NOTE: These email found on web site at http://www.weihsien-paintings.org/topica/archives/2000.htm on March 22, 2008. LJH
Remembereating gao liang and lu dou for breakfast in Kitchen #1?
mtpre-@aol.com
Jun11, 2000 12:53 PDT
From Mary Previte:
I hope you've all read Desmond Power's book, LITTLE FOREIGN DEVIL, whichincludes several chapters about Weihsien. Order it through pan-@bookwright.com
Another wonderful book about Weihsien:
The Mushroom Years by Pamela Masters.
Order it through Pam-@hendersonhouse.com Memories from MaryTaylor Previte, New Jersey
Remember when we lived on gao liang (broom corn) and lu dou forbreakfast? (Can you believe I've found lu dou here in a healthfood store?) Lunch in KITCHEN #1 was always stew, stew, stew."S.O.S" we called it: Same Old Stew. I remember one day when the menuboard listed T.T. Soup for lunch. TT Soup turned out to be turnip top soup.
My stomach was much too shrunk for fancy food. Cooks in Kitchen #1 saved thesugar -- I think it was for Christmas -- and created pudding for a holidaytreat. When my tummy rebelled at anything so rich, I took the pudding back toour Lower School Dormitory (LSD) in the hospital and put it on a shelf.
The pudding died there on the shelf. When it gathered dust, I threw it out.
When our Taylor family took a nostalgia trip to Weihsien several years ago, Imade my daughter take a snapshot of me standing with my tongue out by the doorof our dormitory in Block 23. That's where our teachers madeus stand while they spooned powdered egg shells onto our tongues. I remembergagging and coughing and trying to wheeze the grit out. Remember? Oh,horrors! Prisoner doctors made everyone save egg shells (fromeggs bartered through the black market) and grind the shells up for us childrento eat as pure
calcium.
I was weeding my garden today, pulling up pig weed. Pig weed always makes methink of Weihsien. Late in the war, our Chefoo Schools teachers taught us toidentify and pick pigweed and burdock. We ate it boiled -- sort of likespinach. It has a very iron-y taste. We were weed eaters!
No matter what, our Chefoo Schools teachers insisted on good manners.There is no such thing, they said, asone set of manners for people in the outside world and another set for theconcentration camp. You could be eating the most awful-looking glop out of atin can or a soap dish, but you were to be as refined as the two princesses inBuckingham Palace. Sit up straight. Don't stuff food in your mouth. Don't talkwith your mouth full. Keep your voice down. And don't complain.
We were God's representatives in the concentration camp, our teachers said, andGod was not represented well by rudeness or grumbling.
Bless my soul! No wonder we survived!
Mary Taylor Previte, USA
websiteand photo Natasha Petersen
Jun 14, 2000 07:33 PDT
By: Date Email Name
(1- 6 of 6)
nata-@roanoke.infi.net
mtpre-@aol.com
jebry-@yahoo.com
pag-@bookwright.com
bea-@xtra.co.nz
albertd-@worldnet.att.net
The above are the names on list. I found a website -weihsien - that has interesting material that can be downloaded. I printed onetitled Light & Darkness that compares the conditions at Weihsien to aninternment camp in Texas. I have not had time to go through all that is offeredat the site. I also wondered what you think of the following idea.
Each one on the list to give a short bio along with scanned photo taken shortlyafter release from Weihsien. I do not have a scanner, but Kinko's here inRoanoke charge $10 for one photo scanned onto a disc. I will try to get minedone within the next few days.
Natasha
to subscribe blank e-mail to weihsien--@topica.com
to post message sendto weih-@topica.com
hopethat this helps! Natasha Petersen
Jun 15, 2000 09:50 PDT
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Enjoy!
Regards, Natasha
Let me know if there still is a problem
looking for clinkers jebry-@yahoo.com
Jul 01, 2000 20:27 PDT
Does anyone remember getting up before daylight and
going to the ash piles to look for clinkers, coal that had not burntcompletely? I also remember that wewere all in groups of six or eight and we collected can labels from the cans that came in packagesor from the trash the Japanese soldiersthrew out, which could still be the cans from packages to the internees. The group I was in hadcollected 650 labels by the time wewere liberated. Perhaps, after the drops if we had continued to collect them we would have made 5000, huh?Love to all , Emily.
Attachment: image/pjpeg
Re:message from Weihsien Pamela Masters
Jul 04, 2000 16:23 PDT
Natasha, Natasha! -- You'll have to read The Mushroom Years, my book onWeihsien, which covers dear Amelia, and a heck of a lot of other things.
Most of the questions you've asked to date on the Weihsien web page – whichincidentally, I think is excellent -- I've covered in that zany little opus.Both Major Stan Staiger (who lives close by me in Reno, Nevada) and Des Powersaid they couldn't put the darn book down. Incidentally, Staiger's comments onthe Amela Earhart saga finally put Jim Hannon's story to rest. Hannon, if yourecall, was the lieutenant who parachuted in and banged up his shoulder onlanding. He wrote a movie script covering his conclusions on a wasted woman,called "The Yank", that he found in camp, and who was spirited away(according to him) in a Japanese Betty Bomber! Very Hollywood, and veryintriguing. Trouble was, there wasn't a scrap of truth in it! I don't knowabout you, but I feel our own lives have so much intrigue already in them, whoneeds Hollywood?!? All the best for now.
Pamela
Natasha Petersen wrote:
Hello!
I have been reading documents found on the site'Weihsien'. I found the following, that is part of a document sent to the StateDepartment.
Apparently, there was some question of Amelia Earhart being at Weihsien.
Weihsien was not a prisoner of war camp. It was a Civilian Assembly Camp - an internment camp. According to a1995 letter by one of the American soldiers who liberated Weihsien on August17;, 1945 there were no Japanese military personnel in charge of the camp. Itwas run by a Mr. Izu of the Japanese Consular Service. All internees were welldocumented. Amelia Earhart was not there.
On the 18th a general inspection was made of the camp and twelve internees werehospitalized and selected for early departure due to poor health. They wereevacuated by C-47 on the 28th.............
My memory is certainly of a number of Japanese soldiers and officers at ourcamp.
I am probably misreading the whole document. The document is about AmeliaEarhart, and perhaps part of this was a hoax.
Comments anybody?
Natasha
Re:message from Weihsien Beard
Jul 05, 2000 19:40 PDT
On 4 July, Natasha Petersen wrote:
Weihsien was not a prisoner of war camp. It was a Civilian Assembly Camp - aninternment camp. According to a 1995 letter by one of the American soldiers wholiberated Weihsien on August 17;, 1945 there were no Japanese militarypersonnel in charge of the camp. It was run by a Mr. Izu of the JapaneseConsular Service.
<
For clarification, I refer you to 'ShantungCompound', Langdon Gilkey (1966) p44. "Strictly speaking....we werein...'puppet' territory, held by the Japanese since 1937...Thus we were underthe Consular Service...Our guards were a part of the [Japanese] consular guardrather
than soldiers in the regular army."
I was interested to read on at p34 about Izu, the Japanese official in chargeof housing and engineering, whose 'boss' was Koza - p44. This raises aninteresting question which relates to Natasha's quote, stating that "It[the Weihsien Civilian Assembly Centre] was run by a Mr Izu of the JapaneseConsular Service". Were there in fact two officials named Izu, or could ithave been that the one and the same Izu had by the end of camp been promoted tothe position of Camp Commandant? Can anyone throw light on the matter?
In 'Chinese Escapade' (1949), Laurance Tipton (who together with Arthur Hummel-later to become US Ambassador to China - were the two June '44 escapees),makes reference on p.232 to the Japanese airfield at Ershilipu, some five milesfrom the camp. There was also a Japanese garrison at Fangzi, five miles to thes.w. These regular troops would have backed up our 50 or so guards should therehave been any mutiny in the camp. It appears that the bell up on Block 23belltower would have been used by the Japanese guards as a call for assistancein an emergency - hence their palpable anger when the bell was rung bypranksters on VJ Day. Does that ring any bells foranyone!!
David Beard
Weihsienand Amelia Earhart. mtpre-@aol.com
Jul 07, 2000 23:43 PDT
The Amelia Earhart controversy rages on. AfterAssociated Press articles appeared across the USA about my finding ourliberators, someone from the Amelia Earhart Society tracked me down. Hecontacted me again and again and again. He quizzed and he quizzed and hequizzed. I told him I was 12 years old when we were liberated. I most certainlydid not know names of all the grown ups in the camp. I knew of no AmeliaEarhart. No answer I gave him satisfied him. I felt that he wanted only oneanswer -- that Amelia Earhart was in Weihsien. I referred him to members of ourliberation team. I referred him to grown ups in the camp. I referred him to allthe books. As far as I know, he contacted none of them. I finally stoppedresponding to this man's inquiries.
This man told me that Jim Hannon had released a book about Amelia Earhart lastyear with Pacific American Books. I asked Jim Hannon about it. (I keep inregular touch with each member of the rescue team.) Gin Hannon (Jim's wife)told me she wished it were true. The book has not yet been released.
I believe they hope to release the book thisyear, timed with the 55th anniversary of the ending of the war. I believe thetitle will be: Amelia Earhart, 1945.
When I visited Jim and Gin Hannon in Palm Springs in February , they showed methe planned cover of the Amelia Earhart book in a portfolio of Jim's writing.Jim is a prolific writer.
Several years ago, The Amelia Earhart Society published an interview with oneof our liberators -- no real name given -- telling about his finding this womanwhom the Japanese kept doped in Weihsien. Jim Hannon was the source of thisinterview. He said the Japanese kept her under guard andseparated from the rest of the prisoners in the camp. She wascared for by a nun, he says. They called her "TheYank." Jim Hannon has not been able to tell me exactlywhere in the camp "The Yank" was detained.
Jim himself has told me this story.
No other member of the rescue team knows anything about Amelia Earhart inWeihsien. Langdon Gilkey, author of Shantung Compound, says there was no suchperson. Amelia Earhart is not on any prisoner list I have seen.
After National Public Radio broadcast the story about the liberation ofWeihsien on May 11, Gin Hannon wrote to me that they were deluged with dozensof e-mails from the Amelia Earhart Society people. Most of these letterschallenged the validity of the facts in the broadcast. I have not been able tofind out from Gin Hannon what facts these people challenged. For certain, notone of them was there on August 17, 1945.
I agree with Pamela Masters. Yes, yes, yes. You must read her book, TheMushroom Years. You will not be able to put it down. It'swonderful. You can order it from Pam-@hendersonhouse.com Shediscusses the Amelia Earhart controversy extensively in her Author's Note.
Mary Taylor Previte, New Jersey
Re:Weihsien and Amelia Earhart. Pamela Masters
Jul 08, 2000 08:25 PDT
Dear Mary --
So you went through a hounding too! Don't Amelia's fans and followers ever giveup? I probably will regret writing this, but I must. My sister Margo knew whothe Yank was. She always has. The woman was a very close personal friend of ourfamily who went through a nervous breakdown in the camp. `She contacted Margoas soon as they both hit the States. She was still in dreadful straits, butover a couple of years, with lots of therapy and help from her loving husbandand children, she pulled out of it and can now look back without the trauma ofthose
years grabbing at her guts. They're a beautiful family, and none of themdeserves to be hounded at this date. Why, oh why, can't the AE Society, JimHannon, and all the others out there stop dishing up this baseless story!?!
Sorry, Hon, didn't mean to get so worked up on this, but it seems so pointless,and almost cruel to those who really cared for Amelia Earhart.
Thanks for the kind remarks on The Mushroom Years -- you're a real friend.
Best love -- Pamela
reflections Natasha Petersen
Jul09, 2000 07:49 PDT
Hello everyone!
I am groggy not as a result of drinking, but from memories of Weihsien.
They came flying into my mind, and my head is about to burst from thoughts ofthe past. Pamela, thank you so much for sending me your book. I, as otherreaders, found it difficult not to finish the book in onesitting. Helping the cooks of Kitchen 2 I remember ashard work, but fun. Cooking in the Diet Kitchen taught me to cook without arecipe. Laundry duty at the hospital was horrible - bloody sheets etc., and notenough soap. My hands were red and rough for the duration of my laundry duty. Ibelieve that the most unpleasant duty was to wash out and to disinfect thelatrine. I smoked my first cigarette up at the bell tower. I enjoyed school,but am amazed that our teachers were able to hold classes and teach us.
I remember the first night in Weihsien. Some slept on tatamies (?) some on thefloor. I know that I was not with my father that night, and cried myself tosleep. I remember scrounging for partially broken furniture that had been piledup somewhere in the compound. The early spring was very cold, and I kept myhead under the blanket. For a very short time, my father and I supplemented ourcamp diet with tinned food that we had brought. Unfortunately, our supply soonran out. I remember the outdoor dances. I did not go to many of the ones heldindoors.
I must not ramble on andon. Thanks Pamela. I am looking forward to seeing you again.
I have found through a local bookstore, that the one and only copy (they say)of Tipton's book is $120 I have written to the UK and Colorado. I hope that Iwill be able to get a copy for less. I have also requested a copy from theLibrary of Congress.
David Beard, describe the gardening. Perhaps I worked there too.
Desmond, have you been in touch with Arthur K.and ? Clark?
Natasha
Gardening Beard
Jul 10, 2000 03:11 PDT
Hello all!
Natasha asked me to describe the gardening. Well, Natasha, firstly, youwouldn't have worked there, because it was just a leisure occupation – a funthing, tilling a plot af land right by the hospital. Looking at the map in'Shantung Compound', adjacent to p.146, the plot was probably between No 59 andthe hospital.
It was basically 'social gardening'. I can'tremember who else was involved, apart from the teenage White Russian girl fromN.E.China. We enjoyed messing around with seeds and plants, trying to getthings to grow.
There was some sort of thatched enclosure nearby, in which we took breaks fromgardening if the sun was too hot, as it was quite often. Jim Taylor hasinformed me that some of our school staff, keeping an eagle eye, it seems, onour activities, were concerned lest there was some sort of hanky-panky going onin there at these times!
Can anyone else better describe the 'thatched enclosure'?
David Beard
Re:Gardening Pamela Masters
Jul 10, 2000 06:34 PDT
Hi David -- I remember the garden patches outthat way, as I often visited my Dad who did the book binding. Don't tell me younever got a wiff of that horrible fish glue he used? Just before you came to 58and 59, there was the women's sewing room, if memory serves correctly, andDad's stinky little workshop was either attached to it, or very close by.Incidentally, I thought the vegetable gardens looked great. Of course, it couldhave been because anything green and edible looked great to me in those days! –the memories keep piling. Have a great day! -- Pamela
Re:email list of internees mtpre-@aol.com
Jul 21, 2000 19:48 PDT
Welcome, Stanley Nordmo,
Where are you writing from? And who told you about our wonderful Weihsienmemory bulletin board?
You have a couple of months of catching up to do. This memory link startedfollowing National Public Radio's May 11 broadcast in the USAabout the liberation of Weihsien. Former Weihsien internees began connectingwith memories.
I do hope you'll start cranking out your own Weihsien memories right away.
So far we've chattered away about liberation day, Boy Scouting, bird watching,gardening, gaoliang and ludo for breakfast, and much, much more.
I've sent a few of the memories to the Chefoo Magazine.
I'm so glad you've joined us. Please pass the word to other Weihsien people whohave e-mail addresses.
Mary Taylor Previte, New Jersey, USA
Re:email list of internees Stanley Nordmo
Jul 21, 2000 22:28 PDT
Hi, Mary
I am writing from Phoenix Arizona. Natasha Peterson sent me an e-mail about theWeihsien bulletin board. We are both registered to attend an Old China Handsreunion in Scottsdale this October. The organizer Peter Stein has beencommunicating with us via e-mail and did send out a an e-mail list.
The reunion is now at full capacity so the waiting list has been closed.
Close to 90% of the OCH registrants have bonds with Shanghai and the 9internment camps in the vicinity Other places representedinclude Tientsin, Peking, Harbin, Tsingtao, Macau, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Kuling,Taming, Hankow. Weihsien and Chefoo. Many of the registrants listed more thanone place particularly with reference to schools attended.
There will be six of us from Weihsien including Pamela Masters . In the 1999issue of The Chefoo Magazine, you mentioned in your whole hearted endorsementof her book The Mushroom Years that Major Stanley Staiger had read it throughnon-stop and felt that it should be a best seller.
