inform the Japanese Government that the Duck mission was at Weihsien. The
protocol having been thus disposed of, the conference was able to get down to
business. Major Staiger informed Col. Jimbo that it was necessary the proper
execution of his mission that traffic of American planes at the air-strip be not interfered with. Col. Jimbo agreed that in future
American planes would be given full permission to land.
20
AUGUST
Major Staiger received word that the
Eagle Mission had arrived in Weihsien the previous day and was staying in town
under the protection of General Li Wen Li. Major Staiger established contact
with Col. Byrd and the Eagle Mission (a party of 20) came out to the Civilian Assembly Camp. They
subsequently spent the day inspecting the work that had been done and taking
photographs of the internees.
In the afternoon a B-24 appeared over the
camp and dropped OWI leaflets giving instructions to the internees on how to
conduct themselves when the war ended. (See Appendix 2) Later still another
B-24 appeared and dropped more leaflets, telling the people of the camp not to
loose heart as a humanitarian mission was on the way to attend to their needs.
2l
AUGUST;
The C-47 that had originally brought
the Eagle Mission to Weihsien left for
22 - 26
AUGUST
Snarls were straightened out in the
administration of the camp. The first joy of the internees had evaporated
somewhat by this time and most of them were eager to know when their evacuation
for home would start. On this subject Major Staiger had no information, but the
rumors that were flying about the camp provided difficult morale problems.
Conference with the Japanese continued.
Particularly hard to solve was the transportation situation. The Japanese have
only 4 charcoal burning trucks in this area and two are always out of
commission. There are also a couple of old model sedans in town. Negotiations
were under way to obtain one, the Americans providing the fuel to run it.
2 7
AUGUST
At 0730 hours an unannounced B-29
arrived (from
An hour later a B-17 arrived overhead
and effected a landing on the short run-way of the
airfield. It was full of reporters and photographers from the 20th Bomber Group
who wanted to come to the Civilian Assembly Centre for photographs and
news-stories. Major Staiger did not permit them to come in, however, as
“visiting firemen" were raising problems between himself and the Japanese
and disquieting the Camp population. When later a group of 10 B-29s appeared
overhead, the B-17 took off to photograph the drop mission that was about to
take place.
The ten B-29s dropped huge quantities
of supplies (for full listing see Appendix 3) Unfortunately much of it was
poorly packed in gasoline drums too heavy for their parachutes end a loss of
about 25% was sustained. Major Staiger sent a message to
28
AUGUST
Two C-47 which had arrived the day
before left for
30
AUGUST
At 0700 hours an SOS team of 7 officers
and 12 enlisted men headed by Lt. Col. H. Weinberg, arrived at the Civilian
Assembly Camp to take over administrative control on orders from the Theater.
Thus the
first phase of the Duck Mission ended.
William
G. Norwood
2nd
Lt. AUS
APPENDIX 1
JAPANESE
ADMINISTRATION AT CIVILIAN ASSEMBLY
Because this was a civilian internment
camp it was under the control of the Tsingtao Japanese Consulate.
Administration was carried out by the consular service. Executive control was
an the hands of the Consular Police
Thus there were at the Camp two
Japanese authorities - the Consular administrators and the Police executives.
Commandant of the camp at the time of the Duck mission's, arrival was Mr. Izu
of the Consular Service. Head of the policing and executive authority was chief
of Police Koyanagi.
----- Original Message -----
From: Donald
Sent: Tuesday,
September 07, 2004
Subject: Re: Duck
Fascinating,
Leopold! Reading contemporary original-source accounts of history is
always especially interesting.
Many
thanks.
----- Original Message -----
From: Gay
Talbot Stratford
Sent: Wednesday,
September 08, 2004
Subject: Re:
block-22
Pamela, just found an old autograph album with your name among others. Seems another world away. Thank you for your part in the past we share. Gay
De: "Pamela
Masters" <pamela@hendersonhouse.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: block-22
Date: mercredi 8
septembre 2004 21:41
Dear
Gay -- I too have your autograph in my little album!
Darling
Margo passed away before I could show her the picture of your Mom. Guess she doesn't need it now as they're
together again...
You
didn't mention if you'd like me to send you a book as a gift for old times'
sake. If you do, please let me have your
mailing address.
Kindest regards -- Pamela
De: "Gay Talbot
Stratford" <stillbrk@eagle.ca
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: block-22
Date: vendredi 10
septembre 2004 19:55
Thank
you for your message. Amazing how deep memories are, buried away in the dust of
years. I would love a copy of your book- if you would accept my memoirs. So
please send me your address. Gay
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Cc: <andyrowe@foothill.net
Objet: A New Enrollee (please)
Date: dimanche 12 septembre 2004
Please
enroll Andy Rowe in the Weihsien group. His email address is:
He'd
also like to get access to the archive of messages going back to the beginning,
so please include instructions on how to get them.
Andy is
related to a Weihsien internee, and is eager to learn more about what went on
there. Sorry for the general email but I
have forgotten exactly who is responsible for managing enrollments.
Thanks
Donald
De: "leopold pander"
<pander.nl@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: A New Enrollee (please)
Date: dimanche 12 septembre 2004
Hello,
The
easiest way is to click on this link:
http://users.skynet.be/bk217033/Weihsien/index.htm
On the
left side of the screen, click once on "-Topica - archives" (second
line) and you will reach a page full of different links and many, many pages of
text. Click wherever you wish.
I just
finished reading "Lilla's Feast". Liked it very
much. The words in Frances Osborne's book smelt all sorts of aromas
connected to excellent and abundant food and --- also the stinks of Weihsien's
latrines.
Best
Regards,
Leopold
PS, You
can also go on Google, enter "Weihsien" and see what you get. Quite a lot, in fact.
----- Original Message -----
From: leopold
pander
Sent: Saturday,
September 18, 2004
Subject: a letter
dated September 4, 1945
From Norman Cliff's ScrapBook No2;
CIVIL ASSEMBLY CENTRE –
WEIHSIEN
September 4th 1945
Major S. A. Staiger
U. S. Army
Weihsien Civil Assembly Centre
Dear Major Staiger,
Now that your
particular
The memory of your
arrival on August 17th is one that can never fade from the minds or
hearts of any of us, and we hope that the memory of our joy and emotion at your
coming is one that you, also, will be able long to cherish.
But it is not only the
heroic manner of your arrival that has exited our admiration, it is also and
perhaps especially the tactful and efficient manner in which you have performed
your duties, maintaining all the time the happiest and friendliest of personal
relations with us all. If we, as a committee have worked with you to the best
of our power and ability, this fact offers one more token of the respect in
which you and your group have been held by us and all the internees of this
Camp.
To you, to Captain
Gorgia, Lt. Hannon, Lt. Moore, Sgt. Hanchulak, Sgt. Nagaki,
Cpl. Orlich and Ens. Wang, we offer the heartfelt thanks of this
community, and express the hope that somewhere and some when it may be possible
for some of us to meet again.
Yours very sincerely,
The Committee of the
Weihsien Camp
(signed)
-
L.
Allan
-
W. R.
Chapman
-
J. H.
W. Grice
-
M. C.
Halton
-
W. J.
Howard
-
E.
McLaren
-
W.
Pryor
-
E. J.
Schmidt
-
P. A.
Whitting
----- Original Message -----
From: leopold
pander
Sent: Saturday,
September 18, 2004
Subject: letter
September 4, 1945
From Norman Cliff's scrap book No-2
a letter
dated
Civil
Assembly Centre,
WEIHSIEN,
September 4th 1945.
Commanding General,
20 Bomber Command
Sir,
No
formal thanks can properly express or convey the tremendous pleasure and
gratitude that all the members of this Camp feel for the supplies which
Squadrons under your command dropped for us on two recent flights over this
area.
After
2½ years of internment on lean diet the thrill of seeing your aircraft can
possibly be imagined, as can also the joy at receiving such an abundance of
good food, clothing and medical supplies.
There
are many in this Camp who will be writing to those members of the aircraft
crews whose addresses were given in some of the packages dropped, but we shall
be most grateful if you would kindly convey to all who took part in those two
flights the heartfelt thanks of our whole community.
We
are, Sir,
Your obedient
Servants,
THE
WEIHSIEN
(sgd). J.
Allan
W.R.
Chapman
Dr.
J. W. H. Grice
M.
C. Halton
W.
J. Howard
E.
McLaren
M.
Pryor
E.
J. Schmidt
P.
A. Whitting
----- Original Message -----
From: leopold
pander
Sent: Saturday,
September 18, 2004
Subject: a letter
dated September 6, 1945
From Norman Cliff's Scrap Book No2
Weihsien
September 6, 1945
To: Internees, Weihsien Civil Assembly Centre.
In anticipation of the departure from
this area of the undersigned officers and enlisted men of the United States
Armed Forces, it is our desire and wish that this letter be brought to the
attention of all internees.
The sincere manifestation of good will,
appreciation of our work and in particular, the efforts of the
We want each of you to know that any
success achieved in the performance of our duties, from the moment of our
arrival to the completion of our mission, is largely due to the excellent
administration organisation already in existence and the complete cooperation
so freely and cheerfully displayed by all on our behalf.
We feel that the attitude of the
internees is indicative of the true ideals that made possible the total victory
of all Allied Forces during the titanic war now successfully concluded.
Further, the conduct and adaptation of
you towards the difficult and trying circumstances of the three unfortunate
years now passed, permits our most sincere respect and profound admiration.
(sgd)
Willis
S. Georgia Captain U. S. Army
J.
Walton Moore Lt.
James J. Hannon Lt.
U. S. Army
Tadashi
T. Nagaki Sgt. U. S. Army
Raymond N. Hanchulak Sgt.
U. S. Army
Peter P. Orlich Cpl.
U. S. Army
Cheng
Han Wong Interpreter
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: a letter dated September 6, 1945
Date:
samedi 18 septembre 2004
Hello, Everybody:
The names on
this letter include Captain Willis Georgia, who was not a member of the DUCK
MISSION. Rescuer Jim Hannon has told me
that letter was posted and when he saw the name of Willis Georgia included with the liberators
on this letter, Hannon was angry enough to cross the name out. With great disdain, Hannon tells me that
Willis Georgia was someone (possibly a publicist) Major Staiger allowed to stay in
Weihsien from one of the other American planes that stopped in -- possibly Lt.