As a retired pathologist I recall some of the medical aspects. It seems that'yellow' jaundice was prevalent. In retrospect I assume that what we had wasonly hepatitis A which ordinarily does not lead to long term liver damage. Thisdid however keep me from becoming a blood donor. With the footwear that wedidn't have, it was easy to stub a toe and get a secondary infection.Antibiotics of course were not available to us. I was on the trainload out ofWeihsien since I had come down with typhoid and was then treated at the German hospitalin Tsingtao. It is really surprising that we never had a polio epidemic. Thetheory is that people exposed to unsanitary conditions are in a sense protectedby building up immunity. As a senior medical student at Boston UniversitySchool of Medicine, we had a polio epidemic in the city. The patients who camedown with polio were . usually from the affluent suburbs and not from theslums.
Stanley Nordmo, Phoenix, Arizona. U.S.A.
Re:"yellow" jaundice in Weihsien mtpre-@aol.com
Jul 23, 2000 15:16 PDT
Welcome aboard, Stanley Nordmo,
Yes, I remember "yellow" jaundice. I'manother Weihsien student who was alleged to have had "yellow" jaundice in the camp. That's oneof my memories of the Chefoo LowerSchool Dormitory (LSD) in Block 23. And because of it I, too, have never been allowed to give blood.
Does anyone else remember the makeshift stovesprisoners built inside these rooms? Ourteachers -- Miss Carr, Miss Stark, Miss Lucia -- constructed a stove for cooking right in the middle of the LSDdormitory.
When eggs were available, they cooked scrambled eggs on that stove. Isuppose the fuel was coal or coal dustor coal balls.
Eggs also supplied egg shells -- for calcium. As decentfood diminished and threatened ourhealth, I remember the Chefoo teachers lining us up at the door of the dormitory and spooning powderedeggshells onto our tongues -- a primitive calcium supplement. Horrible! Horrible! It felt like chewingsand.
We used to cough out and wheeze out as much of the powdered eggshell as we could. I was fascinated to see Weihsienreports in the National Archives verifying our eating egg shells - "very poor quality." Whenour Taylor family took a memory trip toWeihsien, I made my daughter take a memory picture of me with my tongue out on that very spot by the door ofthe dormitory.
That building is gone now. Actually, not much is leftof the Weihsien we knew except the longrows of rooms.
But Shantung officials recently passed along an inquiryto me: Is anyone in America--government, church -- interested in re-constructing the site of theconcentration camp? (Through roundabout channels, these Shantung authoritieshad gotten a copy of my book. The part about Weihsien has been translated intoChinese. Can you believe it -- an article quoting from my book appeared in aChinese newspaper this year! Amazing!)
Mary Taylor Previte, New Jersey, USA
Stateof Weihsien CAC site to-day Beard
Jul 23, 2000 21:06 PDT
Mary Previte's info. about the reported interestof Shandong authorities in reconstructing the site of the '43-45 Weihsien CACsite is fascinating. But is it in any way realistic? Mary, what strings can youpull? Bill Gates?!
When I visited Weihsien in June '86, Block 23 had just been demolished.
The hospital and the nearby water tower, where I had pumped zillions of gallonsof water, still stood, as did the former Japanese guard quarters which in '86was Weifang No 2 Middle School building.
Some time before I visited Weifang (Weihsien), a memorial plaque to EricLiddell was unveiled at the No 2 Middle School building.
Regrettably I didn't know about it at the time and wasn't shown it.
Since then, of course, as many of you will know, a memorial walled garden, withmoongate, was built by the Chinese on the site of the internment camp,providing a beautiful setting for Scotland's memorial to it's greatest sportingson Eric Liddell - a red Mull granite monument, engraved in gold in bothChinese and English. A V-J Day 50th anniversary celebration ceremonywas held there on 17th Augusst 1995.
So, who has been at the old camp site recently? Any comments?
David Beard
mtpre-@aol.com wrote:
That building is gone now. Actually, not much isleft of the Weihsien we knew except the long rows of rooms.
But Shantung officials recently passed along aninquiry to me: Is anyone in America -- government, church -- interested inre-constructing the site of the concentration camp? (Through roundaboutchannels, these Shantung authorities had gotten a copy of my book. The partabout Weihsien has been translated into Chinese. Can you believe it -- anarticle quoting from my book appeared in a Chinese newspaper this year!Amazing!)
Stateof camp Stanley Nordmo
Jul 24, 2000 02:05 PDT
I was there in September 1989 after DavidBeard's 1986 trip and did see the room set aside for the history of thecompound with photographs and memorabilia portraying the Presbyterianmissionaries with one display case honouring Eric Liddell, and many others featuringthe exploits of the school in the decades. since the war.
The original hospital building was still intact in1989 and had been convertedinto student housing. After getting permission, albeit given ratherreluctantly, we climbed to the room on the top floor where we had bunked asteenage internees,.The accommodations for the current occupants were just asprimitive and short of space as they had been 44 years before..
In 1995 Neil Yorkson reported that the old hospital was too squalid for them tobe allowed to enter. A new hospital building was about ready to be opened 100yards away. .
Stanley Nordmo
memories WMJ-@cs.com
Aug 08, 2000 04:11 PDT
It's great to be on the Weihsien list and I haveenjoyed the notes already sent in. Toanswer the question by Stanley Nordmo, Mary Taylor Previte, and David Beard, let me share impressions fromJune 20, 1999 when I went back to Chinafor the first time since, Oct. 1945!
My Husband, Walt Jackson, and I went with Impact International to work with the English department of Ocean Universityin Qingdao. It was a wonderful experience and we had some excellent contacts with students and I wasable to give one lecture to a class ofabout 50. I began by dating myself and giving my history in their province from 1938-1945. I wrote out on the blackboard how we spelled the names of thetowns during that era and then wrote them as they are today. After that I told about the Japanese invasion andsubsequent 3 years interned first atTemple Hill in Chefoo, and then at Weihsien. Told about our deliverance by the 7 valiant American paratroopers onAug. 17, 1945...and then about the timein their town Qingdao. Showed them the picture the girls in our class had taken with our gifts of 1,000 yuenfrom the mayor of Qingdao. I wore mybadge and told them all about roll-call, counting in Japanese. etc.
Walt and I had the delightful privilege of spending a day visitingWeihsien [now Weifang]. It had all beenpre-arranged with the authorities there and we were met by the Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, andgiven a tour guide for the day. Hedirected us to the former site of the camp. I had my home-made map with me and my name/number badge pinned to mydress. Ha!
The modern city streets gave no hint that this had ever been the locationof the former Presbyterian MissionStation turned Weihsien Civilian Assembly Center
I was awed and thrilled to be walking on that location and took in all I could. Walt was designated photographer forthe day. We were taken to the beautiful2nd Middle School building on the site of the old Block 23-former school building. The front gate faced thefront of the school so I was confusedwhen later former building did not fit my map...finally figured it out that the building faced a different wayand then everything fell in place.
We were given a royal welcome at the school by the Principal or Presidentas he is titled there. He led us up tothe 2nd floor and a lovely sitting room where we were served hot tea and fruit. I gave my greetings andappreciation for being allowed to visitthe place where I had been interned by the Japanese in WW11 and liberated 54 years ago, [55 this summer] andexpressed my desire to see the formerhospital building and any other that was still standing and, of course, the Memorial garden featuring the beautifulEric Liddell memorial stone. There were6 people in our party, and I had at least
2 Chinese speakers to interpret for me. However, the President leaned over and told me in perfect English, "We arevery proud of the 2nd Middle School ofWeifang because it is one of the finest schools in all of China, having been founded 117 years ago by Americanmissionaries!." He also said they are 4th in soccer.
The President also explained emphatically that they were glad to have us,but the time needed to be short as thestudents were taking their examinations that day. Knowing the importance of these exams, I assured him that wewould keep to the time limits set.There were several reporters [?] taking videos and pictures during the entire visit. On the way to the Memorial Gardenwe were informed that I am the 41stinternee to return to Weihsien. Could we have some feed backon that? I would love to know if that is accurate.
The trip to the garden was fast and I was overwhelmed to be there... lotsof pictures and then finalgreetings-exchange of gifts/remembrances with the President. [One gift he gave me was a copy of Mary TaylorPrevite's "Song of Salvation"article from 8/85 Philadelphia Sunday News Magazine]
As we walked toward the gate we passed a large gray house, our tour guide pointed out was one of the originalbuildings... I was sure it must have been one of the former missionary houses occupied by the Japanese duringcamp days. I asked to see inside andwas refused permission as "It is now occupied by some of the teachers and off bounds."
We were reluctantly preparing to leave, but as we came near the gate, someof the President's men came behind usand said to me. "Mrs. Jackson, we understand your disappointment in not being able to see more of the properties, we have changed our mind and wewant to take you to the old hospitalbuilding." Excitedly, we got in our van and followed the leader out through the main entrance, driving left andthen left again... very short distance.
Getting out of the van they pointed to a very dilapidated building, much smaller than I remembered, and said this isthe old hospital. We were not allowedinside and the time was very short, but it could have been about half of the hospital, because I have heard fromanother recent visitor to that site,that half the hospital is still standing, but will probably soon be
gone if not entirely by now.
I said, "Well if this is the hospital", pointing to the 2nd floor,"that was my dorn room and thismust have been where we had roll-call", and proceeded to give them a demonstration. All enjoyedthat and we quickly left the area.
Our tour guide was happy to take us to get some Weifang gift items, and we found a beautiful Butterfly kite [Weifang isthe Kite capital of the World], andsome good picture post-cards. Enjoyed a delicious dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant. Remember how hotWeihsien got in the summer?
I will always be most grateful that the Lord made all this possible. Even now a year later it still seems like adream. Doubt that I will ever get thereagain, but will read with interest any further information that is gleaned from the former internees. Of course,I have kept up during these
years through the Chefoo Magazine, put out by the alumni of the formerChefoo School. I had the joy ofvisiting Chefoo, now Yantai, the next day, but that's another story.
I did not see the "History Room", and with the area so closely builtup all around the camp site, I wouldn'tknow where a re-construction could take place.
Matters of health have been touched on. I have a few ailments that could date back to that experience, but wasrecently diagnosed with Osteoporosis which could very well date back to that time as we were so short ofcalcium during bone growing years. It'sserious enough that I have "fracture risk" at any time...treatment is helping to strengthen the bones, butthere is no cure. But I often praiseGod that we were protected and kept well and strong physically, spiritually and mentally, through those years.Marjorie Isobel [Harrison]Jackson (Brother James Paul Harrison was also interned)
WeihsienLiberation Day mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 08, 2000 20:17 PDT
Hello, Everyone,
This evening I dug out Langdon Gilkey’s memory of theliberation of Weihsien. Langdon, who lives in Virginia now, wrote SHANTUNGCOMPOUND in 1966. It’s still in print.August 17 will be 55 years since seven American heroes liberated us from Weihsien.
“...the boy who spreadthe word made it clear as he ran through the kitchen yard screaming in an almost insane excitement, ‘An Americanplane, and headed straight for us.’ We all flung our stirring paddles downbeside the cauldrons in the kitchen, left the carrots unchopped on the tables,and tore after the boys to the ballfield. At this point the excitement was toogreat for any of us to contain. Suddenly I realized that for some seconds I hadbeen running around in circles, waving my hands in the air and shouting at thetop of my lungs. This plane was OUR plane. It was sent here to tell US
. To tell us the war was over. The plane’sunderside suddenly opened. Out of it floated seven men in parachutes. The heightof the incredible!
Without pausing even a second to consider the danger, we poured like somegushing human torrent down the short road. The avalanche hit the front gate,burst it open and streamed past the guards. Some of the more rational interneeswere trying to fold the parachutes. Most of us , however, were far too ‘high’for the task. We just stood there adoring, or ran about shouting
and dancing...”
--Langdon Gilkey, VA
I hope this inspires you to sit down this very day anddrop a note of memory or thanks to the team of “SEVEN MAGNIFICENT MEN”asDesmond Power calls them. Please, please, PLEASE drop them a note. They are nowall over 80. Most of them will not be alive to thank on the 60th anniversary oftheir heroic rescue of Weihsien.
Mary Taylor Previte -- New Jersey, USA
Addressesof Weihsien liberators mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 08, 2000 20:25 PDT
WEIHSIEN RESCUE TEAM(DUCK MISSION) -- current addresses
Mrs. Raymond Hanchulak (Helen) (widow of Raymond)
Birthdayof Raymond Hanchulak: August 23, 1916
Birthdayof Helen Hanchulak: April 18
Phone: 717-472-3520
P.O. Box 4
243 Laurie Lane
Bear Creek Village, PA 18602
James J. Hannon Birthday: November 12, 1919
Phone: 760-364-4580
P. O Box 1376,
Yucca Valley, CA 92286
James W. Moore Birthday: October 5, 1919
Phone: 214-341-8695
9605 Robin Song Street
Dallas, Texas 75243
Tad Nagaki Birthday:January 25, 1920
Phone: 308-762-2968
RR 2, Alliance, NE 69301
Mrs. Peter Orlich (Carol) Widow of Peter)
Birthdayof Peter Orlich: May 4, 1923
Phone:718-746-8122 Birthdayof Carol Orlich: June 13, 1921
15727 20th Road
Whiteston, N.Y. 11357
Stanley A. Staiger Birthday: December 30, 1917
Phone: 775-825-3766
Village of the Pines
700 E. Peckam Lane, Apartment 259
Reno, NV 89502
Re:Weihsien Liberation Day jim bryant
Aug 09, 2000 14:37 PDT
Dear Mary,
Thank you for replying to my letter. I still have things to talk to you aboutwhen you have time.
Yes we are getting your messages, including last nights.
I wanted to ask you, are there two web cites? Before Natasha started the Topicaone you had started the one for Weihsien memories. I wondered if they werecombined or are still seperate.
We are heavy into getting ready for Jim to retire. We are trying to get rid ofa lot of excess baggage via yard sales,Rescue Mission, Salvation Army, Etc. Hewill be retiring in October and we will have to make some kind of a move aboutNovember 1st. I really am not looking forward to another move, but I believethis should be our last for many years to come. We have a R.V. and hope totravel and visit all my Weihsien buddies. We will see.
Get a lot of rest when you can, we cannot have you under the weather. LoveEmily
Fwd: Weihsien]
Natasha Petersen
Aug 12, 2000 05:07 PDT
Our latest subscriber: ?Thompson Can anyone help him with accessing the previousmessages. I did not go through the subscribing process, but have tried to help.I am not sure whether I am correct.
Natasha
Re: [Fwd:Weihsien] mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 13, 2000 06:01 PDT
Natasha,
If you give me ? Thompson's e-mail address, I can send him a lot of the earlier Weihsienmemories. I believe he is Dr. Stanley Thompson from Iowa.
Last week I mailed out about 30 letters to Weihsien people, mostly in the USA and Canada, telling them about theWEIHSIEN BULLETIN BOARD and urging themto send thank you notes to our liberators on the August 17 anniversary of our liberation. My guess is that he'sresponding to my letter. I hope other will also respond. I've sent pastmemories to quite a few Weihsien people who contacted me. I keep trying to get them to sign onto thebulletin board.
Thank you SO much, Natasha, for this beautiful gift you've given us.
Mary Previte
Aug17th 1945 Thompson
Aug 14, 2000 12:17 PDT
Since Mary wants a "memory from Aug 17th1945" here goes:
"Although I was as thrilled as anyone else when these guys dropped fromthe sky, I never connected with any of them personally. I was a shy 13 yearold. My friend and classmate David Birch tells me that he and I were playingping pong in Kitchen #1 when the sound of an airplane drew us outside. When wegot to the front gates they were open and we went out. I followed the kidsahead of us at a run. Thats when I was stopped by a weed patch. I don't knowwhat they are called but they grow prostrate along the ground and produce lotsof tiny little thorny tetrahedral stars that always have one thorn facing thesky. I was of course barefoot ! I lifted one foot and saw perhaps 20 thorns upto the hilt in my calluses. I knew there must be a similar number in the otherfoot. I wanted very much to sit down and pull them out, but that would onlyhave put another 50 of them in my bum. I walked on the thorns for 15 or 20steps till I got out of the patch, sat down, pulled all the blankety-blankthings out of my feet and took myself home to treat my bleeding soles. As youcan see, this little experience has completely colored my memory of LiberationDay !
We heard that one of the parachutists had been slightly injured, and wonderedif he had known that the kao liang was 12 feet tall when he made alanding. I remember hearing that one the guys had his 45 outas he listened to the noises converging on him and only put it away when acrowd of jubilant kids burst through the kao liang."
Stan Thompson
Natasha,
If you give me ? Thompson's e-mail address, I can send him a lot of the
earlier Weihsien memories. I believe he is Dr. StanleyThompson from Iowa.
Last week I mailed out about 30 letters to Weihsien people, mostly in the
USA and Canada, telling them about the WEIHSIEN BULLETIN BOARD and urging
them to send thank you notes to our liberators on the August 17 anniversary
of our liberation. My guess is that he's responding to my letter. I hope
other will also respond.
I've sent past memories to quite a few Weihsien people who contacted me. I
keep trying to get them to sign onto the bulletin board.
Thank you SO much, Natasha, for this beautiful gift you've given us.
Mary Previte
liberation photo
Thompson
Aug 14, 2000 16:21 PDT
Does anyone know the source of this photo ?There must be quite a few copies around. Who had a camera with film in it inAug 1945 ? On the back is a note in my mother's hand "Liberated fromWeihsien Camp, Aug 1945". I have had this photo since Weihsien. It doesn'tlook like people, it looks more like 55 gal drums of DelMonte canned peaches,powdered coffee and the like !
Stan Thompson
Re: Aug 17th 1945
mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 14, 2000 18:04 PDT
Great job , Stanley! Thanks for a lovely memory.
Will you please e-mail me -- now -- your telephone number?
I'm trying to get Associated Press to do an August 17 story about our memories of the rescue. I'd like to haveyour phone number handy in case theynibble.
Our rescuer, Jim Hannon, gave me a picture of the B-24 bomber dropping supplies over Weihsien. He said a formerprisoner gave it to him.
Have you a picture of yourself from around 1945?
Mary Previte
Re: Aug 17th 1945
Thompson
Aug 14, 2000 21:01 PDT
Mary,
Here's my info.
H. Stanley Thompson M.D. (a retired professor of Neuro-ophthalmology at U ofIA)
2096 Kestrel Ridge SW
Oxford, IA, 52322
Tel: 319-683-2822
Fax: 319-683-2823
Re: liberation photo
Albert de Zutter
Aug 15, 2000 14:02 PDT
With regard to Stan Thompson's query: No, I don't know the source of thephoto, but it is quite obviously a B-29 dropping supplies. The B-24 thatdropped the rescuers is a two-engine job that flew much lower and dropped itssupplies (the first few days) quite accurately, mostly on the ball-field. TheB-29s flew much higher and spread their bounty widely over the landscape.
Al de Zutter
Does anyone know the source of this photo ?There must be quite a few copies around. Who had a camera with film in it inAug 1945 ? On the back is a note in my mother's hand "Liberatedfrom Weihsien Camp, Aug 1945". I have had this photo since Weihsien. Itdoesn't look like people, it looks more like 55 gal drums of DelMonte cannedpeaches, powdered coffee and the like !
Stan Thompson
Douglas Finlay
mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 15, 2000 19:28 PDT
Dear Mary,
I have a piece of sad news to report. YvonneFinlay phoned last night to tell methat her husband Doug died of a heart attack. The thing I remember most about him in Weihsien and in Tientsinright after liberation was the overwhelming crush he had on your sister (or was it you?) while in camp.
Desmond
Douglas Finlay, 6' 6 1/2", was one of Weihsien's superstar athletes. Heand Eric Liddell used to compete. When I tracked Douglas down in Canada a yearor two ago (thanks to Desmond), Douglas told me that he hadbeen racing on the ballfield when thisyoung gazelle of a girl came running after him. It was my sister Kathleen. To the horror of our Chefoo teachers,they fell in love. Chefoo Schoolstudents were not supposed to fall in love with non-Chefoo School people. Come to think of it, Chefoo Schoolstudents probably weren't supposed tofall in love. PERIOD. Douglas told me that someone -- a Chefoo teacher, I think -- evenspoke of having Bishop Scott marrythem. We four Taylor children-- Kathleen, Jamie, John, and I -- were flown out in the second planeload releasedfrom Weihsien. Kathleen never saw Douglas again. We stayed with our missionary parents in northwest Chinafor about a year before returning tothe United States. Douglas and his parents returned to Tientsin for a while. He became a magazine publisher inCanada.
In the last couple of years, he had been shuttling back and forth to Chinain a couple of international businessventures.
In Weihsien, Douglas's parents lived in Block 16, I think. Douglas had lived in the Hospital until the escape ofHummel and Tipton. After the escape,the Japanese moved all those young adult men -- and Douglas --from the Hospital where they could see too easilyover the camp wall and transplantedthem to Block 23.
I loved Douglas's mother. My own mother was too, too far away. And Ihadn't seen her for 5 1/2years. I remember giving Douglas's mother one of my chocolate bars from the Red Cross.
I'm feeling so sorry that I did not talk and write more frequently toDouglas to capture more of hismemories.
Does anyone else have Douglas Finlay memories to share?
Mary Taylor Previte
More sad news
Stanley Nordmo
Aug 15, 2000 20:58 PDT
Dear Mary
I do not know if you receive the China Connection or not. I just got the summerissue which carried the obituary of Marcy L. Ditmanson who died in GreenValley, Arizona (date not given) at age 81.
He attended American schools in Kweiteh, Tsingtao and Kikungshan in the classof 1936. Following graduation from Augsburg College he returned to China forgraduate studies at Yenching University.
He was then interned in Weihsien where he met Joyce Stranks. (Since they werenot from Chefoo, they fell in love) They married in 1948. (His parents wereLutheran missionaries in Honan province and her parents from Australia werewith the Salvation Army in Peking
.
Marcy graduated from the University of Michigan medical school before he andhis wife went to Taiwan where he started a clinic in Chiayi which grew into alarge hospital.
He spent part of 1972 in Bangladesh treating the victims of the war withPakistan.
In 1981 he returned to Michigan where he practiced orthopedic surgery.
I met them in 1990 at the Old China Hands Reunion in Anaheim, and again at a1994 Northwest Regional China Council symposium held at :Linfield College,McMinnville , Oregon. As an orthopedic surgeon he had just returned from one ofhis many trips to China taken between 1993 and 1997 where he conducted seminarson the rehabilitation of disabled children.
I had no idea that they had moved to the retirement community of Green Valley,Arizona, located south of Tucson. .
Joyce's address: Joyce Ditmanson
2035 S. San Bay,
Green Valley AZ 85614
So long for now
Stanley Nordmo
snor-@amug.org
Re:More sad news
Stanley Nordmo
Aug 16, 2000 09:01 PDT
Mary
Joyce Stranks is the daughter of Brigadier Stranks of the Salvation Army.
I'm sure you're right about her singing like an angel, given the musicalheritage of the Salvation Army.
Oscar V. Armstrong is the editor of The China Connection which is publishedquarterly. The annual subscription is $12.00. He is a retired diplomat whoserved in China.
Address: The China Connection
4831 Drummond Ave.,
Chevy Chase MD 20815-5428
telephone 301-654-0480
The China Connection averages 16 pages per issue and covers commentary aboutrecent events in China, past history and culture, announcement of futurereunions of the many schools which operated in China, (Chefoo Schoolsexcluded), personal reminiscences, reviews of books related to China, and anobituary column. There is virtually no overlap between the information in TheChina Connection and The Chefoo Magazine.
Stanley,
Thank you for the news about Marcy Ditmanson. Do Irecall correctly that Joyce Stranks ( who married Marcy) sang like anangel? Isn't she the daughter of Brigadier Stranks of theSalvation Army in Weihsien?
Please post details of how to sign up for the CHINACONNECTION.
Thanks. Mary
** Today is Liberation Day**
mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 17, 2000 04:23 PDT
Hello, everyone,
Today is LIBERATION DAY. Fifty-five years ago, sevenbrave men parachuted from a B-24 bombernamed "The Armored Angel" to liberate us from the Weihsien Civilian Assembly Center.
I'm going to phone each one today to say thank youagain. You in the Americas, I hope youwill, too. If you're too bashful to say thank you, just call them to tell them your memory of that day. It will meanSO much to them.
Just a reminder: at the age of 80, TadNagaki still farms his land in Nebraskaso is rarely at home before dark. Call after dark, Nebraska time -- which is two hours later than my timehere in New Jersey.
Here are the telephone numbers. MaryPrevite, New Jersey, USA
WEIHSIEN RESCUE TEAM (DUCK MISSION) -- current addresses
Mrs. Raymond Hanchulak (Helen) widow opf Raymond Hanchulak
Birthdayof Helen Hanchulak: April 18
Phone: 717-472-3520
P.O. Box 4
243 Laurie Lane
Bear Creek Village, PA 18602
James J. Hannon Birthday: November 12, 1919
Phone: 760-364-4580
P. O Box 1376
Yucca Valley, CA 92286
James W. Moore Birthday: October 5, 1919
Phone: 214-341-8695
9605 Robin Song Street
Dallas, Texas 75243
TadNagaki Birthday:January 25, 1920
Phone: 308-762-2968
RR 2, Alliance NE 69301
Mrs. Peter Orlich (Carol) widow of Peter Orlich
Phone: 718-746-8122 Birthday ofCarol Orlich: June 13, 1921
15727 20th Road
Whiteston, N.Y. 11357
Stanley A. Staiger Birthday: December 30, 1918
Phone: 702-825-3766
Village of the Pines
700 E. Peckam Lane, Apartment 259
Reno, NV 89502
P.S.on Weihsien liberation day
mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 17, 2000 04:50 PDT
POST SCRIPT ON THE RESCUE DROP:
Rescuer Tad Nagaki was the first to tell me he remembered that August 17was a windy day.
Rescuer Jim Hannon says that Eddie Wang, the Chinese interpreter, frozewhen his turn came to jump from theB-24 bomber that morning. Jim says he had to push Eddie Wang out of the plane. As a result, Jim says, he himself gota bad start on his own jump and injuredhis shoulder in the drop. Jim was an experienced parachuter. Indeed, he had trained troops inparachuting. Jim knewall about prison camps. He, himself, had been captured by the Germans and held in German POW camps in Europe in1944 and had escaped.
Before they set out from Sian that morning, Jim Hannon, who was in a group called the Air-Ground Assistance Service,advised the team that seven men wouldbe no match for whatever Japanese forces would meet them on the ground. He says the team had at first planned tocome heavily armed. He says he feltthat would invite disaster. As a result, each man parachuted, carrying only one side weapon apiece.
Major Staiger says they used faster-opening Bristish parachutes. Heordered the drop at about 400 feet --astonishingly low -- to leave less space and time for the Japanese to shoot at them as the team drifted to theground.
Jim Moore, who was the son of Southern Baptist missionaries to China, had attended and graduated the Chefoo School inthe 1930s. He told me that the first personhe asked to see when he got inside the walls of the camp was "Pa" Bruce, the headmaster of theChefoo Schools.
Mary Previte, New Jersey, USA
Re:P.S. on Weihsien liberation day
Albert de Zutter
Aug 17, 2000 09:50 PDT
I am attaching a column I wrote on the 50thanniversary of Weihsien Liberation Day. It appeared in The Catholic Key, weeklynewspaper which I edit for the Catholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
Albert de Zutter
HappyMemories...and Wet Blankets!
Pamela Masters
Aug 17, 2000 10:50 PDT
Hi Friends --
I don't know if this is the time or place to pass this on, but the date isright. Actually, this happens every August 15, to commemorate the day theEmperor surrendered 55 years ago. For all of us it's good to remember there isa flip side to our happy celebration. Japan honors
this date in quite a different way...
I received this message from Gil Hair, executive director of The Center forInternee Rights, and it shows there is still a pot simmering on the backburner, and that we'd better take the time to see if we can't turn down theheat under it. Gill wrote --
"It is that time of the year when Japanese officials make their annualpilgrimage to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. This event always raises the levelof indignation on the part of Japan's WWII victims and survivors, for itexemplifies once more the duel standard that exists
between what the world tolerates on the Part of the WWII Axis nations --Germany and Japan.
"The Yasukuni Shrine is where the Japanese WWIIwar criminals are interred and revered. Do you think the world would tolerate acathedral in Germany dedicated to the Nazis and the Nazi WWII war criminals? Idon't think so, and rightfully so.
"Having visited the Yasukuni Shrine three time,I'm always amazed at the special building at the shrine containing theartifacts and history of the war criminals and the glowing commentary of theShinto priests on how the Japanese war criminals killed and butchered theirenemies. It
reflects again the attitude of the Japanese that there is pride, not shame, inwhat was done. It further reflects the growing element of theultra-nationalists in Japan and its support by many members of the Japanesegovernment. This is the opposite in Germany, where the Neo-Nazi movement isstrongly opposed by the German government. Isn't it time to end this dualstandard of morality and to hold Japan and Germany to the same standards?"
An article in The Japan Times, dated August 9, entitled"Eight Ministers Plan to Visit Yasukuni Shrine," listed the eightmembers of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's cabinet who were going to make thepilgrimage. Mori, at that time, had not made up his mind to go with the
group, or go separately...
I am amazed at the complete dedication of Gil Hair --who spent his war years in SantoTomas in the Philippines -- for his unendingbattle to see we receive an apology and reparations from Japan. Possibly, thatis the only way we'll be able to cool the pot that is still slowly simmering onthe back of the range...
I started out as a member of ABCIFER, but now am also amember of CFIR, the Center for Internee Rights in Miami Beach, Florida, theorganization that Gil heads. Instead of my going into all CFIR'saccomplishments, maybe it would be better if you logged on towww.netcom.com/~expows and pulled up the info yourselves. Their e-mail addressis exp-@bigfoot.com. For any of your friends who are not on the internet, hereare some additional addresses:
The Center for Internee Rights, Inc., 6060 La Gorce Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33140Phone: 305-864-2558; Fax: 305-861-8550
Now, let's get back to celebrating! The past 55 years haven't all been a bowlof cherries, but I'm sure glad I was around to live them to the hilt!
-- Pamela (Bobby Simmons) Masters
Addressfor Joyce Ditmanson
Stanley Nordmo
Aug 17, 2000 12:21 PDT
Mary
I just talked with Esther Ditmanson, Marcy's sister. who lives in Minneapolis.
Joyce is visiting her sister in Australia and will not be back in the Statesuntil sometime in November. Joyce will continue to make her home in GreenValley her base, but will be visiting her sons, daughter and grandchildren inCalifornia and Minnesota.
The address: Joyce Ditmanson
2035 S. San Ray,
Green Valley AZ 85614
Telephone number: 1-520-648-1163
So long for now
Stanley Nordmo
snor-@amug.org
Re:P.S. on Weihsien liberation day
Natasha Petersen
Aug 17, 2000 13:16 PDT
Albert,
I cannot open your attachment.
Natasha
Albert de Zutter wrote:
I am attaching a column I wrote on the 50th anniversary of Weihsien LiberationDay. It appeared in The Catholic Key, weekly newspaper which I edit for theCatholic Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
Albert de Zutter
LiberationDay glimpses
Stanley Nordmo
Aug 17, 2000 14:18 PDT
Salutations to all
I was on the top floor of the camp hospital along with fellow students, whenone of us heard a faint burred humming sound. As this grew louder, our firstthought was that it was just another Japanese plane. We crowded to the windowand realized that the drone of the plane was unfamiliar to us, and hopedagainst hope that it was an American plane.
As the plane circled over the camp, we were thrilled to see the Americanmarkings and then witness the heart stopping descent of the parachutes.
One analyst concluded that the parachutes were actually deployed with attacheddummies in order to draw enemy fire. Should this have occurred, then the planewould have returned to its base without completing the mission.
Fortunately for all of us, the 7 heroes risking their very lives on our behalf,gloriously fulfilled their mission
We joined in the stampede to and through the gate. to welcome our liberators.As I recall there were no casualties.
The leaders in our camp had prepared for the possibility of such a wild chaoticexuberant exodus from the compound on the day of actual liberation by creatingtheir own police unit with the members sporting a red armbands. Their immediatetask was to get the women and children back into the camp and allow only theable bodied men to recover the support supplies that had been air dropped bythe rescue plane. Without their efforts, we might still be roaming thecountryside.