Colonel Bird's controversial EAGLE MISSION.
Some of the publicity ("Public
information") efforts on these missions stirred huge controversy. Colonel Bird was the deputy director of
OSS/CHINA.
According to THE OSS IN CHINA, Bird -- "ever
publicity-conscious and eager to gain fame by 'liberating Korea
single-handedly'," violated very
specific orders and took along a reporter and photographer when the EAGLE
MISSION went to liberate a POW camp in Korea.
When Japanese turned
Bird and the EAGLE MISSION away from
In listening
to the stories from men on our team, I get a sense that they believed Colonel Bird wanted to
save face from his failure in
No way was
Major Staiger going to let Bird take over the Weihsien operation -- especially
after Bird had failed to liberate the POW camp in
Back in
Chungking, while Bird was telling General Wedemeyer how dangerous the attempted
rescue of prioners in Korea had been, the reporter's story was broadcast worldwide about the first encounter of the Americans
with the Japanese in Korea -- including
photographs and information about the Japanese entertaining the Americans
with beer and sake. General Wedemeyer
was embarrassed and outraged -- especially that Bird took a reporter and a
photographer along on the failed rescue mission, but no medical supplies or
food for the POWs.
On another subject, have any of you had a recent round of
inquiries -- again -- about Amelia
Earhart-in-Weihsien? I have. I don't know what triggers these periodic
waves of interest. These Amelia Earhart
enthusiasts are inspired by unquenchable interest. They never give up.
Mary Previte
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: a letter dated
September 6, 1945
Date: dimanche 19
septembre 2004 1:14
Thank you Leopold for giving us the text of these
important letters from
David Birch
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Prisoner's Base
Date: dimanche 19 septembre 2004
Does anyone know the rules for playing a game called
"Prisoner's Base?" I know it
was played by American kids in
Thanks
Donald
De: "alison
holmes" <aholmes@prescott.edu
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Prisoner's Base
Date: dimanche 19 septembre 2004
As I remember playing it, it was group tag. There were two teams that were trying to
catch each other. When caught, you had
to go behing their base line as a prisoner.
But if someone from your team could tear down the field and touch the
caught ones, they were released. The aim
was to get everyone as prisoners and so it was a pretty never ending game if
you could release prisoners back into the general fray/. I was known as the 'little steam engine' as I
chugged down the side to rescue the desperate prisoners! Ah me...the rescuing
impulse is still strong! Alison Holmes
De: "leopold pander"
<pander.nl@skynet.be
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: a letter dated
September 6, 1945
Date: dimanche 19
septembre 2004 10:46
Dear Mary,
Thanks for your message --- excellent!
Your very interesting historical "mise au
point" (how do you say that in English?) has just been added, as a link, to the copy of the
hand-written letter found in
As for the end of your message --- could this
mystery-picture (see "log-book" September 10th) be of any help?
Best regards
Leopold
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Prisoner's Base
Date: lundi 20 septembre 2004
Hello, Donald,
We played
prisoner's base in the
I don't recall
playing prisoner's base after we were interned.
Our Chefoo boys will, I'm sure, give a much better
description of the rules.\
Mary Previte
De: "Gladys Swift"
<glaswift@cstone.net
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Prisoner's Base
Date: mardi 21 septembre 2004
Yes, all us mish kids played
"Prisoner's Base"!! Gladys
Hubbard Swift
Does anyone
know the rules for playing a game called "Prisoner's Base?" I know it was played by American kids in
Thanks
Donald
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Prisoner's Base AND other games played as a child
Date: mardi 21 septembre 2004
Well Mary,
You've refreshed my memory with the rules for
Prisoners' Base. I do recall playing it when I was a boy in the Prep School at
Chefoo. That was simply "ages" ago now, well over sixty years ago in
fact. All I can recall is that I was one of many youngsters under the age of
eleven, all tearing about with great excitement in an exhilarating display of
agility - either tagging or being tagged. It was great fun. But the rules had
completely evaporated from my memory until I read your email description of the
game just now!
We had a number of other games involving many kids
participating at once with great gusto and enthusiasm. I can remember at the age of about 8 or 9
playing Robin Hood and his Merry Men. There was a great crowd of us in the
playing field of the Prep School. And we were having a wonderful time - just
racing around capturing the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and other
scoundrels! No special rules to the game
or anything, just innocent childish make believe! Another game I participated in, as I recall,
was one in which we impersonated the ancient Greek gods of
Soccer was a favourite game for me, although I was a
very "average" player. I got lots of exercise running around after
the ball, while true football "stars" like Kenneth Bell dominated the
competition and scored most of the goals.
Cricket was only played a very little bit at the Prep
School and I never did become a cricketer. With soccer, cricket was a
compulsory sport in the Boys School but I only had a couple of months there
from summer to November 5th, 1942 before we were all marched off to Temple Hill
Internment Camp. After that no more cricket and very little
soccer as I recall.
However, a major blessing - sportswise, for me at Camp
was learning to play baseball (softball) at Weihsien. We played softball a lot,
and even some basketball, at Weihsien.
For me those are among the happy memories of my
boyhood.
David Birch
----- Original Message -----
From: leopold
pander
Sent: Tuesday,
September 21, 2004
Subject: « Enemy
Aliens » An Appreciation.
From Norman Cliff's ScrapBook No 2 ---
« Enemy
Aliens » An Appreciation.
By G. W. Chilton.
September 1945
During the early spring of ’43, after a
too long period of inactivity in
It fell to me to take charge of the
first group of Tientsin residents to be interned in Weihsien and although the
greater number of those destined for this centre were surrendering their
businesses, their homes, their comforts and associations they did so in a
manner which filled all, who were in contact with them, with admiration. They
were sad but determined to live it through and always confidant that they would
return to claim their property and other possessions and to live again as free
citizens of a democratic country.
Having issued instructions to those
members of my group regarding their assembly point, and initial inspection of
baggage, route to the station, entrainment, etc., there happily proved to be
little else for me to do as all included in the move did everything possible to
see that there was no hitch in the arrangements. The first group came down to
this centre in four sections; the sections being in charge of Messrs.
Appleboom, Bird, Cameron and Darling. All
credit for the detail of organisation of the sections and the carrying through
of the move is due to these gentlemen. Details of the first assembly in
The entrainment at Tientsin, the
journey to Weihsien, which took approximately 16 hours, in third class day
coaches, our arrival here and transfer from station to camp was carried through
without a hitch and the manner in which one and all settled down to their new
life in cramped quarters, with poor food and generally unsanitary conditions
prevailing at the time calls for the highest praise.
Having in turn met and settled in the
two remaining groups of
As anticipated, all went well with the
internal affairs of the camp and folk cheerfully accepted and carried out their
respective camp assignments.
With the departure of many able bodied
men in September 1943 when the second American repatriation ship left Shanghai,
the camp found it difficult to fill all vacancies existing in the labour market
as we had shortly before the American repatriation lost a large group of
Fathers, etc. from this centre. However
the labour situation was more than compensated for it’s lost by the timely
arrival of what proved to be the best organized and most efficient group of all
i.e. the
Coming from Chefoo as seasoned
internees, this group made light of our many labour problems and under their
most capable H.M. and his excellent staff. They quickly and cheerfully took
over more than their share of the essential camp assignments.
Looking on from the “side lines” I
have, day after day, month after month, come to understand and appreciate the
outstanding qualities of Mr. Bruce and all members of C.I.M. The
responsibilities which they have shouldered so ably and cheerfully and with
such tact are deserving of the highest praise it is possible to express.
The camp ends with the same spirit in
which it started for with the arrival on August 17th of Major
Staiger and his airborne group every man, woman and child turned out to assist
the party in and to afford a welcome which would warm the heart of any combat
soldier fresh from a world at war.
G. W.
Chilton
Weihsien
September
10th 1945
|
Chilton |
GrenWilliam(Bill)
Brybon |
British |
|
11.01.92 |
M |
Kailan Mining Admin |
40/5 |
De: "Gladys Swift"
<glaswift@cstone.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Prisoner's Base
Date: mercredi 22 septembre 2004
Yes, all us mish kids played "Prisoner's Base". You have already gotten the rules of the game
so I won't repeat them!! Gladys Hubbard Swift
De:
<MTPrevite@aol.com
À:
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Prisoner's Base AND other games
played as a child
Date:
vendredi 24 septembre 2004
Hello, Everybody<
Who can
remember all the delightful diversions we used to fill the long waits at roll
call time in Weihsien ?
I remember
leap frog and practicing semaphore. I
also recall building fires in tiny "stoves" we had devised from tin
cans -- but I'm not sure if that was during roll call. Perhaps that was part of a skill we needed
to get a badge in Girl Guides.
During
internment in Chefoo's Temple Hill, I recall learning to tie and practicing all
kinds of knots for our Brownie badges. I
can still hum the music and do some of the exercizes we practiced in THE DAILY
DOZEN.
Mary Previte
De: "Kathleen"
<rictord@afo.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Prisoner's Base AND other games played as a child
Date: vendredi 24 septembre 2004
I CAN REMEMBER PRACTICING THE SEMAPHORE. I ALSO REMEMBER THE TINY STOVES......I
REMEMBER THAT WE LAUGHED ABOUT SITTING ON THE STOVE TO KEEP THE STOVE
WARM......
-----
Original Message -----
From:
"Kathleen" <rictord@afo.net
To: <weihsien@topica.com
Sent:
Friday, September 24, 2004
Subject: Re:
Prisoner's Base AND other games played as a child
THANKS MARY FOR THOSE MEMORIES. I DO REMEMBER THE GAME PRISONER'S BASE. ALSO THE GAME SEVENS WITH THE BALL. I REMEMBER PRACTICING THE SEMAPHORE AT ANY TIME OF DAY...ANOTHER MEMORY WHEN YOU MENTIONED THE LITTLE STOVES WAS THE STOVES WE HAD IN OUR BUILDING ......I REMEMBER THAT WE WOULD SIT ON THE STOVE TO KEEP IT WARM AND WOULD HAVE A GOOD LAUGH. I AM NOT SURE THAT WE HAD A SONG ABOUT THAT OR NOT. WE DID MAKE UP SILLY SONGS ALOT. I DO NOT REMEMBER THE DIVERSIONS THAT WE HAD DURING ROLL CALL...MY MIND IS BLANK WHEN IT COMES TO THAT. KATHLEEN RICTOR (NORDMO)
De: "Nicky
& Leopold" <tapol@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: pictures of china
Date: vendredi 1 octobre 2004
click on
this link ---
http://www.geh.org/ar/chus/china/chusseau-chi_sum00003.html
Best
regards,
Leopold
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: pictures of china
Date: vendredi 1 octobre 2004
Thanks
Leopold!
David Birch
De: "Gay Talbot
Stratford" <stillbrk@eagle.ca
À: "Pamela
Masters" <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: memory lane
Date: mardi 9 novembre 2004
Dear
Pamela,
Thank you
for your kind words. I admired all your factual information; I just poked
around in my memory, as if i was telling my children about the past.
Hope that
you are feeling better. The good thing is that you have a head start on
immunity for the winter.
We are busy
putting the garden to bed, in golden autumnal sunshine.
Spoke to
Marie Robinson in the spring for her birthday. She is hale and hearty at 92.
She talks so fondly of
Warm regards to you and
yours. Gay
De: "David
Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: "Weihsien"
<weihsien@topica.com
Objet: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: mardi 9 novembre 2004
I hope that
this little story will bring back some nostalgic memories for the rest of
you. Perhaps you recall exactly where
you were and what you were doing when the great B24 "Liberator"
brought those young paratroopers to us on that hot summer day in 1945!
Zandy
Strangman expressed an interest in my story. I had intended to mail it to him
but sending it out over Weihsien@topica.com
seems a simpler way. If you enjoy this, I would enjoy hearing from
you.
gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
A Game of Pingpong
By George David
Birch
Published in Good Old Days
August 1996
Copyright George David
Birch
Stanley and
I were completely engrossed in our game in Kitchen Number One. The little pingpong ball flew back and forth
across the net in a white blur as two 13-year-old boys danced nimbly about the
ends of the rough plank table slamming sizzling serves and returning furious
drives. Each of us worked relentlessly
to stymie his friendly foe before he himself was thoroughly trounced.
We were almost an even match, Stanley and
I. He was taller, but what I lacked in
height and reach, I made up for in speed and agility.
Although Stanley and I did not know it,
World War II was fast drawing to an end.
Sons of missionaries, far from home and
interned by the Japanese with our boarding school in occupied
Breakfast in Kitchen One was really not
all that bad when gowliang or millet was available. But we often filled our bellies with bread
and water. And I don't recall that we
felt particularly deprived.
Occasionally we had eggs. Our teachers saved the shells, put them
through a hand grinder and fed the chalky powder to us by teaspoon as a calcium
supplement.
Milk was a pre-war memory. Powdered eggshell--ugh! It was needed, no doubt, for the proper
development of our bones, but it was horribly distasteful to us kids.
Winters were viciously cold at Weihsien.
They seemed to last forever. The Japanese supplied us with slack coal which we
rationed carefully. It had to last us till spring.
We learned how to make sun-dried coal
bricks by mixing coal dust and dirt with water. Employing a small tin can which
might once have held sardines or salmon in one of the rare Red Cross packages
that reached us during the war, we deftly molded briquettes to keep the black
pot-bellied stove in our little attic room glowing with welcome warmth.
But winter was still three months away
when Stanley and I battled each other from opposite ends of the pingpong table
on what may well have been the hottest day of that blazing summer of 1945.
The doors and windows of the old dining
hall were wide open. Outside, the spreading branches of tall acacia trees
lining the roadway past the big galley of Kitchen One provided only slight
relief from the sun's broiling rays. The
hard clay walkway blistered bare feet and heat waves shimmered above the dirt
path. The thermometer read 120 degrees in the shade. I think you could have
fried an egg right there on the ground outside Kitchen One.
Bats in hand and locked in furious combat,
Stanley and I stubbornly refused to yield to each other. Zing!
The little white celluloid ball sailed back to my side of the table and
hit the edge of one of the rough planks.
Wham! I scooped it up and sent it
burning back across the net!
Whack, zoom, smack, zing, whooooosh!
It's almost surprising we even heard the
sound of the approaching aircraft--so totally intent were we on our game, so
complete our concentration. Our
well-tanned bare skin gleamed as hot sweat streamed
from us profusely.
A dull, thunderous roar began to drown out
the sounds of pinpong in Kitchen One. Steadily growing in volume, the
turbulence was soon deafening.
Dropping our wooden paddles, Stanley and I
rushed outside. A huge airplane was passing directly over us. On its fuselage we
recognized the emblem of the
The great plane was so low that it seemed
to me the green tops of the acacia trees were actually bending and dancing in
the wind from its propellers. As we
gazed up, our hearts pounding with exhilaration, the sky above us filled with
fluttering leaflets.
Beside ourselves with stunned rapture, we
read: "ATTENTION ALLIED PRISONERS OF WAR! THE JAPANESE IMPERIAL GOVERNMENT
HAS CAPITULATED TO THE ALLIES, AND YOU ARE ABOUT TO BE RELEASED!"
The huge aircraft, which Stanley and I
learned later was a B-24 Liberator, lumbered
majestically over us.
Our game of pingpong forgotten, we raced
barefoot over the baked ground all the way past Block 61 where we lived, until
the plane banked steeply to circle the wide expanse of peanut and gowliang
(sorghum) fields surrounding Weihsien Camp.
Standing on a small hill overlooking the
camp wall, I watched the beautiful Liberator approach us a second time. Then,
with boyish wonder, I saw the sight of my young life. As I stood there looking
out over the wall which had long held me prisoner, suddenly there appeared
below the distant airplane the figure of a man. Above him billowed out the
white silk of his parachute.
At that moment I thought of what I had
learned as the young son of Christian missionaries in the great
And today, over fifty years later, I
treasure the memory of that day--the day the great B-24 Liberator arrived in
the sky above Weihsien Camp in the summer of 1945 and ended more than just a
game of pingpong for Stanley Thompson and me.
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of
my life
Date: mercredi 10 novembre 2004
Thank
you. Thank you! What a beautifully-written story, David! Did you save any of those leaflets?
Mary
Previte
De: "Joyce Cook" <bobjoyce@tpg.com.au
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: mercredi 10 novembre
2004 6:40
Dear David. I
was in our compound when I heard the Liberator and I clearly remember reading
the name on it which was "Armoured Angel" which indeed it was.
Joyce
Bradbury. (Nee Cooke)
De: "Dwight W. Whipple" <thewhipples@comcast.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: mercredi 10 novembre 2004
I've thanked you personally, David, for your
"small chapter" in the story of your life. Of course, we had already been repatriated,
leaving the camp in September of 1943.
But one of my strong memories of camp life was our parents telling us
when we saw planes flying over the camp be sure to look for the star under the
wings. That would be an American
plane. But all we ever saw were planes
with the rising sun under the wings.
Thanks again for your account.
~Dwight W. Whipple
De: "leopold pander" <pander.nl@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: mercredi 10 novembre 2004
Wow! superb! Thanks David.
May I
include your text on my (our) --- web-site? with maybe
a picture or two?
In
à bientôt,
Léopold
De: "Natasha
Petersen" <np57@cox.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: mercredi 10 novembre
2004 19:41
Dear David,
What
memories your "small chapter" has brought back. The sister of George Wallis told me that the
planes were American, that her brother had told her so. I believe that both she and I ran out the
main gate. My heart still beats faster
when I think of those moments.
Thank you
so much for letting us share your wonderful
memories. This will go into my two
folders for my two sons.
Natasha Petersen
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of
my life
Date: mercredi 10 novembre 2004
Wednesday,
November 10, 2004
Dear
Natasha,
Thank you
for your appreciative note re my One Small Chapter! It was so thoughtful of you to write! I'm
positively thrilled that you are including my little story in the folders you
are preparing for your two sons.
We have SO
MUCH to be thankful for; haven't we, Natasha!
Love
David
I think
when I'm thankful it helps to tint the past in cheerful colors in spite of all
the suffering we may have experienced in life!
De: "Stan Thompson"
<thompson@ginniff.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: mercredi 10 novembre 2004
David,
It was almost 60 years ago
! Thanks again for plucking that
warm chord so skilfully.
My memories
of the rest of that day seem to be clouded by the discomfort I felt when I ran
outside the gate and got a lot of thorns in the soles of my bare feet !
Stan
Thompson
De: "David Birch"
<gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of
my life
Date: jeudi 11 novembre 2004
1:29
Dear Joyce,
Thank you
so much for your thoughtfulness in replying to my posting of 'One Small
Chapter!' Those are still quite vivid
memories for me although I'm sure many details have slipped away over the
years. Your own memories of the
memorable day of our spectacular rescue are equally special - because they are
uniquely yours!
It was only
very recently that I learned through this Weihsien memories site that we might
all very well have been killed by our captors prior to their own suicides had
events proceeded according to the typical enemy protocol.
Thank you,
Joyce, for telling me about the name, Armored Angel, which you actually read
that day on the great B-24 Liberator which brought several "angels" in human form to
us that day!
Love
David
De: "Joyce Cook" <bobjoyce@tpg.com.au
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: jeudi 11 novembre 2004
Another
thing I remember about our liberation is from my father who told me he saw Tad
Nagaki walk up to the Japanese guard at the main gate, slap him on the shoulder
and say, "Now what do you think of your Nagasaki?" The guard did not reply. I do not know
whether the guard had heard of
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: vendredi 12 novembre
2004 1:12
Hello, Stanley:
I have often thought about your account of
Liberation Day and how your progress to find our liberators was impeded when
burrs punctured your feet.
Did we use
to call those burrs "kisses"?
Today, (Veterans Day in the
Mary
Previte
De: "Nicky & Leopold" <tapol@skynet.be
À: "Norman Cliff" <Cliffnorman@aol.com ;
<weihsien@topica.com
Cc: "Janette & Pierre @ home" <pierre.ley@pandora.be
Objet: Legend or facts ??