Stanley Nordmo
Re:P.S. on Weihsien liberation day
Albert de Zutter
Aug 18, 2000 09:27 PDT
Here's what I wrote in 1995, the 50thanniversary of Weihsien Liberation Day. It appeared in The Catholic Key, weeklynewspaper of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph in
Missouri:
LIBERATION CAME AUGUST 17, 1945, ON THE WINGS OF A B-24
By Albert de Zutter
Catholic Key Editor
IT WAS A HOT August day.. From our second-story room we could look over the10-foot brick wall topped by electrified wire into the field of grain outsidethe compound. That day Aug. 17, 1945 there were no peasants incoolie hats tending their crops.
We heard the drone of an airplane engine. The Japanese had a two-seaterbi-plane that they flew in the area occasionally, so the sound of the enginearoused no immediate interest.
But the sound persisted, and, as we listened more carefully, we realized it wasdifferent more powerful than the putt-putt of thesingle-engine bi-plane.
I remember standing at the top of the outside staircase leading up to the roomwhere our family of four had spent the last 2-1/2 years in that Japanese prisoncamp in China,
and seeing the sun sparkle off the aluminum body of this unknown airplane as itturned in the
distance and started back toward us, dropping altitude. It grew larger andlarger and the roar of its engines grew stronger and stronger, until finally itwas almost directly overhead and we saw the insignia on its wings.
"IT'S AMERICAN! It's American!" we shouted to one another, needingone another's assurance after all that time of uncertainty about our fate andthe progress of the war.
Every one of the 1,500 civilian prisoners who could walk must have come out tosee this airplane, this symbol of hope and a power that perhaps could match orsurpass the power of the Japanese Imperial Army of Occupation that had ruled inChina for the last eight years f our lives.
Having made a low flight over the center of the walled compound, the silverbird which, we ere told later, was aB-24 circled back and gained altitude. As I stood at the topof the outside staircase, shirtless, barefooted, my spindly legs brown from thesun sticking out from my khaki shorts, I saw the silver bird out over the fieldagain, this time going from right to left. I was afraid it was leaving.
Then objects began dropping out of the plane andparachutes began to open, and I could see arms and legs moving!
Without further thought, I and hundreds of other prisoners rushed toward themain gate of the concentration camp and hurtled past the startled Japaneseguards standing there with bayonets on rifles. We turned left on the dirt roadand then pounded into the fields, heedless of the brambles and stones andthorns under bare feet.
The seven Americans were crouched down, .45-caliber Tommy-guns held ready whenwe reached them. It must have been a strange experience forthem and perhaps a great relief to be rushedby a ragamuffin crowd of undernourished men, women and children instead of anarmed enemy.
Those six army officers and men and one naval officer were carried triumphantlyon the shoulders of the men of the camp back through the main gate. TheAmerican contingent was led by a major, to match the Japanese major who was incommand of the prison camp at Weihsien. American intelligence about the campwas supplied by two young men in their 20s who had escaped and joined ChineseNationalist forces close by. One of those men Arthur Hummellater became the American ambassador to Beijing, appointed to that post byPresident
Ronald Reagan.
In the commandant's office just inside the camp gate there was a short, tenseconfrontation between the two majors. Following the American major's demandthat the Japanese major surrender, they eyed one another for a few secondsbefore the Japanese commandant unbuckled his sword and laid it on the desk. TheAmerican major then requested that the Japanese forces (which numbered about70) function as a security guard against the Communist forces, which they diduntil a company of American Rangers was flown in several days later.
THE DAY OF OUR LIBERATION was August 17. We found out that Japan hadsurrendered on August 14. The Allied Command had been worried that with the endof the war, the Chinese communists might want to make hostages of theAmericans, British, Belgians, Canadians, Australians and Dutch inmates of thecamp, and so had wanted to take over the camp as quickly as possible. The navyofficer was a young man who had been born in China of American parents and hadstudied at the Chefoo school. Boarders and teachers at the school had beenbrought to the camp as a group.
We found out, also, that America had dropped two bombs on two Japanesecities Hiroshima and Nagasaki and that thosebombs had destroyed those cities. We hadn't even known about the so-called"block-busters," much less about bombs that could annihilate anentire city and its people.
The atomic attacks brought an abrupt halt to World War II in the Pacific. Howmany lives were spared by averting the need to invade Japan will continue to bea matter of speculation. I choose to think that from their point of viewPresident Harry S. Truman and his advisors did what they thought best under thecircumstances, and that it took time for the world to come to an acuterealization of the horrendous potential of nuclear warfare.
Unfortunately, during the last 50 years, the world has amassed tens ofthousands of nuclear warheads, multiplying the potential for disaster and theneed for responsible action to abate the threat.
Meanwhile, we have perhaps come closer to a realization of the unacceptabilityof all war as a means of settling disputes. We are reminded once again in thesituation in Bosnia that there can be no war without atrocities, and thatserial injustices accumulate into horrors of massive proportions just as surelyas nuclear attack.
In retrospect, the experiences of a boy in a Japanese internment camp duringWorld War II pale by comparison to the harsh injustices that rob life and hopefrom children in so many poor countries today. That fact makes all the moreurgent the pleas of our popes and our bishops that we urgently apply ourselvesto the task of building peace through systems of economic and politicaljustice.
It was a commitment to fairness and justice that helped sustain life in theprison camp despite worsening scarcity of food, fuel and clothing through twobitterly cold winters. That commitment and a spirit of community which taughtus to laugh and sing about camp conditions and to help one another was largelyattributable to the 300 Catholic missionary priests who shared our fate for thefirst six months. Most of them were then repatriated in a prisoner exchange,but some 15 volunteered to stay with us for the duration.
There were impressive Protestant missionaries too. Among them was Eric Liddell(pronounced LID-ul), the Olympic champion portrayed in the movie,"Chariots of Fire," who died of a brain tumor in the camp. He coachedus kids and refereed our games and repaired field hockey sticks, among otherthings.
I thank God for the priceless gift the example of those missionaries gave me.For a boy in his 11th, 12th and 13th years it was a practical lesson in thelife-giving power of Christianity.
Nevertheless, the reality is that another winter of even more severe scarcitywould have spelled the end for many. The war ended none too soon for us.
I have considered myself free and blessed ever since that liberation day ofAug. 17, 1945. But my own freedom is not enough. I thank God for America andfor the spirit of freedom and equality which continue to flow through it like astrong undercurrent to the distortions of greed and self- indulgence that oftenbeset us. I believe we can and must take responsibility for one another bothwithin our borders and on a world-wide scale.
The End
China-Burma-IndiaVeterans Association
mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 19, 2000 19:17 PDT
Hello, Everyone,
This Friday, August 25, I'll be speaking in Houston,Texas, to the evening banquet of theChina-Burma-India Veterans Association National Convention. It was this veterans' group that got me started on mysuccessful search for our six Americansthat liberated us.
Our liberator, Jim Moore, and his wife will also bethere at the banquet. So I shallpublicly honor Jim again. I'll tell them this miracle story of our rescue and of my tracking down these heroes.
In May 1997, when I was running for election to the NewJersey state legislature, my tworunning mates asked me to substitute for them at a banquet of an All-East Coast of the USA reunion of a group calledthe China-Burma-India VeteransAssociation. They wanted me to present a proclamation from the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly to honorthese veterans for their World War IIservice to America. This banquet was to be held in a hotel ten minutes from my home.Imagine it! As soon as I heard the nameof the group, a lightbulb went on in my head. China-Burma-India -- our rescuers might be at that reunion! Frommy treasures, I dug out their names andcarried the list to the banquet that Saturday night.
When my turn came on the program, I read theproclamation from the Legislature. Andthen I told them, "I know it was not an accident that I was invited to substitute tonight for SenatorAdler and Assemblyman Greenwald."
I briefly told the story from the eyes of a twelve-year-old -- ofAmericans parachuting from the sky toliberate the camp. "I've brought their names," I said. And I read the names to a very hushed room.
"Is any one of my heroes here tonight?"
I was greeted withsilence and with old-timers weeping.
But after the banquet they embracedme. They told me I must write an article in the CBIVA "Sound-Off" Magazine to say that Iwas searching for these heroes -- tolist their names, to list my own name, address, and phone number.
May 1997: That was the start. Thefirst break came in September. By December I had found them all. Saying thank you bytelephone and letter didn't feel quiteenough, so I criss-crossed America to visit each one. I visited the last one this February inCalifornia. Believe me, it's been as much a gift to me as a gift to them.
I'll tell this story to several hundredChina-Burma-India veterans on Friday inHouston.
Arthur Kerridge, since you live in Houston, I hopeyou'll come, too.
Mary Previte
ChinaBurma India Veterans Association magazine, SOUND OFF
mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 21, 2000 17:22 PDT
Hello, Everyone,
Dr. Stanley Nordmo asked me how to get in touch withSOUND OFF, the magazine of the ChinaBurma India Veterans Association. Stanley's parents served hot meals to some downed American pilots during World WarII And veterans from the China BurmaIndia theater flew his parents out of China. This group may be able to provide pieces of his family history.
They may be able to provide pieces of yours, too.Here's the address:
Editor DavidDale Phone: 314-961-1113
Sound Off
P. O. Box 190374
St. Louis, MO 63119
The magazine is always looking for good material, soyour inquiries should be welcome. Myarticle in SOUND OFF in 1997, brought me my first break in tracking down the men who liberated Weihsien.
Mary Previte
TheThompson Photograph
R.W. Bridge
Aug 29, 2000 12:58 PDT
The photo is definitely the drop of a number oftwo 55gall drums welded together containing peaches, Navy pea soup or whatever.They are being dropped from a B29 Super fortress, the relief team under MajorSteiger were dropped from a B24 Liberator.
The film was probably obtained from the photographers or film that was left bythem as major re-supply did not start until 27th August although there wereisolated drops before that date. The photographers were part of Col Bird'sgroup that diverted into Weihsien on 20th August three days after the Steigerdrop. They had been on a mission to Korea but failed and ran short of fuel anddiverted to the airfield near Weihsien. The party contained both a pressrepresentative and a photographer. It is known that he took photos in the camp( Record in a scrap of contemporary diary) They also took out their aircraftthe following day for a low fly past on the Tuesday 21st August.
The Col Bird group left on Wed 22nd August 1945, on departure they did a lowpass over the Camp. The same day that Lt Hannon gave a talk on prison camps ofItaly and Germany.
Has anyone any evidence re Hepatatis in Weihsien, I have read Stanley Nordmo'sreport and I would be grateful for any information. Has anyone medical journalauthority published anything on this. The info is needed because the UKPensions Agency steadfastly refuse to believe that hygiene conditions inJapanese Camps were bad enough to allow Hepatitis to have occurred. I amfighting on behalf of a coupe that were not in Weihsien. Perhaps Stanley Nordmocould communicate directly. IF it is R W Bridge Chillies Oast, Chillies Lane,Crowborough, East Sussex TN6 3TB England.
I learnt of the Memory board from Norman Cliff. My Weihsen address was Block 13Room 11/12 although when we first arrived in March 1943 it was Block 42 Room 6
Rgds
Ron Bridge
HumanitarianRescue Missions
mtpre-@aol.com
Aug 29, 2000 20:00 PDT
Welcome to our Weihsien bulletin board, RonBridge,
Our Chefoo teachers said I had "yellowjaundice" in Weihsien. I've never had proof of that diagnosis. But for sure, here in the USA, because ofthat diagnosis, I've never been allowedto give blood.
I was also interested in your note that Lt. Jim Hannonhad lectured in Weihsien on POW campsin Italy and Germany. Lt. Hannon had been captured in Italy in 1944 and was held in several POWcamps. He has described to me how heescaped and walked across Europe until he bumped into US troops. After a de-briefing in Washington, he was sent toChina in a group called the Air GroundAid Service (AGAS) -- a group that specialized in rescuing downed pilots. The other members of our team wereall in the Office of Strategic Services(OSS) -- which was affectionately called Oh, So Secret or Oh, So Social -- because some of the OSS were fromIvy League schools. On our rescue team,Jim Moore was the only college graduate (Harden Simmons University in Texas). Major Staiger wassnatched out of University of Oregon after his third year. He never finished college.
To this day, rivalry continues between Jim Hannon andthe OSS members of our rescueteam. Late in August, 1945, the OSS members were sent to Tsingtao to establish a Marine base there.Jim Hannon remained to help evacuateprisoners from Weihsien.
Have any of you read THE DEFEAT OF JAPAN? I got it fromour public library. Threaded throughthis book is the fascinating story of the American humanitarian rescue teams that liberated Weihsien and the othercivilian internment camps dotted aroundChina and Manchuria. These were supposed to have been do-or-die missions. One of these teams was, indeed,almost executed by the Japanese.
Our own rescue team had a few tense moments when theygot inside the camp. One of ourliberators, Jim Moore, says the Japanese at Weihsien said that the Americans should have broughtofficial papers notifying the Japanese of their assignment.
Our liberators tell a strange story about Colonel Byrd.The Byrd team had been assigned toliberate another civilian camp, but failed in its mission. Our liberators tell me that Colonel Byrd then came intoWeihsien and wanted to take over thecamp from Major Staiger. Sort of a save-face move. Major Staiger would have none of it. Weihsien was his.
The winter 1999 issue ofSound-Off, the quarterly magazine of the China-Burma-India Veterans Asociation, included the following article byJoe Shupe: Wedemeyer: "If YouFail, It's a Court-Martial"
Here are exerpts:
The noteworthy accomplishment of MGen George H.Olmstead, 92, West Point graduate,"was the rescue of some 30,000 POWs. Shortly before the Japanese surrender, China Theater Headquarters gotthe word that a Japanese collapse wasimminent and that the POWs had to be rescued immediately to save them from possible harm.
"With insufficient resources to rescue them,Olmstead laid out a rescue plan to hissuperior, Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer: the latter's response was: 'That's the craziest scheme I have ever heardof in the U. S. Army. Try it. If itfails, remember we are readying courts-martial charges against you.'
"Olmstead first ordered leaflets dropped. Then hesent a single plane carrying sixunarmed men to parachute into each camp with a letter to the camp commander. It said the Allies knew thenumber of POWs in each camp and wouldhold the camp commander responsible if harm came to any POW.
" 'It worked,' he said later. 'But I had somesleepless nights.' "
Mary Taylor Previte, New Jersey
Honoringliberator Jim Moore
mtpre-@aol.com
Sep 03, 2000 18:51 PDT
Hello, Everyone,
The China-Burma-India Veterans Association (CBIVA)national convention honored ourWeihsien liberator Jim Moore with the on-their-feet, clapping, weeping, flash-bulb-popping recognition Jimdeserves. More than 400 CBI veteransattended the weeklong event held in Houston, Texas, last week.
What an extraordinary experience to honor Jim in thisway in front of his peers!
If I had had my wish, I would have arranged justsuch a public honor for each one of theheroes who liberated the camp. Yes, I've been successful in getting newspapers or Associated Press ineach one of their communities to spotlight their heroism and to tell their astonishing story. But asI've crosscrossed the USA, I've beenable to honor only three of the team (or their widows) -- Jim Moore, Helen Hanchulak, Carol Orlich -- by havingthem with me when I told the storypublicly to their peers.
A public display didn't work out or didn't seemappropriate for the other three -- when I visited Major Stanley Staiger(Nevada), Tad Nagaki (Nebraska), and Jim Hannon (California). Major Staiger is very frail. What suited THEM wasthe proper way to honor them -- notwhat suited ME.
So the private reunions were lovely in their own way
Real heroes don't think of themselves as heroes. Ourrescuers don't. In fact, they get downright embarrassed when I call them heroes. They usually say something like, "I only did whatany other American would have done."
I spoke to the Friday night banquet of theChina-Burma-India Veterans Association-- a packed house of World War II veterans and their spouses in Houston. Men and women wept as I told thestory of Weihsien and America's rescuing angels parachuting from the skies, the miracle of our familyreunion after not seeing our parentsfor 5 1/2 years I told them the miracle of my finding these heroes more than 50 years later -- one hero at a time.
"My silent weeping turned into sobs when youintroduced Jim Moore," the banquethostess told me later that night.
I didn't think the flash bulbs and the requests forautographs and hand shakes and tearswould ever stop around Jim and his wife Pat on Friday night. It was absolutely beautiful.
The daughter and son-in-law of Emily Bryant (a Weihsieninternee and one of our Weihsienbulletin board members) drove from Waco, Texas, to Houston to attend the banquet also.