Date: samedi 13 novembre 2004
Dear
Norman,
Hello,
When I got
the bone! I don't let it go so easily!
I looked in
Made a
search on "Google" and found this link: http://webtext.library.yale.edu/xml2html/divinity.145.con.html
John Hersey
was born in
I then
asked "Google" what he thought of this: "John
Hersey"+Weihsien
Astonishing:
google sent me back to my own site:
I noticed
though, that google's research engine is slightly different from one country to
another!!
Where ends
the "facts" and where begins the "legend"?
Could it
possibly be that John Hersey had the story from one of the Gripsholm folks and
included it in his book: The Call?
I am perplexed!
I'm sending
this message to Topica. Maybe someone can help!
All the
best,
Leopold
----- Original Message -----
From: leopold pander
To: Janette & Pierre @ home
Sent: Saturday, November 13, 2004
Subject: Fw: Question:
Hi Ya!
--- et vlan! v'la la réponse.
Qu'est-ce qui prouve le contraire?
Norman sous-entend qu'il a été emprisonné à Weihsien ---
mais il ne figure pas sur les listings de Ron Bridge (qui inclut aussi tous les
Américain rapatriés via le Gripsholm). Alors quoi?
---
Je m'amuse bien avec le texte de Father Scanlan. Il est
génial cet homme là ---
A+
Tapol
----- Original Message -----
From: Martha L Smalley
To: leopold pander
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2004
Subject: Re: Question:
Dear Mr.
Pander,
John Hersey
was born in
Yours,
Martha
Smalley
Martha Lund Smalley
Research Services Librarian &
Curator of the Day Missions Collection
Phone 203 432-6374 Fax 203 432-3906
Martha.Smalley@yale.edu
At
Dear Sir,
All John Hersey's biographies tell us that he
was born in Tientsin-China in 1914. Is it true (?) that he was born in the
missionary camp of Weihsien (
I was in that camp, --- 60 years ago!
Best regards,
Leopold Pander
De: "Ron Bridge"
<rwbridge@freeuk.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com ;
"Norman Cliff" <Cliffnorman@aol.com
Cc: "Janette & Pierre
@ home" <pierre.ley@pandora.be
Objet: Re: Legend or facts ??
Date: samedi 13 novembre 2004
Leopold,
Weihsien inmates.
The list
that I let you have and which you have put on your website of Weihsien was
originally based on a list that is held by several of us namely a Census of the
Camp as at 30Jun44. That list had missing the names beginning with the letter
"S" after Str...and all after Wolfson. The
copy of that list that I have has the rooms that inmates were in pencil in the
margin but there is no date as to when people were in those rooms except that
it must have been after the escape as the
Further
sources that have confirmed or added to names on the web site list are the
following:
A similar
list dated 30 Sep 44 obtained from Tokyo Archives but this is complete (ie no
missing pages and includes the names of the Italians who had been moved in from
A US Army
Signal Corps telegram despatch of freed inmates dated 30 August 1945 ( This has some names missing and is corrupt text in others
also forenames are not given but initials spelt phonetically)
A list of
British subjects complied by the Swiss Consul Tsingtao in June 1943, obtained
from
A list of
British subjects moved from Chefoo complied by the Swiss Consul Tsingtao in
Sep1943
A list of
Belgian religious raised by Assistance aux Belges d'Asie Orientale dated 6 Feb44
A census of
British Subjects dated 31Jul 43 (This is one page per family and gives passport
and next of kin details) totalling 779 British.
A list of
Religious Communities undated but believed to be July 1943 held at
Commonwealth
War Graves Commission list of notified deaths (original is held in Westminster
Abbey)
A plan of
the graveyard in Weihsien with the names of the 24 interred there. Their date
of death, age, nationality and the doctor certifying death ( found in the UK
national Archives) The last entry is A Marinellis 6th Aug 1945 ( there is no
mention of the graves allegedly outside the walls)
Camp lists
of the camps in the
Shanghai
Times list of allied nationals repatriated in August 1942
Passenger
lists of the Kamakura Maru, Conte Verde, Gripsholm, Teia Maru,
Shanghai
Times list of allied nationals repatriated in September/October 1943
New York
Times list of 1236 US citizens exchanged in Gao on 14th October 1943 who will
be arriving in New York on the Gripsholm
List of
Allied subjects (all nationalities) repatriated from
Sundry
contemporary personal diaries variety of archives
I have also
crossed checked against all the names used in books written about Weihsien.
Including Gilkey's "Shantuing Compound" where although he used
pseudonyms in the book I have copy of Hugh Hubbard's typed de-code provided by
Mary Stanley to my late mother. However this quotes a Ramsey but there was no
one of that name in Weihsien
In using
the names contained in the Newspaper lists has necessitated some elimination
antics to arrive at the Camp that they were in. The Shanghai papers give the area( do not forget that they include Japan, Indo-China
Philippines Hongkong and Manchuria) and in some cases the actual place
particularly in the 1942 exchange the 1943 exchange and the one that really
affects Weihsien has area but the Shanghai Camp lists give the names of those
leaving and these can be identified on the ships lists to arrive at those who
were in Weihsien.
Weihsien
camp operated from Feb 1943 until Oct 1944 thus in no way can
John Hersy have been born in camp if he was born 1914. Do not however forget
that Weihsien had been a
The name
John Hersey does not appear anywhere in the 29,000 names of allied nationals
interned by the Japanese that I have accumulated as of the time of writing.
As general
rule I am however very wary of lists in books that have been written later than
the 1950s as the human memory plays tricks and some names are misspell. Also I have seen cases of people who were babies
during the war claiming to have been in a camp and naming the camp. Examination
of all known records has shown that the father was in the camp claimed and that
the wife and the young children (Under 5) were allowed to stay outside. This
happened particularly in the
bien
amicalement
Ron
PS if
anyone has or knows of any other source documents please let me know.
PPS pour Janette et Pierre y compris
De: "alison holmes"
<aholmes@prescott.edu
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet:
Re: One small chapter in the story of my life
Date: samedi 13 novembre 2004
I was so
glad, David, to see your mention of the leaflets. I almost had begun questioning my own
memories as no other accounts spoke of the plane circling and dropping the
leaflets. I remember rushing out of the
church to the roll call ground/baseball field and being delighted to see those
leaflets which were then followed by the seven men with their brightly coloured
parachutes. So thank you for giving the
wording of them. Those burrs in our feet are still in my body's memory as I
live in prickly
Mary, do
you think Ted Nagaki would have really made that remark about
We were
incredibly lucky to have had such a relatively easy time of it. Roll on the day when the world as a whole
sees that working for understanding is better than brute force.
De: "Gladys Swift"
<glaswift@cstone.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Legend or facts ??
Date: dimanche 14 novembre 2004
Yes, I know
that the Hersey family lived in
De: <cliffnorman@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Legend or facts ??
Date: dimanche 14 novembre
2004 8:42
Dear Leopold,
I have not researched the matter as
you have, but I believe that
Hersey was
genuinely in Weihsien Camp. The details
which he describes of camp life in that earlier period ring true. There are no statements which conflict with
anything which we already know.
That is my opinion.
De: "Nicky & Leopold" <tapol@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Cc: "Janette & Pierre
@ home" <pierre.ley@pandora.be
Objet: Re: Legend or facts ??
Date: dimanche 14 novembre
2004 17:00
Dear Ron,
Thanks very
much for your prompt answer to my question. It is ― how can I say ― “on ne peut plus cartésien.”
My little
sister, Mary-Lou was born in Weihsien and her birth certificate was delivered
by the “Consul de Belgique” in
When we
came back to
This
explains that!
In
Weihsien, there were quite a few births and maybe, 60 years later one of you is
reading the “Topica-messages”? Your birth certificate mentions “Weihsien” or
another place?
I’d like to
know! (Pure
curiosity!)
Best
regards,
Leopold
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: PRICE OF FREEDOM exhibit in
Date: dimanche 14 novembre 2004
Hello,
Everyone,
Here's a letter from Susan Strange, a
curator of the newly-opened exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute's
It's been
quite a week! Wednesday a lot of
dignitaries were in attendance (the head of Veterans Affairs, various Generals,
Your
embroidered parachute silk looks absolutely wonderful. It has been carefully folded (and padded so
no crease lines) into a rectangle showing all of the embroidery. The bonnet is tilted so that Tad Nagaki's and
Major
Staiger's
embroidered signatures show well. And I
hope that YOU will like the way the case looks!!
Susan Strange
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Legend or fact -- Amelia Earhart in Weihsien
Date: dimanche 14 novembre 2004
Speaking of
legend or fact --
Weihsien rescuer, Jim Hannon, told me this
week that he has completed his manuscript, which he has titled "THE SECRET
OF WEIFANG." Long in the works,
this is Jim's controversial account of finding in Weihsien a woman whom he says
was Amelia Earhart.
When I visited him in 2000, he showed me
the manuscript -- then in progress.
Jim did not tell me this week when he plans
to release THE SECRET OF WEIFANG.
(Weifang is today's name for what we knew as Weihsien.)
Mary Previte
go to :
http://www.tighar.org/forum/FAQs/ltm.htm
What does "Love to Mother" mean?
The Weihsein Telegram
For several
years now, TIGHAR researchers and subscribers to our online Amelia Earhart
Search Forum have been signing their correspondence with the somewhat enigmatic
closing "Love to Mother," often abbreviated to "LTM." First
used in that context by Expedition Team member Russ Matthews (TIGHAR #0509CE),
the phrase is taken from a document which has become a cornerstone of
allegations that Earhart was alive and in Japanese custody at the end of World
War II. At TIGHAR , the phrase has become popular as
an irreverent reminder to be rigorous in our research and reasonable in drawing
our conclusions.
Recently, as an
independent research project, TIGHAR members Ron Bright (#2342) and Laurie
McLaughlin (#2212), with assistance from oft-published Earhart researcher
Rollin Reineck, set out to discover the true author of
the Love to Mother message. Ron's report, edited and reproduced below,
summarizes an excellent piece of detective work. For new forum subscribers who
may be wondering what this Love to Mother (often abbreviated to LTM) business
is all about, here's the story:
Background
After Amelia
Earhart disappeared on 2 July 37 enroute to
The text of the
message read:
Camp
liberated; all well. Volumes to tell. Love to mother.
It was
transmitted as "unsigned."
Putnam
replied to the State Department on 9 September 1945 with a terse letter asking
that any further telegrams be forwarded to his home at Lone Pine,
Then in
1971, author and long time Earhart researcher Fred Goerner learned about the
message and in 1975 received a copy from the National Archives. Goerner didn't
publicize this discovery, although he exchanged letters with other researchers.
Goerner, despite his personal conviction that the Japanese had captured
Earhart, dismissed the document as a message to Putnam from someone at Weihsein
who knew him before the war. He didn't believe it was from Earhart.
On 28
June 1987, the
The clear
implication was that Amelia Earhart had been a prisoner at Weihsein Civilian
Assembly Camp. Some researchers took this to be compelling evidence that the
Japanese had indeed captured Earhart and that she had been held since 1937 by
the Japanese government. After the Camp's liberation in 1945, so the
speculation went, Amelia was returned to the
Adding
support to the idea that the message was from Earhart, Lt. James Hannon, one of
the
Interviews
with other
The
Investigation
We began
with three assumptions:
- The author knew the
1935--41 address of Putnam at
- The author knew Putnam
well enough to send the message with some kind of reason and;
- The author was
conveying a code or intimate purpose with the "love to mother"
closing.
The research steps I followed were:
- I examined a list of
all 1400 plus internees on a June 1944 roster for any clues regarding,
age, business, occupations, and nationalities (American) but none seemed
to suggest a link a professional or business link with Putnam.
- I examined the
Radiogram from the State Department, transmitted from
- Only two messages were
designated with a (*) meaning signature omitted -- Putnam's and the very
next message. This suggested a possible transmission problem. Rollin
Reineck wondered if a limit of "one message per internee"
prompted someone to add the second message to Putnam, deliberately leaving
off the signature in order to get the message out.
- Examining the text of
each disclosed that only two messages out of the 135 were strikingly
similar in the phrasing of "camp liberated." Those messages
belonged to an "A. Kamal" and to GP Putnam.
Putnam's: "Camp liberated; all well. Volumes to tell. Love to Mother. (sig. omitted)"
Kamal's: "Advise mother all safe concentration camp liberated books ready, Kamal." - Kamal's message was
addressed to Maxwell Perkins at Scribner and Sons, a publishing house.
- None of the other
messages used the "camp liberated" phrase, and the "advise
mother" phrase. I felt that Kamal could be a possibility as he was a
self-proclaimed author and might be writing publishing house in
competition with Putnam's. Maybe he was writing to Putnam too about a
forthcoming book.
- The camp roster listed
A. Kamal as a 30 year old "student" and a Mrs. A.T. Kamal,
housewife.
We then contacted numerous former Internees and learned that Kamal was
"Ahmad Kamal" a supposed expert in
Former
internee Pamela Masters, who wrote The Mushroom Years, a story of the
Weihsein experience, recalled that Kamal from Weihsein accidently ran into her
sister in LA in 1947 trying to sell a story -- something about "Six Fathoms
Deep;" he was attempting to break into the Hollywood scene. She described
him as a "flaming red headed" Turk. We reviewed publishing companies
and found that an "Ahmad Kamal" had written seven books, including The
Seven Questions of Timur published in 1938 and Land without Laughter,
published in 1940. These books described his adventures in
These
descriptions of the book led us to believe that the Ahmad Kamal at Weihsein was
the same Kamal as the author. If he was an author it was possible that he had
some connection with George Putnam pre-war, but we couldn't find any direct
link.
A fellow
TIGHAR researcher, Andrew McKenna (TIGHAR #1045CE), found that AE and George
Putnam had a social relationship with Andrews of the
Thus, we
speculated, if Kamal at Weihsein was the author Kamal, it could be a common
link between Kamal and Putnam.
Then a
major breakthrough came in April 2001. A review of FBI records on Putnam,
obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and just declassified in 1998,
disclosed an amazing connection between Putnam and a "young man" who
spoke Turkish and Chinese, and who was writing about his adventures in
But who
was this "young man," whom Putnam declined to identify to the FBI?
Was he Kamal?
A social
security death index check disclosed that an Ahmad Kamal was born in 1914 and
died 13 October 1989 at
Our
conjecture then was that the author Kamal was the same Kamal as Putnam's young
man based on age and on the
The Final
Link
On 18
April 2001, I located Ahmad Kamal's son in
The
following is based on his son's recollection. After extensive traveling in
During
this time in 1937-38, Kamal became closely acquainted with Putnam who was
helping him find a publisher. About this time, 1938, Kamal published his Seven
Questions book about his adventures in Central Asia, fighting against the
Russians, imprisonment, and escape to Peking. Sometime about 1939-1940, Kamal
returned to
Kamal
spoke Turkish, Chinese and was an "international figure." Kamal's son
said that his father never discussed with him any of Putnam's efforts to
recruit him for the FBI. (The son was born in 1950.)
After
liberation, Kamal returned to the
In
summary, Kamal said his father often discussed Amelia Earhart and various
disappearance theories. His father, who knew Amelia, said she was not at
Weihsein while he was there from 1942 until August 1945. The story of Earhart
being at Weihsein was, in the son's words, "apocryphal" and that's
why he recalled his father's stories while he was growing up in the 60s, 70s
and 80s.
His
father thought she went down in the sea.
The son
said he would search through his father's journals and provide any relevant
document or record.
Conclusion
The
author of the LTM message is Ahmad Kamal. Kamal was at Weihsein and he knew
Putnam and AE. His message to Putnam was a generic hopeful notification.
"Love to mother" was nothing more than an endearing message for
Putnam to convey to his mom after his three years at the camp.
For those
that wish to know more about Kamal I suggest reading his first two books. A
further indicator of his mother's role in Kamal's life is seen in the
dedication in his first book, The Seven Secrets in which he writes,
"TO MY MOTHER" (in 20 point type).
Acknowledgements
Laurie
and I wish to thank Rollin Reineck, who initially researched and located State
Department radiograms to Putnam and generously provided them. Also to Don Neumann, and TIGHAR members Pat Gaston (TIGHAR #2328),
Don Jordan (TIGHAR #2109), and Andrew McKenna (TIGHAR #1045CE) for advice and
direction in this investigation. Early researchers did not have the
advantage of the 1998 declassified Putnam FBI file that disclosed the
relationship between a Weihsein internee and Putnam.
This telegram
and the nonsense which has surrounded it in recent years has prompted those of
us most involved in TIGHAR's Earhart research to adopt the "Love to
mother" closing as a reminder to keep our objectivity and skepticism
intact when evaluating any new evidence.
You can order
your very own Love to Mother shirt and refrigerator
magnet on the TIGHAR website by clicking here.
De: "Stanley Nordmo"
<shnordmo@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Legend or facts ??
Date: dimanche 14 novembre 2004
Information
that might help to unravel the John Hersey legend
The
obituary in 1993 covered John Hersey’s war time assignments
(June 17,
1914-March 24, 1993)
Born John Richard Hersey in
Graduated
Yale in 1936; attended
During summer of 1937 worked as driver and
private secretary for Sinclair Lewis.
Joined
staff of Time magazine in 1937 as editor and correspondent, reporting on war
from
Traveled to
Details
about the research behind his book The
Call can be found in the
The
John Hersey Papers
Divinity
Library Special Collections
divinity.library@yale.edu
This
collection contains research materials gathered by Hersey while preparing to
write his novel, The Call. The main figure in this novel, David Treadup, was
partly based on the lives of six actual missionaries to
Hersey did
a considerable amount of research in the personal papers of
Based on
the above information, it would be reasonable to assume that John Hersey’s time
line as a war correspondent excluded any connection with Weihsien
The fact that six
missionaries to
Stanley Nordmo
De: "Gladys Swift"
<glaswift@cstone.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Legend or facts ??
Date: lundi 15 novembre 2004
To add a
bit to what Stanley Nordmo has written (below), my father was one of the six
missionaries whose lives were used in "The Call".
John Hersey
personally called me to ask if I would give permission for him to use my
father, Hugh W. Hubbard, 's papers in his book
"The Call". I gave permission,
and also talked with him about the fact that my father had worked with John
Hersey's father in the YMCA Tientsin, @ 1908 to 1910. My parents were stationed in Paotingfu after
their marriage, which was used by John Hersey in describing Treadup's early
married life in Paotingfu and his missionary life there. Gladys Hubbard Swift
De: "George Kaposhilin" <gkapo@earthlink.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Cc: <MTPrevite@aol.com
Objet: RE: Legend or fact -- Amelia Earhart in Weihsien
Date: lundi 15 novembre 2004
Dear Mary:
If possible
can you send a picture of the Weishien exhibit to our archives
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Some of Hersey's Sources
Date: lundi 15 novembre 2004
Regarding
John Hersey's sources for "The Call," you might be interested in the
following.
One of the
sources he used for the composite character of Treadup was Hugh Hubbard, whose
daughter, Gladys Swift, recently joined this group. Hubbard has been mentioned by several of you
as one of the leaders of the "spirit team." He, like Treadup, started as a "Y"
secretary and transferred to the ministry under the American Board
(Congregational). Before internment
Hubbard was active in Paotingfu, and was especially important as a leader of
the literacy movement in
Hersey's
end-notes listing his sources also mention two unpublished manuscripts by
Howard Galt, another American Boarder, who taught at Yenching Unversity in
(I just
checked and found that the Weihsien documents are there all right but there is
some problem with the Galt's Gripsholm memoir.
I'll let you know when I've fixed it.)
De: "Donald" <dmenzi@earthlink.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Some of Hersey's Sources
Date: lundi 15 novembre 2004
I must
apologize to Gladys for not having read her email before saying the same things
that she had already said about her father.
Sorry, Gladys. But I guess that
Hubbard was an important enough figure to be mentioned twice.