Jim Moore's story is one not even a skilled novelistcould match. Jim is the son of SouthernBaptist missionaries to China who attended and graduated from our very own Chefoo school. He returnedto America in 1937, graduated fromHardin-Simmons University and joined the FBI. Jim read about the capture of his/our school in the Chefoo School'salumni magazine -- that his teachersand little brothers and sisters of his classmates had been marched into concentration camp. He read ofclassmates dying in the war. FBI members were deferred from military service. But Jim resigned from theFBI, joined the Navy and the Office ofStrategic Services -- which was looking for people who could speak Chinese -- and was in Kunming, training 15-and 16-year-old Chineseparatroopers-in-training when the OSS started pulling together these hastily-constituted teams to liberate the civilianinternment camps. Jim volunteered tojoin the team that liberated Weihsien.
What a story!
Nothing I have done inthe last three years -- not even being elected to the New Jersey state Legislature -- equals the joy of finding andhonoring these heroes and inreconnecting with you who shared the Weihsien experience.
Mary Taylor Previte
Articlein Houston Chronicle, September 4
mtpre-@aol.com
Sep 03, 2000 19:01 PDT
A story and pictureabout the Weihsien liberation is scheduled to appear on Monday, September 4, in the Houston Chronicle. The reporter isRobert Tutt. You may be able to read iton the Houston Chronicle Internet site on http://www.chron.com
Mary Previte
Today's Houston Chronicle has a story entitledFormer Prisoner Recalls Liberation ofConcentration Camp. It is a follow up of the recent China-Burma-India Veterans Association convention inHouston. This story was to have appeared last Monday.
You can read the story on the internet via http://www.chronicle.com// or on HoustonChronicle.com
The reporter is Bob Tutt.
Mary Previte
Re: article
Beard
Sep12, 2000 15:28 PDT
I think we aremostly in the same boat when it comes to articles from the Houston Chronicle.Maybe someone who can access them, could copy them and paste them into the mainbody of an email message and send them to the List that way.
Margaret Beard (David's wife)
Pamela Masters wrote:
Ditto and likewise -- Pamela
Natasha Petersen wrote:
Help!
I am unable to access the article in the Houston Chronicle.
Natasha
Weihsien,location...Re: Houston Chronicle
Frank Otto
Sep 13, 2000 08:01 PDT
Mary,
I've had people ask me for the exact location of the camp. Thanks.
Frank
Re:article on: Former captive recalls U.S. liberation of camp
mtpre-@aol.com
Sep 15, 2000 17:12 PDT
Hello, Natasha, and everyone on the Weihsienbulletin board,
Several have written that you couldn't find the article in the Houston Chronicle.
I was able to get the Houston Chronicle article on Monday, Sept 11. Look forwww.HoustonChronicle.com Then click on metrosection and it's there A friend alsosent me a print out from the Internet. At the bottom of the print out is:
http://www.chon.com/cs/CDA/strory.hts/metropolitan/662647
Good luck.
Mary Previte
Re:article on: Former captive recalls U.S. liberation of camp
Beard
Sep 15, 2000 18:05 PDT
Mary,www.HoustonChronicle.com didn't work. We can't get into the Houston ChronicleArchives without being paid up subscribers.
There are two spelling errors in the URL you copied from the bottom of thearticle your friend gave you and computers are VERY fussy about spelling! Theerrors are: chon should be chron; strory should be story.
If these are corrected you get an accessible page at:
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/662647
In case anyone still has problems, I will paste the story below.
Margaret Beard
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sept. 11, 2000, 11:00AM
Former captive recalls U.S.liberation of camp
By BOB TUTT
Copyright 2000 Houston Chronicle
By the morning of Aug. 17, 1945,Mary Taylor Previte, the 12-year-old daughter of missionaries in China, hadbeen a Japanese prisoner more than 3 1/2 years.
When she awoke that day in a prisoncamp near the city of Weihsien in a coastal area of northeast China, she wasstill recovering from a bout with dysentery and diarrhea.
"I can remember lying there feeling horrible," Previte recalled, "and then I that was gettingcloser."
She sprang from the top of a steamertrunk serving as her bed, and through abarrack window she glimpsed a low-flying four-engine aircraft.
Appropriately enough, it was anAmerican B-24 Liberator bomber, and she shortly spotted six parachutistsdropping from the aircraft's bomb bay.
"Believe me, that was an instant cure for diarrhea," Previterecalled.
She shared the story of her camp'sliberation at a recent gathering here of veterans who had served in World WarII's China-Burma-India theater.
"I decided to run for the prison gate and be one of the first ones towelcome whoever it was," she said, "but it seemed that everyone elsegot there first."
The camp's prisoners had had no wayof learning that Japanese leaders had agreed to surrender unconditionally threedays earlier.
Similarly unarmed, six-man teams like the one coming to Previte's prison campwere in the process of going to other Japanese camps.
Altogether about 30,000 prisoners, military and civilian, were beingsuccessfully freed.
In her camp, she recalled, "Everyone went berserk, weeping, hugging eachother, pounding the ground.Men were taking off their shirts and waving thembecause they wanted to be sure those in the plane had spotted the camp."
Ignoring the Japanese guards, she said, "people just pushed out the camp'sgate, something that previously could have got them shot."
Men who were "just skin and bones, who had lost 100 pounds" liftedthese "six beautiful, young Americans on their shoulders and carried theminto the camp."
There, Previte says, a Salvation Army Band welcomed them with a speciallyprepared "victory medley" that it had been practicing for along-hoped-for day of liberation.
It was an amalgam of Happy Days Are Here Again, strains of the national anthemsof the Allied powers and excerpts of hymns.
She says that as the band played the part of the American anthem, Major StanleyA. Staiger, leader of the rescue team, slid from the shoulders of the prisonersto a standing salute.
And then, she added, "A young American trombonist in the band crumbled tothe ground and began to weep. He knew what we all knew. We were free.
"There were some brief, very nervous moments,"Previte said, "butthe Japanese must have known the war was over and turned over the camp.
"And did we love those American men. They were like the Pied Piper.
There was a trail of children wherever they went. Those guys went gaga overolder girls like my sister, Kathleen, who was 17. (The girls) got insignias assouvenirs; younger children got pieces of parachutes."
Previte regards the camp's six rescuers as "guardian angels" whosaved her life and notes that the name given the B-24 that transported themhappened to be Armored Angel.
She stays in contact with all of them or their widows.
In addition to Stanley Staiger, who lives at Reno, Nev., they were the lateRaymond Hanchulak of Bear Creek Village, Pa.; James J. Hannon of Yucca Valley,Calif.; James W. Moore of Dallas; Tad Nagaki of Alliance, Neb.; and the latePeter Orlich of Whitesen, N.Y.
Previte notes the special significance of Moore's participation in theoperation. The son of Southern Baptist missionaries to China, he was born thereand learned to speak Chinese.
He had attended the same school in the city of Chefoo as had Previte, hersister and two brothers and their classmates being held at the Weihsien prisoncamp. It was set up for the children of missionaries and was called the ChefooSchool.
The Japanese had claimed ownership of that school the day after their Dec. 7,1941, attack on Pearl Harbor and later moved the students and faculty to theWeihsien camp.
Moore had gone to live in America, graduated from Hardin Simons College inTexas, then became an FBI agent. That made him exempt from military service,but he felt a duty to contribute directly to the war effort.
So, over the objections of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, he joined the Navy andbecame an officer.
Because he spoke Chinese he was assigned to the Office of Strategic Services,forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency. He volunteered to participate inthe rescue of prisoners at the Weihsien camp because he knew people from theChefoo School were there.
When he arrived at the prison camp he immediately asked to see P.A. Bruce, theschool's superintendent.
Previte, 67, who resides at Haddonfield, N.J., is director of an agency thatassists juvenile delinquents in mending their ways. She also serves as anassemblywoman in the state legislature.
She speaks with reverence of the teachers and other adults at the Weihsienprison camp. They nurtured the children there and strived "to keep hopealive" that ultimately the Allies would win the war.
Of some 1,300 prisoners, mostly British and Americans, held there, she estimatesthat about a third were children.
Their teachers stressed that the Chefoo students continue their studies so asnot to fall behind children in the free world. Thus they provided theseyoungsters a very structured life.
The prison camp was set up on what had been the campus of a Presbyterianschool. A wide variety of people were held there, including businessmen,academics, physicians and entertainers.
The prisoners promoted cultural events ranging from plays to musical programsto philosophical discussions.
As time went on, Previte said, doctors in the camp became alarmed about how thecamp's poor diet, especially insufficient in calcium, was affecting the healthof children.
Those able to get eggs on a black market were asked to save the shells so thatthey could be roasted, ground into a powder and administered to children aspure calcium.
Previte remembers how awful spoonfuls of that powder tasted.
About 15 years years ago Previte gained an insight into what a brave front somany adults in the camp must have been putting up for the sake of thechildren.
This came when she visited the headmistress of the school, who was then livingin England.
"I would pray every night," she confessed, "that when theJapanese would line us up and make us dig death trenches before shooting us,that God would let me be one of the first they would shoot."
Previte's parents, James Hudson Taylor II and Alice Taylor, Free MethodistChurch missionaries, had been working in the Yellow River basin in central Chinabefore managing to escape advancing Japanese forces.
After liberation, Previte, her sister, and two brothers, James Hudson TaylorIII, 16, and John Taylor, 10, and their grandfather, Herbert Hudson Taylor, 80,a retired missionary with them in the prison camp, were reunited with theirparents for the first time in 5 1/2 years.
First, fighting between Chinese and Japanese forces, then the internment of theChefoo School students and teachers had kept the family apart.
Re:article on: Former captive recalls U.S. liberation of camp
Pamela Masters
Sep 18, 2000 06:59 PDT
Thanks Mary --
What a fabulous article! I've printed it out in its entirety and now is part ofmy Weihsien file -- along with the other stories of all you neat"survivors".
Best to you always -- Pamela "Bobby" Masters
people-dates-happeningsof 7 year old.
Dave Allen
Oct 16, 2000 22:29 PDT
NAME |CATEGORY | DATE | OCCASION
============================================================MrsFitzwilliam Teacher 02/24/41Reading stories at supper
PaulGrant Student 03/18/41Compete in reading books
ByronKohfield Student 03/18/41Compete in reading books
McLorn Student 03/18/41Compete in reading books
JohnTaylor Student 03/25/41Leads drillformation
DrHenri Doctor 03/25/41Says I had whooping cough
DavidBirch Student 04/06/41Dresses with girlshat
Miss Alicia Carr Teacher 04/06/41Trick played on her by kids
MrBaehr Missionary05/05/41 Spoke at school commencement
Paul Dunachie Missionary 05/05/41 Showedmoving pictures
Mr Oleson Missionary05/05/41 Spoke at Sunday service
Mrs Fitzwiliam Teacher 06/02/41Reading stories at supper
MissCarr Teacher 05/25/41Took school to old prep
MrHoughton Teacher 06/23/41Lead Foundation Day service
Granny Wright Missionary 06/30/41 ProvidesChoc. sauce for party
RaymondMoore Student 07/07/41Played ball with me
JohnBirch Student 07/07/41New boy at school
MissYoung Teacher 08/11/41Takes me out on a boat ride
MissLassen Teacher 08/11/41Takes me out on a boat ride
Mrs Hanna Teacher 08/18/41Take Yunnan children for picnic
MissLassen Teacher 08/18/41Picnic breakfast
MrYoung Teacher 09/02/41Leads new term opening service
MissStark Teacher 09/08/41My class teacher (Upper I)
ByronKohfield Student 09/02/41Both of us sick with flu
PaulGrant Student 09/15/41Went to his birthday party (9/13)
MissDavey Teacher 09/15/41Taught us Sunday School
RobertClow Student 11/03/41He has scarlet fever
Lettersmissing 11/03/41- 04/13/42
Wally Desterhaft B.S.Student 04/13/42 Wins high jump 5'3 1/2
MrBruce Headmaster04/13/42 Leads new term opening service
PaulThompson Student 05/25/42Broken arm - Temple Hill
DrHowie Doctor 05/25/42Leads Sunday School meeting
Mr William Taylor Missionary 05/05/42 Spoke on God's deliverances
Dudley Woodberry Student 06/01/42Leave Chefoo for America
GraceWoodberry Student 06/01/42 LeaveChefoo for America
EddieLindberg Student 06/01/42Leave Chefoo for America
PaulGrant Student 06/01/42Reading Aladdin's lamp
EleanorGlazier Student 06/08/42Leaves for Tsingtao on bus
MurrayDavies Student 06/08/42Are coming to be boarders
PaulDavies Student 06/08/42Are coming to be boarders
MissCarr Teacher 06/21/42Took us to the beach
MissHess Teacher 06/21/42Played music on a saw
TheJapanese 06/29/42Inoculated us for cholera
TheJapanese 08/25/42Tell us: leave Chefoo by 9/22
MissDavey Teacher 08/25/42Set up a treasure hunt
MrRouse Missionary08/25/42 Leader at CSSM
MrMartin Teacher 08/25/42Lead 5 services of CSSM
MissPriestman Teacher 08/25/42Gave me Morning Bells hymnbook
StuartGoodwin Student 08/25/42His team won sand modelling
MissYoung Teacher 09/01/42My teacher for Lower II
Thoughts from 7 year old in letter to parents - extracted from letters.
Dave Allen dan-@fidalgo.net
people-dates -happenings Pt 2 Dave Allen
Oct 16, 2000 22:29 PDT
NAME |CATEGORY | DATE | OCCASION
======================================================================= Continuingfrom 09/01/42
TheJapanese 09/01/42Build wall through dining room --------------------------------------- to makegarage and stables for ---------------------------------------horses.
JohnBell B.S.Student10/05/42 Ride bicycles over 60 kilometers
John Hoyte B.S.Student10/05/42 & get caught byJapanese
PaulGrant Student 10/05/42Digs a 2 ft deep pit
KarlNafe Student 10/05/42Digs a 2 ft deep pit
PhilipPaulson Student 10/05/42His team has best spellers
TheodoreWelch Student 10/05/42Had a party for Lower I's
All
Chefooschools students 11/XX/42School moves to Temple Hill
Facts from letters written by David Allen in Weihsien Internment Camp 1943
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Hoyte and I S THill Nov ??1942 Talk to ChineseStudents
All students S THill Nov ??1942 Sleep on thefloor
Primary students S THill Nov ??1942 Finding bamoo for making kites
Jack Graham S THill Nov ??1942 play game of hiding the football
Valwynn Nichols S THill Nov ??1942 play game of hiding the football
Dave Allen S THillNov ?? 1942 put footall to high forJack
Murray Sadler S THill Nov ??1942 Got the footballdown
Brothers & Sisters S THill Nov ?? 1942 Allowed tomeet.
School begins S THill Mar 9,1943 We are goingbarefooted
Dr Howie & Mrs D THill Mar 9,1943 have baby girl MargaretRuth
Mr Martin TCAC5 May 24, 1943 concert & shows funnypictures
Metcalf (B.S) BCAC5 May 24, 1943 workout on parallelbars.
Students SCAC5 May 24, 1943 use stoves made fromcans
MrBruce HCAC5 May 24, 1943 sings Irishsongs
MrsKing MCAC5 May 24, 1943 told us aboutlepers
Elizbeth Hoyte S CAC5 Jun27, 1943 to light campfire for girls
Japanese Censors J CAC5 Jun 27, 1943bring old letters (12/22/43r)
Chefoo people S CAC24 Sep 12, 1943 Wedarrive in Weihsien
Chefoo people S CAC24 Sep 12, 1943ride on a bus to the steamer
Chefoo people S CAC24 Sep 12, 1943 eatpicnic meals on board*
Weihsien SCAC24 Sep 12, 1943 is 21 acres in size (12/26/43r)
Teachers TCAC24 Oct 8, 1943 make doughnuts on little stoves
Lessons learned S CAC24 Oct 8, 1943 in dorm room;also in cubs now
Service held S CAC24 Oct 8, 1943in church building (1/13/44r)
Collecting stamps S CAC24 Oct 24, 1943 from letters (1/29/44r)
Christmas presents S CAC24 Dec 29, 1943 described in letter (2/4/44r)
Treasure hunt S CAC24 Jan 24, 1944fruit for prizes
Memorizing Bible S CAC24 Jan 24, 1944 verse (prize) 10texts
Mrs Lawless T CAC24 Apr21, 1944 teaching us French
Campfire songs S CAC24 Apr 21, 1944 Acting& singing
Boys not wearing S CAC24 Jul 30, 1944 shirts
Robert Clow & I S CAC24 Jul 30, 1944 arestudying ants.