Don
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: RE: Legend or fact -- Amelia Earhart in Weihsien
Date: mardi 16 novembre 2004
I'll
certainly ask my contact at the Smithsonian if someone can take a picture of
the Weihsien section of this The Price of Freedom exhibit. I know of three items in this Weihsien
exhibit -- a 1945 photograph of Major Stanley
Staiger,
Ensign Jim Moore, Sgt Tad Nagaki, and
Sgt. Raymond Hanchulak; a baby bonnet
embroidered with autographs of American rescuers; and a piece of parachute silk
embroidered with the scene of American rescuers parachuting from the B-24 over
Weihsien and the autographs of each rescuer.
Carol Orlich, widow of Weihsien rescuer Pete Orlich, gave me this piece
of embroidered parachute silk when I tracked her down in 1997. She says a white Russian woman or girl in
Weihsien gave it to Pete as a goodbye present as his group was leaving
Weihsien.
We've never
been able to find out who that woman was.
I have not yet visited the Smithsonian exhibit and have no immediate
plans to travel to
I'm sure
our heroes never in their wildest dreams imagined being part of a display in
the Smithsonian. Imagine it! In a world class museum! Needless to say, I've most certainly told
them about it. The curator has asked if
I thought Tad Nagaki and Jim Moore might visit the display. I don't know.
At around 85 years of age, Jim and Pat Moore still travel quite a bit to
visit their children and grand children, but Tad Nagaki feels most comfortable
on or around the fields of his farm.
Mary Previte
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: The Price of Freedom
Date: mercredi 17 novembre 2004
I'm told
that this exhibit focuses on everyday soldiers of ALL of
Mary
Previte
-----
Original Message -----
From:
"Zehao Zhou" <zzhou@ycp.edu
To: <MTPrevite@aol.com
Sent:
Friday, November 19, 2004
Subject: The Story of Gene Lance and his Xiao
Haizhi as Published on Nov. 17 2004 in
Dear
Ms. Previte,
I
thought you might enjoy reading this article.
Thanks.
Zehao Zhou
York College of PA
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Lost and Found (Title of the Article)
11/17/04
Loni Ingraham
Email this story to a friend
They found Eugene Lance in September 2003 in a hallway at the annual reunion of veterans of the China Burma India
theater during World War II.
He was sitting alone.
He had never been to a reunion before, the
80-year-old former U.S. Army staff sergeant from Lutherville told them.
When he remarried in 1967, he put away his war
experiences with the shoe box of faded photographs he had stored far back on
the closet shelf. He had never mentioned them to his new bride and her three
children or to his own five children - his firstborn son had been just a baby
when he was drafted in 1943.
In fact, he had never talked to anybody about
what it was like 60 years ago. It was another life, another wife.
But this day in
"When we talked to him, he became very emotional,
very excited," recalls Zehao "ZZ" Zhou, an assistant professor
at York College and member of the Association for Preserving the History of
World War II in Asia. He was there that day with documentary filmmaker Pat
Lucas to interview veterans of the Asian theater. "Each one is a walking
encyclopedia of that history," he says. "We grabbed him."
What the two men didn't realize is that this
particular encyclopedia came with dozens of illustrations. The photographs
Lance eventually provided for them were a tremendous asset for their project.
They were very grateful.
What could they do for him? They asked him.
He missed his "little kid," Lance
told them, using his version of Chinese vernacular for the term. It is spelled
Xiao Haizhi, but he pronounces it shawheightza.
"Find my shawheightza," he said.
Lance was not talking about one of his own
children. He was talking about the year when he worked as a welder on the
His shawheigthza was the skinny little boy he
came to think of as his son, the boy he had to abandon when he returned to the
States, the boy he never saw or heard from again.
Lance had signed up for hazardous duty in
1943.
"A week later I was flying over the hump to
Base camp was at an altitude of 7,000 feet, he
says. It was hot during the day, frigid at night. They called it
"We thought only a monkey would want to
use it," he says.
They lived in fatigues or khakis. Fresh food
was nonexistent. There was no kitchen, no chef, no
cook. There were C-rations and K-rations; that's what they lived on.
"It didn't bother us," he says.
"It was just what life was. It was something we had to do for our country,
and that was the end of it. We were so determined. We were Americans, and we
were going to get this war done."
Months later, a straggly little kid wandered
into the camp. His clothes were tattered, and he was starving.
"I first saw him walking down the road looking very hesitant, curious as if
he was unsure who we were. The only foreign troops he had seen were Japanese,
and we were a pleasant surprise to him. We were friendly."
Lance found out later that just the week before
the Japanese had chased most of his family over the mountains and slaughtered
them. The kid was a survivor.
Lance had a 1-year-old himself. God forbid if
his children had had to go through anything like that. He motioned for the boy,
who didn't speak English, to come with him.
"We fed him and we clothed him," he
says. "He was the kid who came to lunch and never left."
He became part of them. He just hung around
and helped out where he could.
"He always called me 'Sarge,'" Lance
says. "We became pretty close. I was the only one who shaved. He would
take cold water from the stream and boil it in my helmet at
Lance taught the boy to speak English through
repetition. With Lance's help, he could say "Good morning,"
"Yes, sir" and "No, sir."
"He was a smart boy," Lance recalls.
"He was a good kid to be around."
In October 1945, two months after
"It was sad to say good-bye to him,"
he says. "But the military standards wouldn't allow us to take him with
us.
"We took him to where his mother was
living in a lean-to on a mountain side. It was only three kilometers away
but it was an overnight trip - and we left him all our supplies and clothing
and gave him a big hug like Americans do.
"I felt guilty leaving him - Americans
are sentimental, you know," he says. "It's a certain weakness."
After Lance was discharged, work was scarce.
He worked as a welder for a dollar an hour when he could and drove a cab to
survive. Later in life he would become an insurance agent, a real estate agent
and an amateur pilot who owned a series of planes.
For a long time he thought about his
shawheightza, and then only occasionally. He was busy raising his own children.
But he was not through with the Army in 1945.
In August 1950, he was drafted during the
Korean War.
He left
But he was on his way home because of a knee
injury he sustained during training. It didn't prevent the Army from shipping
him to
A
needle in a haystack
Finding Eugene Lance's shawheightza, assuming
he was still alive, in a primitive area of a province of more than 50 million
people was like finding the proverbial "needle in a haystack,"
according to Zhou.
And the problem was compounded by the fact
that Lance didn't know the boy's name - he had just called him
"Shawheightza," and the boy hadn't known Lance's name. He had just
called Lance "Sarge" or "Boss."
But Zhou wrote a long letter to the Chinese
government detailing Lance's request. He was pleasantly surprised to receive a
positive response.
"The Chinese government can be very efficient,"
he says. The government issued a decree to have the
In the interim, Pat Lucas used his local connections
with his television buddies to publish old photos of the boy and the television
networks picked up the story.
"It was like looking for a wanted
person," Zhou says.
After a month of intense searching, the foreign
affairs official thought he had found the right man: Cai Wenbo, a 75-year-old
grandfather who is a member of the Li Shu ethnic minority - there are 56 ethnic
minorities in
But the man was initially reluctant to admit
that he was the shawheightza because in the tumultuous 1960s, during rampant
persecution in
"But after the government officials
convinced him that this was no longer a crime, he opened up," says Zhou.
"The Chinese aren't stupid, Lance says. "They needed to make sure that they had the right
person, so they asked him what he could tell them about his sarge.
"When he said, 'all the time, clean clean
clean, all the time shave,' they knew they had the right man."
Zhou was ecstatic when the government called
to tell him they had found shawheightza.
"I was jumping with joy," he says.
A
hero's welcome
Lance made the journey to meet his
shawheightza this September in conjunction with a symposium the Chinese government
had invited him to in
"The visit was a major event in
By the evening of the next day Lance was on
board a bus with other dignitaries heading for
"It was a four-and-a- half-hour
trip," he says. "In front of us the whole way was a police escort
with siren on and lights flashing."
After visiting
Then he saw a small hut on the mountain and
his shawheightza's son and daughter came out to escort him across the planks
and blocks that had been laid out above the mud and the rocks.
"He was in the hut waiting for me,"
Lance says. "He was just a tiny little thing."
They greeted each other in the language that
overcomes the cultural barriers that divide East from
West. They hugged each other, and they both cried.
"It was a great reunion," Lance
says. "It was as if he was my long lost son."
E-mail Loni Ingraham at lingraham@patuxent.com
De:
"Nicky & Leopold" <tapol@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Mr McLaren,
Date: mardi 23 novembre 2004
14:15
In
----
TED McLaren
(1902-1950)
Ted McLaren was born in
In 1923/4 he played Rugger for
Ted McLaren and Eric Liddell were
friends in
"...
we played [Rugby] in the same side and against one another for ... three years
and never once did he show the slightest sign of bad temper or bad sportsmanship
... both ... were utterly foreign to him ... [He had] that characteristic of
never to give in ― he was never beaten but always trying ... no truer
sportsman ever drew on a running shoe ... "
McLaren himself also died young
― in
McLaren spent most of his life in the
service of that famous Far Eastern shipping and trading firm, John Swire &
Sons (then known as Butterfield & Swire). He learned Chinese and worked in Hankow,
In 1926, while still a young man, he
earned the praise of his company for his handling of the so-called 'Wanhsien'
incident on the
At the time of
In Weihsien he was elected Chairman of
the Camp's 'Discipline Committee' and soon became the kingpin of the
Council-of-Nine which ran the internal affairs of the Camp. In that capacity he
had the difficult and dangerous task of liaison between the Japanese Commandant
― Mr. Izu ― and the internees. He was an outstanding success,
treading the delicate tightrope with consummate skill.
On occasion he dared to rebuke the
(California-educated) Commandant in no uncertain terms, as when an Englishwoman
was slapped by the guards, or when a drunken soldier intruded into female
internee quarters.
But he also had to relay the
Commandant's complaints and rulings to the internees. For example, the
Commandant complained that internees were being disrespectful to the Japanese
guards (and thus to the Emperor of Japan) by getting in their way as they
walked about the Camp on their duties. McLaren duly posted on the
"Internees
will give way to uniformed members of His Imperial Majesty's Forces, i.e.
internees will alter their course to port or starboard to avoid a head-on
collision. E. McLaren
(Discipline Committee)"
This piece of surreptitious
mickey-taking had the internees chuckling for many weeks.
McLaren was quite capable of losing
his temper, but in public he seldom raised his voice. He ruled the camp very
quietly, with seeming effortlessness, with deliberate understatement, with an
innate, unspoken authority.
To my
schoolboy mind ― I was fifteen at the time of
When General Wang
Yu-min, a local Chinese Guerrilla Commander, established secret contact with
the Camp, McLaren and a small group of
McLaren listened regularly to a secret
radio within the camp, so when the War drew towards its close, he arranged with
the two escapees that guerrilla forces would be ready ― at a moment's
notice ― to protect the camp or to send in food supplies.
He also organized an 'underground'
police force ― of reliable, able-bodied internees
― ready to take control of the Camp.
In fact liberation came from the air,
with the dramatic descent of seven American parachutists
― handpicked
The young American major and his
gallant few were astounded to find such an efficient and well-run camp, in
spite of three years of meagre, dwindling rations and other privations.
After the war, the Japanese
Commandant, Mr. Izu, along with hundreds of other senior Japanese officers,
Police Chiefs and Commandants throughout
At Eric Liddell's Memorial Service in
1944, McLaren had referred to the Olympic champion's numerous attainments which
could have turned many a man's head. In fact, said McLaren, "they had no
effect other than to make him even more retiring and unassuming". The same
could well have been said of McLaren himself. In the darkest days of the war,
he became the most respected man in Camp. Everyone looked up to him. Everyone instinctively trusted this chivalrous, humour soft-spoken, canny Scot who combined all
the skills of diplomacy with firmness, wisdom and magnanimity. We shall not see
his like again.
E. McLaren
De: "David Birch" <gdavidbirch@yahoo.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Mr McLaren,
Date: mardi 23 novembre 2004
18:35
I well
remember Mr McLaren and his little notices on the Camp's bulletin boards;
although I did not know the man personally.
Our own Mr
P A Bruce, in those days, was one of my main "heroes!" Another was a tall, grey-haired Britisher
whom I only knew as "Mr Stewart!"
Mr Stewart formed a sort of "cadet corps" with the boys in
Roll Call area #6. We were the last area to be counted each day. So the guard
doing the tally would not reach us till about forty to fifty minutes after the
roll call began at the other side of the Camp.
Mr Stewart
had us young teen-aged and late pre-teen boys doing doing drills for twenty or
thirty minutes during which he would act as a sort of Cadet Officer barking out commands to
us: "Right Dress," "Quick March," "Right Wheel,"
"Form Fours," "About Turn," "Attention,"
"Stand at Ease," Stand Easy," until it was time for us to return
to our Roll Call lines on the adjacent outdoor basketball court. Then he would line us up one last time and
give us the command to "Dismiss." Anyone dawdling had to run several
laps around the little parade square which was out of sight of the guard
towers, or do several "push-ups."
We would
have followed Mr Stewart anywhere I believe. And maybe that was the whole idea
behind this drill; in case of an emergency rescue, we were a well-disciplined
squad of youngsters who knew how to follow their leader and obey his commands.
I also knew
Mr Stewart from my duties as a thirteen-year-old stationed at the hand pump by
the Ladies' Showers. Mr Stewart served
in the Boiler Room there.
He was a
personal friend of one of my most-respected teachers, Miss I E Phare who taught
English Literature and Composition, two of my strong subjects.
It's
interesting to learn from this page in
Was he a
bachelor or a married man? Did he have family members who were close to him
during and after the war?
De: "Gay Talbot
Stratford" <stillbrk@eagle.ca
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Mr McLaren,
Date: mardi 23 novembre 2004
Thank you
so much for the profile on Mr. McLaren- and thanks to
I do know
he was married and had a daughter called Jennifer, a friend of a friend of ours
here in rural
Best wishes
to you and yours for the Christmas season.
Gay (Talbot)
De: "Nicky & Leopold" <tapol@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Fw: Weihsien
mini-meeting
Date: mardi 30 novembre 2004
Dear
everybody,
It was a
real nice surprise to meet with Albert de Zutter (3 short days in
Well, ---
hope you like them
Best
regards,
Leopold
Bonjour,
Je vous invite à consulter un
de mes albums photos sur Skynet Photo Service.
Pour vous rendre sur cet
album, veuillez cliquer sur le lien (*) :
http://skynetphotoservice.wistiti.be/Skynet-Id-461241:Weihsien
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Fw: Weihsien
mini-meeting
Date: mardi 30 novembre 2004
15:55
At last we
get to put a face and body on some familiar names!
Many
thanks, as usual, to Leopold.
Don
----- Original Message -----
From: David Birch
Sent: Tuesday,
November 30, 2004
Subject: Re: Fw: Weihsien mini-meeting
Thanks again,
Leopold!
David
De: "Nicky &
Leopold" <tapol@skynet.be
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Cc: "Janette & Pierre
@ home" <pierre.ley@pandora.be
Objet: new chapter
Date: vendredi 3 décembre 2004
9:23
Dear Paul,
Dear Stan,
Many, many
thanks for giving me the permission to reproduce your private documents on the
Weihsien-picture-gallery-web-site. We all remember Brian's tragic accident and
after reading the Committee's very complete report I am sure that memories will
come back (to all of us) about your brother. Father Hanquet told me about him,
so did my big sister Janette, three years older than I am and so did my Mother
--- many years ago.
Best regards, and à bientôt ---
Leopold
http://users.skynet.be/bk217033/Weihsien/index.htm
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Fwd: Hello from Yantai
Date: samedi 4 décembre 2004
18:33
Hello,
Everybody,
Those of you planning to visit Yantai or
Some of you may be planning trips to
Mary Previte
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeff Liu
Sent: Wednesday,
December 01, 2004
Subject: Hello from Yantai
Dear Ms Mary T. Previte,
I let myself to take the liberty of writing to you. I
knew you in your presentation in
I have finished the degree study of
I remember that there are a group of people in the
states who were born in Yantai and spent their school time in Yantai. This is a
special tie between you fellow people and this city. I am willing to offer my
help for you becasue of my position convinience.
Last month, I received a group of people (as many
as 23) from
Any help if you need, please do not hesitate to let me
know.
Your truly,
Jeff Liu
p.s.
My Phone number:
+ 86 535 662 8431
(office) + 86 535 621 2917 (Fax)
+ 1380 891 3632 (mobile)
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De: "Tracy Strong" <tstrong@weber.ucsd.edu
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: RE: Legend or facts ??
Date: jeudi 9 décembre 2004
18:19
Dear All --
John hersey was certainly not born in Weihsien, nor do I
think he was interned there (from a conversation I had with him in the middle
1980's). He was living in
I am the son
of Robbins and Kitty Strong (decesaed in 1999) and was born in the Weihsien
camp.
best
wishes,
Tracy B.
Strong
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tracy Strong" <tstrong@weber.ucsd.edu
To: <weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004
Subject: RE: Some of Hersey's Sources
Ø
Quite
so: Hersey also used the AMB archives that are in the Houghton
Library at Harvard. The figure in THE
CALL is a composite of, I think,
six missionaries are is
to my mind one of the very best accounts of the
complexities of the Christian Church in
Tracy
B. Strong
De: "Tracy Strong" <tstrong@weber.ucsd.edu
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: RE: Hello from Yantai
Date: jeudi 9 décembre 2004
For what it
is worth, I visited the Weihsien camp in 1980 with my since deceased wife,
Helene Keyssar, in the course of doing research for the book we published on my
great-aunt, Anna Louise Strong (RIGHT IN HER SOUL: THE LIFE OF ANNA LOUISE
STRONG (Random House). The local
Friendship Committee took advantage of the occasion (not many visitors to
Weihsien in 1980!!) to throw a banquet with TWO bottle of Mao-Tai.
They
apologized for having torn down the building in which my parents (and I) lived,
but assured me that ones there were "just like it." The main buildings are now a Middle School if
memory serves.
Greetings
to you all,
Tracy B.
Strong
De: "Dwight W. Whipple" <thewhipples@comcast.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Some of Hersey's Sources
Date: jeudi 9 décembre 2004
19:55
Hello Everyone~
To add to the John Hersey discussion I offer
the following correspondence
I had with
him in 1988:
March 1, 1988
Dear Mr. Hersey
Thank you for your novel, "The
Call" which brought back so many memories of
I enclose a copy of a letter that I have
written to the Day Missions Library at Yale.
Perhaps you have information regarding this inquiry of mine.
Again, thanks for your book which I
enjoyed immensely. I particularly appreciated
the cameo appearances of your father, Roscoe M. Hersey, Sr.
Sincereley
(signed) Dwight
W. Whipple
March 22, 1988
Dear Reverend Whipple:
Thank you for your kind letter about The
Call. The Day Library will answer your
questions; they may conceivably be willing to have the materials copied for
you. A.W. March's account was of
experiences at one of the other internment camps in
My very best wishes to
you.
Sincerely,
(signed) John
Hersey
For any of you "old
~Dwight W. Whipple
PS I found the library at Yale to be very
cooperative.
De: "Donald"
<dmenzi@earthlink.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: RE: Hello from Yantai
Date: jeudi 9 décembre 2004
20:25
(This is a
personal note to Tracy Strong, probably not of much interest to the rest of
you.)
Your name
was so familiar to me that I went back and checked my grandfather's (George
Wilder) diary from Weihsien, and found the following entry:
"Aug.
2-6
Baseball:
much interest in the kitchen teams. Our
Kitchen No. 3 first team lost twice to No. 1, considered the best. No. 2 Kitchen beat the "8-Balls"
and No. I. We played No. 2 again on
August 4th and won 6-5. Steven Shaw
starred by making four long fly catches B one while falling backward after a
jump B and a home run in the 9th, winning the game.
Robbins
Strong caught for Father Whalen in the game yesterday, just as Kitty went to
the hospital to have her baby. He went
to her after the game at 8 p.m. and stayed to see the baby born at 1:50 a.m.,
August 6th "Tracy Burr Strong," hesitating some over the middle name,
being doubtful if Aaron Burr was a traitor or not. "
You and
your parents appear several more times in the Weihsien diary, and also in the
Wilders' letters after they returned (with you) on the Gripsholm and were
living in Oberlin. In fact the Wilders
and Strongs lived in the same house until you and your family returned to
If you are interested
in these brief snippets about you and your parents, it's all available for you
to download from the web site that I set up to distribute Wilder documents to
family members - d.menzi.org (no www. needed).