Footall matches S CAC24 Oct 24, 1944 on ball field
Philip Paulson S CAC24 Oct 24, 1944 birthdaytoday
Torge Torgeson S CAC24 Oct 24, 1944celbrated his birthday also.
Requirememts S CAC24 Oct 24,1944 passed for athlete's badge
Thoughts in letters of 10 year old in Weihsien Internment camp
DaveAllen dan-@fidalgo.net
People- dates - events Pg 3 Dave Allen
Oct 17, 2000 05:24 PDT
Facts fromletters written by Dave Allen in Weihsien Internment Camp
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Girls in next room S CAC24 Jan 25, 1945 Party in which boys acted.
Jr children S CAC24 Jan25, 1945 Party for boys 9-13
Jr children S CAC24 Jan25, 1945 Party Thursday after Xmas
Soccer Ball loaned S CAC24 Jan 25, 1945 Chefoo boys challenge
Soccer Ball loaned S CAC24 Jan 25, 1945 Weihsien boys
French lessons S CAC24 Jan 25, 1945 11th inFrench:32/40 pts
Red Cross parcels - CAC24 Feb 25, 1945 Received red crossparcels
Chocolate, chewing gum, butter, cheese, milk, raisins, prunes,
Sugar andsoap
Mr Huebener B CAC24 Feb25, 1945 Helped make bamboo flute
MrBrown MCAC24 Feb 25, 1945 Comes to tell evening stories
Eric Liddell A CAC24 Feb 25,1945 Died 7th Feb night
Students SCAC24 Feb 25, 1945 Have slept on floor 3 years
Dave Allen S CAC24Mar 25, 1945 Weighs 78 lbs/ 4' 9" tall
Robert Clow & I S CAC24 Mar 25, 1945 We aresharing gardens
John Birch S CAC24Mar 25, 1945 Got parcels
Philip Paulson S CAC24 Mar 25, 1945 Gotparcels
Students SCAC24 Mar 25, 1945 Holiday on Mar.30th
Douglas Findley S CAC24 Mar 25, 1945 Invited by usout to tea.
Students SCAC24 Mar 25, 1945 We have chocolate each Sunday
Dave Allen S CAC24Apr 30, 1945 Sprained ankle in long run
Robert Clow & I S CAC24 Apr 30, 1945 Corn isup ... our is biggest
Jr students S CAC24 Apr30, 1945 Just starting to learn Latin
B.S. students S CAC24 Apr 30, 1945Sports Day results:
Chefoo ...130 points | Weihsien ... 85 1/2 points
Mr Pryce & Miss Greenin Apr 30,1945 Have married/have yellow roses
This letter received in Mitu (Dec 24, 1945)
Dave Allen S CAC24May 27, 1945 Heart conversion experience.
Robert Clow & I S CAC24 May 27, 1945 Growingcosmos, sunflower, corn
Jrboys SCAC24 May 27, 1945 Two waffles with tangshi (dinner)
Jrboys SCAC24 May 27, 1945 Half holiday Thursday)
Reason: we had earned 6 optimes ... know what that is?
MrHayes TCAC24 Jun 15, 1945 Leads Foundation Day service
Students SCAC24 Jun 15, 1945 10 AM Softball game
Students SCAC24 Jun 15, 1945 3 PM Tenniquoit?
Jr Boys & Girls S CAC24 Jun 15, 1945 Have atreasure hunt
Jr Boys play acting S CAC24 Jun 15, 1945 The miller, his son & donkey
Jrboys SCAC24 Jun 23, 1945 Camped out on rollcall field.
WAR ISOVER! S CAC24 AUG 25, 1945 YEA!YOWEE!
Last Wed heard war was over Friday a plane cameover Friday men came down with stores.
Monday soldiers distributed sweets and candies
Tonight Jr boys & Senior boys have gymnastics display 25 Aug 1945
Selling tin cans for food: tomatoes, corn, apples, pears, crabapples.
We made stewed apples
First meal of split pea soup tasted really good but stomach couldn't keep it.It came up again. (I couldn't eat real food for at least 2 weeks)
Some GI soldiers give boys penknives.
Now cooking lots of things on stove in bedroom, living room, classroom.
Making a small parachute 25 Aug 1945
This was the last letter written from Weihsien.(Received in Mitu, Yunnan
Oct 11, 1945) I flew out from Weihsien airport with Raymond Moore and
John Taylor on top of scores of parachutes being returned. We flew to Sian.From there I flew on to Kunming on a B-17 called the "HomesickAngel."
These are the experiences of a 10 years old boy, not agrownup!
DaveAllen dan-@fidalgo.net
I have experiences later at Shanghai on Sinza Road if any one is interested.
Memories of Aug 17th, 1945 V I Day
DaveAllen
Oct17, 2000 14:03 PDT
Memories of Aug 17th 1945: V I Day (Victory overInternment.)
On Wednesday we heard that the war was over byour underground canary.
News was also passed by coolies trading cigarettes with internees.
On Thursday we were showered with pamphletstelling us the what to expect.
On Friday the Jr Boys were down on the playfieldnot far from the main gate. We wereeither playing soccer or watching a game, when we heard the sound of an airplane. Looking over thebarbed-wire fence which carried high voltage electricity we expected to see a single engine Japaneseplane. Instead, to our surprise we sawa four engine B-24 circle once, determine the wind direction and then make an Immelman maneuver and come back overthe fields outside the camp. Slowly 7men parachuted out of the plane. Before any had touched the ground we were running full tilt for the front gate.They were opening as we arrived and weheaded out in mass. There were about 1700 people in that camp.
Our feet were hardened to the ground but not thepuncture weeds and their barbs. As soonas we left the motor road we found them. Some of the Chinese field workers, seeing us take the stickersout of our feet, volunteered to take uspiggy back to the motor road. They were so glad to be free of Japanese oppression. We walked so proudly beside theAmerican GI's, so glad to be free at last.
Within 2 days we had B-29 bombers flying outsidethe camp and dropping food and clothingsupplies. The sky was filled with parachutes, plane after plane coming and dumping food, clothing and pamphlets. Itwas an exciting time.
On Monday the American GI's handed out sweets andchocolates. The first meal of split peasoup tasted awful good, but made an abrupt return. I could not retain rich food for up to 3 weeks afterthat. They started giving us vitaminsetc from packages dropped from the B-29's. That evening the Jr boys and Senior Boys and Girls gave a gymnasticdisplay. The GI's gave some of the kidspenknives as gifts, or pieces of ripped parachutes.
We salvaged the tin cans from the food drops andtraded them for tomatoes, corn, apples,pears and crabapples. Only the adult men and women were allowed to go outside the camp to make trades, butthe kids would trade over the wall.
The electric barbed-wire fence turned off. The apples we got in trade we madeinto stewed apples.
The stoves we cooked on were made from KLIM cans(milk spelled backwards. The cans weremudded inside and wires placed through them and a door for proper ventilation.
Adults were selling old clothes and anything thatwas salable for fresh fruit. Everyonehad a craving for fresh fruit.
Within 2 weeks John Taylor, Raymond Moore and Iwere taken by bus out to the Weihsienairport and climbed into a C-46 Cargo plane. We flew to Sian, and from there on I flew on to Kunming on a B-17bomber called "The Homesick Angel."
*** The last letter was written from Weihsien Aug 25, 1945 and received in Mitu, Yunnan on Oct 11, 1945 *** Now youknow why missionary kids didn't go hometo see their folks at Christmas time. Transportation was tooslow and distances too far and a warwas on. I didn't see my folks from Sept 1940 - Sept 1945.
DaveAllen dan-@fidalgo.net
Livingquarters
Dave Allen
Oct 17, 2000 14:15 PDT
LIVING ARRANGEMENTS:
There were 10 of us boys crammed in a classroom 12 ft long X10 ft wide.
All the mattresses had been rolled up against the wall where the bedbugs lived. This gave up 2 to 3 ft of walkingspace because in the middle of the roomwere steamer trunks (our seats). In the opposite corner from the door to our room were Red Cross boxes stacked over byJohn Taylor's side.
Starting from the door and going around the room were:Raymond Moore, David Allen, RobertClow, John Birch, ////////////, on the other side, Philip Paulson, Paul Grant, ////////, John Taylor,Val Nichols. I will have to confer withJohn Taylor, and Paul Grant, and maybe we can figure it out together. We were all about10 - 11 years of age.
In the room next to us were the girls of approximately thesame age. I couldn't remember one of their names, but I think there were 8 ofthem. I wasn't interested at that time.We were housed in Building 24 which had the bell tower.
There are other memories of roll call ... learning to numberoff in Japanese ...learning the caws ofrooks in the trees and what they meant ... making snowballs and snowballing the guards ... (this was a kids game,no adults allowed)... making coal ballsfor our little KLIM (Milk spelled backwards) cans, which we mudded and made into stoves ... walkingthrough the tunnel underground by thehospital, ... running long distance races through the camp ... reddened buttocks from mouthing off to teachers,generously applied by Mr Martin withhand, shoe, ... yellow jaundice and the utter distaste for the smell or taste of food, that was when we were in Building23 before getting moved into Building24, ... roll call late in the evening after 2 men escaped from the camp and thebell was rung. We were outside a long for that one .... sneaking out the window of our classroom, and gettingcaught by Miss Priestman on her prayerrounds.
What are your memories? Are they a little different? Let'scompare.
DaveAllen dan-@fidalgo.net
DavidAllen's diary
mtpre-@aol.com
Oct 17, 2000 17:57 PDT
Hello, Everyone,
David Allen, welcome to our Weihsien Bulletin Board.What amazingly detailed memories for a10 year old! I bet everyone reading this wishes they had kept notes like yours.
Now listen to this. At this very minute I have a pictureof you -- David Allen -- on myrefrigerator! Imagine it. Douglas Finlay sent it to me last year -- a snapshot of you, Raymond Moore,and four Taylor children -- Kathleen,Jamie, John, and me (Mary) -- at Sian the night we flew out of Weihsien in early September 1945. We sixChefoo children were the second planeload flown out of Weihsien. Yes, yes, yes, remember our sittingon heaps of used parachutes all the wayfrom Weihsien to Sian? I had carried onboard with me that day a small bundle of treasures which I intended to drop out of the airplane window to my Chefoodorm mates below. Wrong!
In the picture on my refrigerator, we six children arefeasting on cake with an O.S.S. officerin Sian.
. I have no idea how Douglas got that snapshot. But I'mthrilled that he sent it to me. Mysister Kathleen and Douglas Finlay were sweethearts.
You may not have heard that Douglas died a couple of months ago.
Tell us everything your saw and felt the day we wereliberated -- August 17, 1945. And tellus where you are now and what became of you after Weihsien.
Mary Taylor Previte
ChinaReunion in Arizona in October
mtpre-@aol.com
Oct 26, 2000 18:17 PDT
Hello, everyone,
China hands held a China Reunion in Scottsdale, Arizona,October 19. Pamela Masters, I know youplanned to attend. I hope you and everyone else who was there will tell us all about it.
If any of you have not yet read Pamela's book, TheMushroom Years, please give yourself agift. It's WONDDERFUL. Major Stanley Staiger, who lead the Weihsien rescue mission, told me Pamela's book should beon the best seller list. He said heread it non-stop and couldn't put it down. e-mail Pamela for a copy at pam-@hendersonhouse.com
Pamela, is Joyce Cook Bradbury's memoirs in print yet?Joyce and her husband planned to attendthe China Reunion in Arizona last week. Joyce is from Sydney, Australia. Originally from Tsingtao, she and herfamily were among the first to beinterned in Weihsien. Her father worked in Kitchen #1. Joyce finished her schooling in the camp atPeking American High School.
Mary Previte
shortbio
Natasha Petersen
Oct 27, 2000 09:31 PDT
Would each subscriber give his full name and avery short bio. Please badd your e-mailaddress to the bio. I know that you have mine and Mary Previte's. Desmond, please let me knowwhether you received this message. If Ido not hear from you I will assume that you did not. I was told that messages to you were not goingthrough. Natasha
The reunion was great. I hope that those who were there will write a few lines highlighting your experiences.
AllAboard!
Pamela Masters
Oct 27, 2000 12:08 PDT
Hi Mary, Natasha and all of you WeishienFriends!
I had a ball at the OCH Reunion -- only I had to cut my visit short due to acrisis at home. I left before I could make my little talk – that was scheduledfor Friday evening -- and as it is very important to all of you if you'd liketo receive reparations from Japan, I'm attaching it here. I cannot stress howimportant it is for all of us to get aboard and help our fellow-ex-POWs. We inWeihsien were lucky, tens of thousands were not. Let's not forget them like therest of the world has. Here is a physical address for you to write to to getthe necessary forms.
The Center for Internee Rights, Inc.
Gil Hair, Executive Director
6060 La Gorce Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33140-2117
Phone (305) 864-2558 Fax (305)861-8550
E-mail:exp-@bellsouth.net Website: www.netcom.com/~expows
A one-year membership costs $40, and to sign up for your deceased parents ornext-of-kin, it's only $10. The more members we have in CFIR, the more clout wewill have. All contributions are tax deductible.
At the present time we're trying to get on 60 Minutes, 20/20, and other majornetwork programs. There's a lot of sympathy out there for our cause right now,and we must capitalize on it. I phoned a slew of Senators this morning to askthem to support the "Hatch-Feinstein POW Resolution" that's to be"hotlined" through the Senate today or tomorrow (before Recess iscalled) and hopefully passed unanimously!
Incidentally, Peter Stein said I could not mention the Raffle when I gave mytalk, but I've included that paragraph here as we really need funds to pay forall our ongoing expenses. Again, remember all contributions are tax deductible.
The current web pages for CFIR are very readable, but not too spectacular. Theold ones were fabulous but when we changed our ISP, the old server dumpedeverything so that we are having to start all over again. The links are greatand well worth viewing. Haven't had any luck with the "baronage" linkfor some reason. I used to pull it up easily, but it's got a quirk in it now.Let me know if any of you are able to get it as the "Bamboo Shoots"articles and victims stories are "must" reading.
nosubject)
Natasha Petersen
Oct 27, 2000 12:54 PDT
http://www.baronage.co.uk/bambshoo.html
Pam,
The above is the website that I believe you were looking for.
Natasha
OCHScottsdale Arizona
Stanley Nordmo
Oct 27, 2000 18:45 PDT
Hello all:
Here is the OCH program held in Scottsdale Arizona October 19 – October 22,2000
and some comments.
THE RAMADA VALLEY HO RESORT
The Ramada Valley Ho Resort is locatedwithin walking distance to numerous restaurants, Fifth Avenue Main StreetGalleries, Old Town Scottsdale and Fashion Square Mall. A shuttle service,Ollie the Trolley will make the rounds of shopping centers, tourist attractionsand other hotels for $6 for the day.
The Resort is situated on 14 beautifully landscaped acres with 292rooms/suites, 3 heated pools, 2 whirlpool spas and lighted tennis courts.
CONFERENCE CENTER PROGRAM October 19-October 22, 2000Registration: Joshua Tree Room Functions: Palo Verde Room and Lobby
Thursday Afternoon:
Hospitality Room for registration and get together starting at Noon (new)- 5pm.
Thursday evening:
Welcoming Reception Buffet and No-Host Bar:
Bar, 5:30 pm; Buffet, 6:30 pm. ($28)
Friday:
8:00 am - 9:00 am (No charge but you must register)
Find-Old-Friends Breakfast:
Welcoming Ceremonies
9:30 am.
Slide Lecture:
Indian Arts and Crafts - Baskets, Pottery,Jewelry, in preparation for theTours. Sandy Stein, Heard Museum Docent.
12:00 - 1.30 pm ($20)
Get-Together Lunch: Keynote Speaker: Dr. John G. Stoessinger, OCH,PTH.,Internationally Renowned Prize Winning Author, Lecturer & PoliticalAnalyst. China Odyssey: A Survivor's Journey
3 pm. No charge, but you must register.
Featured Speaker: Ms. Tess Johnston: Famous China documentary historian andauthor. "Our Beloved Shanghai" a slide-illustrated lecture:
Afternoon:
Ollie the Trolley to shopping centers *
Evening: 7:30 - 10 pm
Karaoke Sing-A-Long and Reminiscing: Tell us Your Own Story. Bring your
favorite stories! (No charge but register)
Saturday:
8:00 am - 9:00 am (No charge but you must register)
Find-Old-Friends Breakfast: 9:15 am.
Featured Speaker Frederic "Jim" Silva, noted author and historian:Our Colonial OCH Heritage . No charge but you must register.
Choice among four tours circulating continuously back to the Resort.
Schedule for Resort departures will be: 10:45 am, 12:15 pm, 1.45 & 3:15 pm.
Last one back at 4:45 ($6 for the day). *
No-Host Bar, 5:30 pm, dinner at 6: p.m.
Evening Banquet: ($42.50 meat, fish & vegetarian delight). Dancing only:
$20.00
7:30 pm
Entertainment: Surprise:
Dancing to DJ Tunes of the 40s and 50s.
Sunday:
8:00 am - 10.00 am ($15)
Joint Farewell Brunch: See separate brochure for all speaker biographies.
331 registrants attended the OCH reunion in Scottsdale, Arizona.
There were only 6 of us from the Weihsien camp. I had attended the Anaheim OCHreunion in 1990 and noted a much greater emphasis on the many camps than in theScottsdale OCH reunion where school affiliations appeared to be more important.The official photographer took pictures of school reunions but as far as Icould tell none of camp reunions.. This may just reflect the decreasing numbersof camp survivors.
The Weihsien contingent
Joyce Dorothy (Cooke) Bradbury,
Pamela (Simmons) Masters
Stanley Nordmo
Natasha (Natalie Somova/Somoff) Petersen
Zart (Zartousha" Sanosiam) Portnell
Mary (Shaw) Kuck Wanamaker.
Mu wife who has no China connection, and I thoroughly enjoyed the talks by Dr.Stoessinger and Frederic "Jim" Silva, and the slide presentation byTess Johnston.
Even though we have lived in the Phoenix area for 34 years we learned a lotabout Indian arts and crafts from the illustrated lecture by Sandy Stein. I didmeet everybody in the Weihsien group albeit briefly as we were assigned to 5different tables. Joyce Dorothy Cooke Bradbury did mention that her memoirs arenot yet in print.
Since we skipped the Friday evening karaoke and story telling session, we donot know if we missed any Weihsien tales.
On Saturday morning after the talk by Frederic "Jim" Silva, severalin the audience went to the podium and reminisced briefly. Mary Shaw KuckWanamaker recounted how well organized the Weihsien camp was, and how we evenhad a hospital on site. She remembered the concerts and plays such as Androclesand the Lion which had been put on.With all the executive talent in camp, itwas no wonder that the place was so well managed by the internees.
The surprise after the banquet included two dragon dances. After theprofessional dancers had demonstrated the movements of the dragon in the seconddance members of the audience who had been born in the year of the dragon wereconscripted to propel the sinuous creature.
We did not attend the Sunday farewell brunch as we were obligated to beelsewhere.
Regards
Stanley Nordmo
bamboo shoots Natasha Petersen
Oct 28,2000 05:59 PDT
Hi,
Type in bamboo shoots. You will get two or three chinese dishes and then "Bamboo Shoots" - Japanese camps. See if this works.
Natasha
OnceMore with Feeling...or All Aboard 2
Oct 28, 2000 07:37 PDT
Hi Everyone -- As Natsha said she couldn't openthe attachment on my last e-mail to you, I've saved it to HTML. Hope youreceive it. As I mentioned -- It IS important!
Best love -- Pamela
Memories of Kuling¶
Dave Allen
Oct 28, 2000 12:45 PDT
Memoriesof Kuling,China 12/15/91 DMA
Raymond,Paul, and Christopher too
Werepart of the rotating amigos crew
Knownrespectfully as chick, piggy and crow to a few.
Weran and we hiked down many a lane
Playingcapture the flag, finding a new cane
Buildingsmall shacks with bamboo out of the rain.
Wehiked on trails, always going in threes
Tosee the immense, renowned, aged three trees
Andto bring back home those exotic gingko leaves.
Therewere various kids that came to fame
Atvarious times we shall remember to name.
Toinquire from Simo about twigs and leaves
Toadmire Raymond working with cubs in upper III's
Toflee from Paul's ingenious electrical devices.
Tosee Keith win those long distance races.
Toponder Ridley's name at the top of the class
Towalk behind John Pearce up to Hun Yang pass
Tohear Jim Muir make the piano keys fly
Towatch John Martin splice rope with a flemish eye
Towish I was as smart as these other guys.
12/15/91 MEMORIES.TXT DMA
The poem refers to Christopher Rowe, David Simpkin, Raymond Moore,
Paul Grant, Keith Butler, Ridley Smith, John Pearce, JimMuir, John Martin, and Dave Allen.
AfterInternment
Dave Allen
Oct 29, 2000 00:42 PDT
Interludebetween last letter from Weihsien Internment Camp,
Aug. 25, 1945 and starting school again in ShanghaiSept. 12, 1946
There were no letters written during this timebecause I was living with my parents inMitu, Yunnan China. I was just 11 at the time and remember the courtyard which was on the wall of the city.We lived on the left wing of the courtyard and in the back behind our living quarters was the garden. Thewater table was very close to thesurface and the garden could be irrigated by using a long ladle and throwing it over the garden. Human fertilizerwas used and the growth of vegetablewas abundant. We never could eat raw vegetables however. After arriving there a carpenter was called in to make abed for me.
The bed was made with twine strung on a wood frame. The bed was much more comfortable than the mattress on the floorthat I had slept for several years.
I remember the many meetings that went on forhours, but I couldn't understand a wordof it. I listened to the Chinese believers sing "What can wash away mysin, Nothing but the blood of Jesus." They sang it with such meaning, it affected me. Mitu, Menghwa,Tali, Erhyuen, Fengi, Tengchuan, Yunnani, Hongai, Hsiaguan, Bingchuan and Bingchwee were some of the14 churches that my father visited eachyear. We enjoyed 14 Christmas dinners spread out over a month and a half.
I remember walking to the top of the hill outsidethe city on which the goats would beherded. It was here I learned to sled down the grassy slope on cactus with thespines cut off of them.
I remember travelling on the horse road toMenghwa and climbing up into a V in themountains and looking down on all those green rice fields. It was while I was in Menghwa that one of theneighbor girls a little older than myself decided to teach this foreign kid how to speak Chinese. Shestarted telling me names for eyes,nose, teeth, hair, and I tried repeating them after her. My folks tried to teach me geometry and literature but Ithink I had the best course of socialstudy anyone would want. This is when I truly came to love the Chinese people and understand their ways.
I went back to see the compound where I was bornin Tali, and travel down the Erhai Laketo Tengchwan, Erhyuen and Fengyi. It was here I learned to pole a sampan through the marshes and watchthem butcher pigs in the boiling waterthat bubbled out of the ground, and then clean and shave them.
While I was there I made a pop gun of bamboo. Thesections in a piece of bamboo were hollowed out and a rod made to fit down thisbarrel. Paper was wadded up and put inone end and then another placed in the other end and forced out with a loud bang. It was lots of fun to play with.
I remember the power of the medicine man. There was oneoccasion when "Red" (thehorse I rode), came down with a lump in its throat. The medicine man gave it tobacco and oil. The nextmorning the horse was much improved.
There was another occasion when "Tojo" (the horse my father rode),came down with a cold and they gave itsome tobacco along with a dried frog ground up.
All I know is that the horses got better quickly and we were on our way.
I remember helping my father shoe the horses, holdingtheir hooves while he cut back the hoofbefore nailing on the shoes. I remember racing the horses along the dike to see which was the fastest. I think Dad'swas fastest but the wind would blow all over the place while we goaded ourhorses to a faster gallop.
DaveAllen dan-@fidalgo.net 10/29/00
WWII,kitchen #1...Re: China Reunion in Arizona in October
Frank Otto
Oct 30, 2000 11:54 PST
Mary,
Thanks for the WWII info.
Frank
Prisoncamp statistics
Dave Allen
Oct 30, 2000 22:26 PST
Hi Weihsien Internees: I've been asked to sharesome statistics
about Weihsien
THEWORLD OF THE CAMPPRISONER
"There is no training forbeing a prisoner ofwar!"
7. Stresses of internment:(Continued)
m.Poetry:
If youlock a man up, he will eventuallywrite
something.If he has no paper, he willwrite
on thewalls of his cell or shirt or backof
a foodcanlabel.
n. Humor: This is the pressurereleasevalve.
Occupationtherapy for a doctor: Capturebugs
andlice, and slip them into Japanese soldier's
huts invastquantities.
In campthere was always an abundance ofants,
fleas,lice and bedbugs. No insect wasloathed
morethan the bedbug.
Stealingby guards of apples incamp:
Oneinmate who was always having his applestolen
byguards decided to fix them. He took theurine
from asick patient and injected it in nearthe
stem ofthe apple and placed it under hispillow
asusual. When the guard ate the apple hebecame
verysick and was taken off that watch.That
solvedthatproblem.
o. Positive aspects ofinternment:
1) Ilearned the meaning ofcomradeship.
Thisis an indefinable bond among thosewho
havelived and sufferedtogether.
2) Itis not what happened to you...
itsyourreaction.
3)Other lessons: patience, thrift, self-sufficiency
theessence of loyalty, duty, fairness, the mean-
ingof commitment, solid covenant relationships,
thevalue offreedom.
4)Courage and tenacity and indomitablefortitude
aremore than a match for life's mostdifficult
challenges.
5)Their strength was in their ability to lookback
totheir survival during trying times andgather
thewill to moveforward.
CIVIL INTERNMENT CENTERS:CHINA
CIC39: Tsingtao Dec. 41-Mar43 --> POW41Weihsien
CIC40: Chefoo Dec. 41-Mar43--> POW41Weihsien
POW41: 1,700 men, women & children fromPeiping, Tientsin
W CIC39 (Tsingtao),and CIC40 (Chefoo), and400
E CatholicFathers and Sisters in Americanmission
I Hospital.Rows of student rooms were used bythe
H Marriedcouples and children. Classrooms wereused
S for singlemen. Food was prepared in large cauldrons
I ina central kitchen; the food rations wereadequate.
E Theinternees ran a children's school,dramatic
N society. InSept 1943: 300 Americans were exchanged.
12/03/97 PRISON_4.118 DMA
Campprisoner Pg 1
Dave Allen
Oct 30, 2000 23:57 PST
THEWORLD OF THE CAMPPRISONER
"There is no training forbeing a prisoner ofwar!"
1. Stresses in being a prisoner ofwar:
a. Obeying orders you don'tunderstand.
b. Living in an emotionallycharged environmentof
hate,anger, fear,frustration.
c. You are perceived by captorsas not worth saving.
d. Being riddled with disease;dysentery,malaria,
diarrhea,jaundice.
e. Being ridiculed for yourunhealthycondition
throughdisease.
2. Traits indispensable forsurvival:
a. Moralintegrity
b. Love of God and country
c. Aptitude for reading thecaptor'sculture.
d. Ability to establish atacticaldefense.
3. Effects ofhunger:
a. It strips away a false frontand exposesthe
hypocrite.
b. It removes medicate andreveals the hidden
rock ofnoblecharacter.
4. Two social controls in internmentcamps:
a. Captors commands andregulations
b. Interneepolicies.
1)Feeding of men, women andchildren
2)Growing your ownfood.
3)Collecting private funds for foodpurchases.
4)Individual riches vs. groupriches.
5)Distribution of left-overseconds.
(Neverthrow out any food)
5. Areas ofcooperation:
a. Work and Health: Jointresponsibility.
1) Men:carpentry, toilet sanitation,garbage
disposal,cooking over hotcauldrons.
2)Women: Domestic duties, washingclothes,
careof thesick.
3)Children: cleaning up dining areas,making
coalballs, swatting flies & insects. My record
was22 at one swat over the garbage outside
kitchen#1.
b. Recreation, Religion andCommunication:
1)Recreation; baseball, horseshoepitching,
soccer,dramatics, bridge, poker,holiday
celebrations.
2)Religion: Regular church services byvarious
religiousgroups.
.
3)Communication: No mail or limited to150
wordsper month on special Red Crossforms.
12/03/97 PRISON_1.118 DMA
Camp prisoner - Page 2
Dave Allen
Oct 30, 2000 23:57 PST
THEWORLD OF THE CAMPPRISONER
"There is no training forbeing a prisoner ofwar!"
6. Barbed-wirementality:
a. A time of mental stresswhile being forcedinto
a lowerplane of existence (breaking inperiod)
b. Recovery of morale andrearrangement ofshattered
values.(convalescentperiod)
c. Boredom (zombie survivalstate)
d. Repatriationperiod.
Recipe for barbed wirementality:
2 cups of forgiveness | Make itin prayer toGod
2 spoons ofhope | Need dailydose to survive
2 cups ofloyalty |Hope dies withoutloyalty
4 cups oflove |"We're all in thistogether"
1 barrel oflaughter | Removes the sting ofhatred
1 spoon offriendship | Support system for theweak
4 quarts offaith |Looks at possibilitiesnot
problems.
Take love and loyalty, mixthoroughly withfaith.
Blend with tenderness, kindnessandunderstanding.
Add friendship and hope.Sprinkle abundantlywith
laughter. Bake it with sunshine(gratefulness).
Serve daily in generoushelpings.
7. Stresses ofinternment:
a. Threats to life andhealth:
1)Assaults byguards
2)Starvation
3)Disease
4)Threats
Dyingis easy. When desires are thwarted,life
becomesmeaningless. Its easy to rejectlife
and thepain it brings than to live. One hasto
overcomethe philosophy of "I mean nothing,there
isnothing, nothing matters, I live only todie"
Hope isthe strongest character trait forsurvival.
b. Physicaldiscomforts: Theseproduce:
1)Poorly prepared food |Mental fatigue
2)Overcrowding |Irritability
3)Absence of chairs and beds|
4)Exposure to sun andrain. |
c. Lack of solitude andprivacy
1) Bareand Naked; stripped of allveneer.
2) Noplace to call yourown.
d. Loss of the means of subsistenceforfamilies:
Husbandsunable to provide for wives inforeign
lands.
e. Deprivation of Sexualsatisfaction.
Fear ofinfidelity ofspouses.
12/03/97 PRISON_2.118 DMA
Campprisoner - Pg 3
Dave Allen
Oct 30, 2000 23:57 PST
THE WORLD OF THE CAMP PRISONER
"There is no training for being a prisoner of war!"
7. Stresses of internment: (Continued)
f. Forced Idleness: these bring about lack ofstimulation of thought and speech.
The past è is brought up in an effort to satisfy thwarted desires of newexperiences.
Thinking of the good times takes the mind off the present predicament.
g. Ridicule and Rejection by fellow prisoners.
The recalcitrant will break under ridicule.
The stubborn rebel will bow before ostracism.
The non-conformist bends to threat of expulsion.
h. Subjection to enemy propaganda:
1) Anecdotes about misdeeds of the captured
2) Misleading news reports - slanted cartoons.
i. Awareness of personal degradation:
1) The good people in camp get better and the bad ones get far, far worse.
2) The Pre-war cultural patterns to which internees had adhered were the mostinfluential in the adjustment to internment.
3) "Self-respect was one of the essentials to survival.
j. Existence of Rumors:
1) The situation can change for the better with "real news".
a) The "canary"(secret radio reports)
b) Entrance of newprisoners with news.
k. Children and Young People: There are very few toys or playthings:
1) Children's concepts are challenged:
Unselfishness
The recognition of Human rightsinterdependence.
Fairplay Strength is in the group rather than in the individual
Honesty
Possessions .
2) Toys are made from stones, sticks, string bottles, empty tin cans, pieces ofglass, acorns, grass.
l. Promotion of Art and Poetry:
1) Impromptu talks, recitals, and concerts.
2) Shakespearean plays.
3) Circus acts.
4) Painting in charcoal, pen and pencil, ink.
5) Weekly or monthly newsletter as paper is available
12/03/97 PRISON_3.118 DMA
Tsingtao, China, Mary Previte... Re:your mail
Frank Otto
Oct 31, 200009:36 PST
Jim,
Thanks for using the WW2 Net. We will help you get the info.
Frank
RE:Tsingtao, China, Mary Previte... Re: your mail
R.W. Bridge
Oct 31, 2000 10:26 PST
Re Tsingtao. This is the City located at 3605N12010E.