You can go to the Site Directory and click on "Documents to
Download" for a list of what's available so far, and then click on the
ones you want. You should be able to
find yourself using the "Find" function in MS Word.
Can you
send me a brief description of what happened to your parents (and to you) after
you returned to
Once again, nice hearing from you.
Don Menzi
-----
Original Message -----
From:
"
To: <weihsien@topica.com
Sent:
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Subject: Re: Legend or facts
??
I
thought that we had put this to bed I am absolutely certain from all
evidence that John Hersey was not in
----- Original Message -----
From: David Birch
To: weihsien@topica.com
Sent: Wednesday, January 21, 2004
Subject: Re: It was different for the old people
Theresa,
Your family
obviously suffered very greatly! War really is horrible and family separation
due to war can be a great hardship! How wonderful, though, to have memories of
the love and faithfulness of family members who sacrificed so much in order to
try to be there for those they loved!
You have a
wonderful heritage! As have I!
I'm just
thankful that at the end of the war our family (Dad and Mother and my brothers
and sisters and I) were finally reunited in
My brother
John who was 11 years old in 1945 was with me in the camps at Chefoo and
Weihsien. He died in a tragic motor vehicle accident after the war, in 1954.
But John and I had each other during those war years. After the war, we met a
little sister, Miriam, who was born in 1943 far away in inland
But
One memory
that means a lot to me even today concerns a blazing hot day in the summer of
1944. Some of us children had been moved to Block 61 from Block 23 to take the
place of some young men in their twenties who were moved from their dorms in
the attic of the hospital (Block 61) where they had been able to command a
clear view of the countryside surrounding the camp. I had lost my little garden
patch over by Block 23, so I was trying to dig another patch by the wall over
near the hospital, my new home. It was tough going! The ground was baked hard
by the blazing sun, and I was hacking away at it with a big ungainly mattock
and making very little headway. When all of a sudden I noticed a uniformed
Japanese guard looking down at me. He had a kindly smile on his face, and he
motioned to let me know he wanted to help me. I handed him my heavy mattock and
he readily went to work. He was bigger and much stronger than I, and soon had
my little patch of hard dirt all broken and cultivated. Then he smiled and gave
me back the mattock and left. I continued to work with my garden patch and was
able to plant flowers and vegetables in it. I was 12-l/2 years old at the time.
That was sixty years ago now, but I've never forgotten the friendliness and
helpfulness of that Japanese guard. He was not the only one of our captors who
showed us kindness in those days of internment!
Sincerely
David
"Theresa
Granger(Myrtle Sharp)" <ttmg@juno.com wrote:
Dear
Frances,
I'm so
sorry that your great grandparents suffered such losses. What a pity that they
felt so deprived and hurt! War is not an easy time, and there are many who are
deeply hurt! I'm just so thankful that our missionary teachers were able to
give us kids the ability to look on the positive side of things at Chefoo and
Weihsien.
I think, in
a way, we were all hurt by the war. I was separated from my parents and most of
my family for about five years altogether! It wasn't
ideal at all. Fortunately most of my friends went through much the same
experience. Perhaps with the adaptability of childhood, we sort of naturally
adjusted to the environment in which we found ourselves!
Zandy was
very athletic and had the encouragement of some truly amazing Roman Catholic
priests who coached him in sports - baseball and so on! A couple of my
teachers, a certain Mr. Gordon Martin known as "Goopy" to us kids,
did much the same for the boys and girls in their care.
I don't think
either Zandy or I were offended by your reference to the rooms we occupied as
"cells". We just pointed out that from our perspective the camp was
not a penal institution! In fact, it was "home" for us during that
time. A home that still holds many warm memories.
Sincerely
David
frances@francesosborne.com
wrote:
Dear Zandy and David,
I'm sorry to have upset you by using the term
cellblock for the blocks in Weihsien. I
understand that they were originally built for bible students and were known as cells for that
purpose (as in monasteries). I am
pleased that you both have such fond memories of Weihsien and am fully aware that for many children,
internment was an exciting adventure.
However, for the older people there, I am
told, it was quite different. They were
at the end of their working lives and they had just lost everything they had. They didn't know
how they would survive when they left
the camp. Or where they would go. And the novelty of
camp life was for them, physical hardship.
My great-grandmother's husband was so
old and ill that he needed nursing care which, in the community
spirit of the camp, somebody was kind
enough to give. But,
De: "Gladys Swift"
<glaswift@cstone.net
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: RE: Legend or facts ??
Date: dimanche 12 décembre 2004
To Tracy B.
Strong - I am pleased to hear from you as I knew your parents Robbins and Kitty
Strong at Oberlin in the early 1940s. I
went to see them when my husband Lloyd Swift and I were applying to go out to
Hubbard
Swift <glaswift@cstone.net
Another
comment: Treadup in The Call may have
been based on Hugh Hubbard (among the six) but I have not felt Treadup in any
way lives up to his role model Hubbard!!!
I said that to Arthur Hersey and he said he felt the same way about
Treadup and his (Hersey's) father!
GHS
Dear All -- John hersey was certainly not born
in Weihsien, nor do I think he was interned there
(from a conversation I had with him in the middle 1980's). He was living in
I am the son of Robbins and Kitty Strong (deceased
in 1999) and was born in the Weihsien camp.
best wishes,
Tracy B. Strong
Gladys Swift wrote:
Yes,
I know that the Hersey family lived in
De: "Gay Talbot Stratford" <stillbrk@eagle.ca
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Father Scanlon's
Memoir
Date: mardi 21 décembre 2004
May
everyone have a blessed Christmas and a safe New Year.
Gay Talbot
De: "Raymond Moore" <raym82@hotmail.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: Re: Father Scanlon's
Memoir
Date: mardi 21 décembre 2004
I got my
copy of Father Scanlon's book online through Abe Books at abebooks.com
I also want
to wish everyone a happy Christmas. I
have been writing up my story for my children,, and
have found the Weihsien reminiscences a real stimulus to my memories. Thank you to everyone. I still have trouble remembering how we
celebrated Christmas in camp.
Ray Moore
De: <MTPrevite@aol.com
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: No Subject
Date: mercredi 22 décembre
2004 1:24
Raymond,
I hope you've intercepted the long-hidden
Christmas present from
Weihsien,
which I've forwarded to the Weihsien network.. Greg Leck found a photograph in the National
Archives, tucked in among some from the Doolittle Raiders. He forwarded it to
me for identification. Bless Greg one
thousand times! I couldn't believe my
eyes when the pictures came up on the screen.
My brother John, my sister Kathleen who died of lupus about 7 years
later, me - just turned 13 a couple of
days before. I wanted to weep with
remembering. What a gift, Greg! I wanted to hug the world.
Do you remember when you looked like that,
Raymond? David Allen and I think the
photo was taken on Septmber 10, 1945, when six
At the time -- 1945, Kathleen was madly in
love with and sort of betrothed to Douglas Finlay, 6' 6 1/2", one of the
unattached men who was transplanted from the hospital
after the escape of Hummel and Tipton.
After that September 10 goodbye, Kathleen and Doug never saw each other
again.
Does anyone remember the Christmas pudding
the cooks in Kitchen Number One made?
They must have hoarded the sugar.
After our steady and dwindling diet of boiled lu-doh and gaoliang, the
pudding almost made me sick. Much too rich. I kept
it on a shelf in the dormitory until it gathered dust.
Thank you, Natasha, for this priceless gift
of linking us together with this Weihien network. I brings me constant
joy and surprises.
And thank you, Greg Leck, for this
photograph -- a priceless treasure.
Happy Christmas,
everyone.
Mary Taylor Previte
De: "Joyce Cook"
<bobjoyce@tpg.com.au
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Date: mercredi 22 décembre
2004 6:47
To all WeiHsieners. First of all, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
We are basking in about 29 . Celsius
here in
Now some sad news and I quote from a
Headed
"Langdon Gilkey, 85, theologian transformed by WW11 internment."
Langdon Gilkey, 85 an eminent Protestant Theologian who wrote of the
relevance of God in a 'Time of troubles"died of meningitis Nov. 19 at the
university of
To Mr.
Gilkey, whose formative experience was spending World War 11 in a Japanese
Internment camp, the opposite was true. " I
believe in God because to me history precisely does not represent such a
progress"
Long based
at the University he wrote some 20 books and hundreds of scholarly papers on
the meaning of religion in an increasingly secular age. His career also touched
on aspects of the civil rights era. Vatican II reforms and
the creationism vs evolution controversy.
His
testimony in a land mark 1981 case affecting
Mr. Gilkey
was born in
Despite his
father's profession he said, "I was, I suppose, an ethical humanist if I
was anything"
At
He received
his doctorate in religion from
I am sure most of you will remember Langdon in
WeiHsien as a lovely man, always friendly and helpful. I am sorry for his
-passing. He wrote a book on his time in
WeiHssien titled Shantung Compound. Joyce Bradbury.
De: "Tracy Strong" <tstrong@weber.ucsd.edu
À: <weihsien@topica.com
Objet: RE:
Date: mercredi 22 décembre
2004 14:48
I am very
sorry to hear of Langdon Gilkey's death.
Aside from his writings in theology, the memoir of Weihsien is, to my
political theorist's eye, one of the most interesting studies in social
contract and small group politics that I know of. As a political problem: put 800 adults who speak the same language
together into a limited space, with limited resources, with the requirement of
performing certain tasks both for themselves and for others, and tell them to
organize themselves: what works? what does not? What behaviors
can be tolerated? which cannot be?
Wonderful book.
best
wishes to all for a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Improved New Year.
TBS
Tracy B. Strong
Professeur et
directeur, Centre d'études
Université de
Californie</
18, quai Claude
Bernard
69365 LYON France
EAP Phone: (011-33)(0) 4-72-73-48-29</
Tel. domicile: 04 78 37 58 73
Mobile: 06 21 56
78 34</
_____
***