It has a very natural harbour and was originally a Treaty port awarded toGermany it was captured by the Jpanese during World War 1 and became a JapaneseNaval base. IT has been variously spelt Tsntao Tsingdao, Ching tao and is nowgenerally known as Quingdao. IT was locate at the end of the Railyamn line thatran from Tsinan (now Jinan) and Weihsein camp was a fromer US PresbeyterianMission Weihsien ids now called Weifang.
Rgds
Ron Bridge
Onetime Weihsien inmate Block 13Room 11
. Also one time Vice Chairman Royal Institute of Navigation London
RE:short bio
R.W. Bridge
Oct 31, 2000 11:31 PST
Ronald William BRIDGE British Aged 10-12 inWeihsien lived first in Block 42 Rm 6 then Block 13 Rm 11/12 when the departureof the US citizens gave a bit more room.
Biogr. Born Tientsin (Tianjin) eldest son Leo and Margo Bridge after Weihisenspent to 1951 in Tientsin (Tinjin) then to the UK where spent 20 years Flyingin the Royal Air Force then 20 years flying for British Airways charter then anaviation consultant. Currently Vice President Association of British InterneesFar East regions fighting in parallel with CFIr and Gil hair See our Websitewww.abcifer.com
Rgds
Ron Bridge
Re:Tsingtao, China, Mary Previte... Re: your mail
mtpre-@aol.com
Oct 31, 2000 17:34 PST
Located in north east China, Tsingtao is athriving coastal city on the Shandongpenninsula, on the coast not far from Yantai (where I went to school). We called Yantai Chefoo.
I visited Tsingtao in the early 1990s. Visitors canstill see buildings in Germanarchitecture, built when the city was a German business concession.
After Americans in the Office of Strategisc Services(OSS) liberated the Weihsien (Weifang)concentration camp in 1945, four members of the rescue team went to Tsingtao to start an Americanmiltary base there.
James W. Moore could tell you more about that. Moorewas a member of the OSS Weihsien rescueteam who also helped establish the base in Tsingtao. Unfortunately he does not use the computer or e-mail. You mayreach him at 9605 Robin Song Street,Dallas, TX,USA 75243 Phone: 214-341-8695
Mary T. Previte
Tsingtao
Birthdayof Weihsien rescuer coming, November 12
mtpre-@aol.com
Oct 31, 2000 18:19 PST
Hello, Weihsien friends:
James J. Hannon, one of theteam who liberated the Weihsien Concentration Camp, will celebrate his 81st birthday on November 12. If you'd liketo send him a card or a note, you mayreach him at:
James J. Hannon
P. O. Box 1376
Yucca Valley, CA 92286
Phone:760-364-4580
Jim nowadays writes non-stop, drafting screen plays andpolishing manuscripts he has written inlong hand on yellow pads over the last few years. At least two of his books are available on Amazon.com
Jim made writing his priority after he nearly died froman injury in an auto accident. Afterthat accident, Jim and his wife, Gin, moved to California's high desert to write. Jim writes. Gin types.
Jim Hannon suffered a fall and some health problemsthis year.
Mary T. Previte
bio ofStan Thompson
Natasha Petersen
Nov 02, 2000 09:49 PST
I was born in Chanxi in 1932. My parents weremissionaries (from Ireland) with the CIM, and I started at the Chefoo Schools(in Yentai) in the autumn of 1938. My father was in West China for theduration, but my mother was visiting Chefoo at the time of Pearl Harbor, so shewas packed off with a school full of children (including 4 of her own) tooTemple Hill in Chefoo; and from there we were all shipped to CAC Weishien in1942, and were there until (?) September 1945
accessto archives
Natasha Petersen
Nov 02, 2000 09:52 PST
To read previous messages go to: www.topica.com/lists/weihsien/read
I hope that everyone is able to access the archives. In addition, please do notforget a short bio sent to everyone.
Natasha
EveGoldsmith's books about Weihsien and China
mtpre-@aol.com
Nov 02, 2000 18:10 PST
It is very interesting hearing aboutother people who have written about our experiences in Chefoo and Weihsien. Perhaps I could mention the twobooks I have written which tell a gooddeal about my family's experiences.
I wrote GOD CAN BE TRUSTED some years ago but it is still selling well. It is my autobiography and starts with ourexciting liberation from Weihsien and then has several chapters flash-back to say how we got there and whatcamp life was like. It continues withhow God led my husband Martin and myself into missionary work in Asia and highlights the theme of God'sfaithfulness.
ROOTS AND WINGS is the saga of five generations of our family who were all called to be missionaries. It starts in 1846with Greatgrandpapa and his wife sailing from the States to India (it took them 4 months at sea!).Through tracing each generation thehistory of world mission in the last 150 years comes over in a very readable form. The description of my parents' workin China from 1913-1945 gives manyfascinating insights into life in China at that period, the tremendous obstacles they were up against andtheir forward-thinking plans for thelocal church.
Both books are published by OM/Paternoster and are available from
OM PO Box 1047, Waynesboro, GA 30830 - 2047, USA
Paternoster PO Box 300 KingstownBroadway, Carlisle CA3 0QS England
Please would you send these details to everyone on your Chefoo email list? Thank you so much - I think many peoplemight be interested to get hold of them.
Many thanks for all you do Elizabeth Goldsmith
newsfrom Topica
Natasha Petersen
Nov 03, 2000 09:51 PST
As many of you might haverealized from our list address, we use the free services of a company calledTopica to host this list. In addition to providing the email hosting servicesthat we use, Topica offers a broad range of newsletters, tips, and discussions,as well as tools, such as searchable archives and "vacation hold,"that help you manage your email list subscriptions. Over the next several weeksTopica will be sending you a message directly, highlighting the tools and contentavailable on their site. I encourage you to explore Topica (at http://www.topica.com). Not only are you likely to find some great email content, but this will also help Topicacontinue to offer the great free listhosting service that we enjoy. Thanks!
Re:Tsingtao, China, Mary Previte... Re: your mail
David Birch
Nov 06, 2000 20:41 PST
To Jim, Frank, Stanley and Mary et al,
On looking up the listing of the city in the World Book Atlas of the World (WorldBook Inc Chicago 1990),
I see that it is shown in the alphabetical index under both spellings (Qingdaoand Tsingtao) and that the former is the current one. I remember that when when many of us stayed there after the war,we pronounced the name 'Chingdow' with the second syllable rhyming with theword 'now.' Or with the whole name rhyming with the Chinese expression for'very good.' (I don't know how one would spell that in English but I suppose itmight be 'Dinghao.') Qingdao is shown as having the following geographicalcoordinates: 36.05N 120.21 E.
Sincerely,
David Birch (George David Birch)(Chefoo Yentai, Temple Hill, Weihsien - 1938 to 1945)
Oh, and I must not forget to wish you a happy birthday, Stan Nordmo. Am I rightin recalling from Temple Hill that your birthday occurs on November thetwenty-eighth. If I am right, I think it must be because of the fact that thatwas also Miss B.M. Stark's birthday. She was one of my very favourite teachers.As a little boy, I loved her dearly, and still revere her memory. I was alwaysin her 'holiday family' over those long two-month winter holidays, except formy first Christmas holidays (winter of1938-1939) when Ramsay Longdon and I were bunked in the same cabin with MissFoucarr (sp?) and sailed down the coast; I to Shanghai for Christmas withfamily members and Ramsay I don't remember where.
--- Stanley Nordmo snor-@sd.amug.org wrote:
Dear Jim
The current name of Tsingtao is Qingdao.. Regards Stan Nordmo
Jim,
Thanks for using the WW2 Net. We willhelp you get the info.
Frank
On Mon, 30 Oct 2000, DAVISSON,JIM (HP-Boise,ex1) wrote:
Frank
Hope you are having a fine Navy Day. I've read several of the emails on yournetwork which refer to Tsingtao in
China. I have been unable to locatethat city on the current maps of China.I was wondering if MaryPrevite would be able to shed any light on what the name of that city is today.
Thank You
Jim Davisson
Re: Tsingtao, China, Mary Previte... Re: your mail
Stanley Nordmo
Nov 07, 2000 00:18 PST
To David and all
Thanks for the birthday greetings and your memories of Miss B. M. Stark whosebirthday did indeed coincide with mine. She exhibited infinite patience whiletutoring me so I could catch up to the rest of my class in the Prep. School.
In 1939 our family celebrated Christmas in Tsingtao at the China Inland Missionhome which was managed by Rev. & Mrs. Glittenberg. My next stay in Tsingtaowas right after evacuation by train from Weihsien.in 1945. I had the misfortuneof being a typhoid casualty and spent some time in the local hospital where thetreatment consisted of the latest sulfa drugs, the wonder drugs of that day.Christmas in Norway in 1946 was our first complete family reunion after the onein Tsingtao in 1939..
The pin yin Qingdao transcription has the same pronunciation we used forTsingtao
and you transliterated as 'Chingdow' with 'dow' rhyming with the English 'now'
The pin yin for 'dinghao' is 'tinghao' with the first and second syllables
both in the third tone. The 't' in ting is pronounced as 't' and not 'd'according to the instructor in "HyperChina" an interactive Chineselanguage course. Pin yin is the official Mandarin transcription used inmainland China. David Beard is the real sinologist in our midst.
Regards
Stanley Nordmo
Re:Eve Goldsmith's books about Weihsien and China Joseph R Cooke
Nov07, 2000 17:13 PST
Would you please take my name off your e-maillist. I don't even begin to have the time to read it all, much les reply ormake my own comment.
Joe Cooke
HMG Statementthis day
R.W. Bridge
Nov 07, 200014:01 PST
Herewith text of a statement in the House ofCommons we are trying to really establish what they mean re Britons in Campsbut now living out of the UK. Get your old Congressman/woman or Senator to goout with a question what is the US Govt going to do.
JapanesePOWs
Beard
Nov 07, 2000 22:32 PST
I copied the following from the BBC web site.
Margaret Beard
----------------------------------------------------
BBC NEWS Tuesday, 7 November, 2000, 18:19GMT
Former servicemen imprisoned by the Japanese during World War II are to receivecompensation of £10,000 each.
A similar sum will go to the spouses of those who have died.
The announcement, made by defence minister Lewis Moonie was welcomed by PoWgroups and the opposition.
Prime Minister Tony Blair also paid tribute to former British PoWs.
Speaking to a group of veterans after the announcement, he said: "This andfuture generations must never forget their suffering or their contribution toour country.
"This is, for me and my generation and those younger, just one small butsignificant way in which we can say to you `Thank you for your courage andthank you for what you did'."
Mr Blair said the one-off ex-gratia payment would go to 16,700 former PoWs orthe spouses of those who have died.
Making an exception
Earlier, Dr Moonie told the Commons that it had been the policy of successivegovernments not to make payments in such circumstances.
The government was making an exception for the groups held by the Japanese"in recognition of the unique circumstances of their captivity".
He said in his brief statement: "We believe the country owes a debt ofhonour to them."
"Those who will be entitled to receive this payment, are former members ofHer Majesty's Armed Forces, who were made prisoners of war, former members ofthe merchant navy, who were captured and imprisoned, and British civilians, whowere interned."
Certain other former military personnel in the colonial forces would also beeligible.
Unique experience
To further cheers, Dr Moonie said the payments will not be taxable and wouldnot be taken into account for benefits.
They will be paid "as quickly as possible," with all the appropriatearrangements expected to be in place by February.
"The government recognises that many UK citizens, both those serving inthe armed forces and civilians, have had to endure great hardship at differenttimes and in different circumstances.
"But the experience of those who went into captivity in the Far Eastduring the Second World War was unique.
"We've said before that the country owes a debt of honour to them. I hopeI'm speaking for everyone here when I say that today, something concrete hasbeen done to recognise that debt," the minister said.
Of the 50,016 British military personnel taken captive by the Japanese 12,433died or were killed in captivity.
The survivors have campaigned for years for extra compensation for the horrorsthey endured.
Japan says the issue was settled when it made a token payment of £76 (theequivalent of £1,200 today) to the servicemen in the early 1950s, and hasrefused to meet their demands for further compensation and an apology.
The compensation payments announced today will cost £100m.
Better late than never
The chairman of the Japanese Labour Camp Survivors' Association, ArthurTitherington, said the UK Government's action was a case of "better latethan never".
But he said the veterans would continue to seek an apology from Japan.
Mr Titherington said: "Today is a great day. The British Government hasshown that it has fully understood the importance of these issues to today'ssociety.
"My only disappointment is that the real culprits, that is the JapaneseGovernment, has got away scot-free.
"The least they can do is recognise the gross errors of its past which itcan do by providing a full, unequivocal apology," he said.
Dinghaoand Tinghao
Beard
Nov 08, 2000 02:03 PST
Hello, all you Weihsien listsinophiles, nihao!
I've been quiet over the past month or two, owing to pressing'business'. However, it's no doubt time to be heard again. I note that Stanleyhas commented that I am "the real sinologist in our midst".
'Sinologist' being 'an expert in or student of sinology', I suppose that Iqualify for the latter, in that I have been a student of Chinese language-bothCantonese and Modern Standard Chinese (Mandarin)- for many years. But the onereally qualified to be called an expert is Jim Taylor.
Both ding3hao3 and ting3hao3, as they are written in thecurrent pinyin phonetic system used by the PRC today, mean 'very good'. Ding3has numerous meanings, one of which is 'very, most, extremely'. Ting3 is listedas meaning 'very, rather, quite'.
I lost all ability to speak Chinese quite early on at Chefoo,largely because I never got back to Jiangsi province where my CIM parents werestationed and probably also owing to the way we were discouraged from talkingto the servants. I recall that after liberation from Weihsien all I rememberedwas - strangely enough - a very virulent Shandong swearword term referring tosomeone's mother-in-law's private parts which I must have heard used a lot bythe coolies and a little ditty which went: 'Hai2you3 (or possibly it washai2yao4) man2tou, haiyou shui3, haiyou mantou, wei4, wei, wei.' Mantou issteamed bread and shui of course is water. At least I can do a bit better thanthat now!
Regards,
David Beard
Re:Dinghao and Tinghao
Frank Otto
Nov 08, 2000 10:54 PST
David,
WW2 Net thanks you for the info.
Frank
RE:HMG Statement
R.W. Bridge
Nov 08, 2000 13:29 PST
Wendy please pass on to Gil Hair I seem to havethe wrong address.
1. HMGs statement is on www.parliament.uk then click House of Commons and thenPublications. Statement by the Minister is on column 160 of 7th Nov beginningat 03:30pm.
2. The UK War Pensions Agency is handling matters and are publishing the waythey are handling it on www.dss.gov.uk/wpa/index.htm This gives overseastelephone line as +44 1253 866043. They propose publishing a claim form ontheir web site shortly. Regarding civilians payment is Surviving civilians whoare UK nationals and who were interned by the Japanese in the Far East duringthe Second world War and the surviving widow or widower of a deceased personwho would otherwise have been entitled
POW,Jap, ...RE: HMG Statement
Frank Otto
Nov 09, 2000 12:50 PST
R.W.,
Thanks for the info.
Frank, WW2 Net
** Re: Shandong delegation**
mtpre-@aol.com
Nov 11, 2000 17:56 PST
November11, 2000
Hello, Everyone,
What an amazing experience I had yesterday! At theUniversity of New Haven (Connecticut),I spoke to a group that included a large delegation of municipal leaders from Shandong who arestudying there. Among them was a formermayor of Weifang, an official from Yantai, and another from Qingdao.
The University of New Haven's Dean of Graduate studiesinvited me to speak there after heheard the National Public Radio broadcast in May about the liberation of Weihsien. He said hethought that the Shandong students would feel more connected to America if they met an American who hadlived in Shandong.
Some of those in the Shandong delegation told me theyknow the exact location of theconcentration camp. The official from Yantai (Chefoo) confirmed that the former Chefoo School is now a militarybase. By the way, hetold me that Yantai now has a population of 6 million!
I told this group the whole miracle story of Weihsienand our liberation.
I wish you could have watched the ripple of delightwhen I mentioned Weihsien, Yantai,Qingdao. And you should have seen the smiles when I used words like
gao-liang, bao-bay, poo-gai.
You can guess it: Flash bulbs popping, camcorders rolling, business cardschanging hands. What a hug-the-worldexperience! As a thank you gift they presented me a lovely box of Peking opera masks.
I told them everything I could about Eddie"Cheng-Han" Wang, who was the Chinese interpreter on the mission to liberate Weihsien. He's the onlyone of the rescue team whom I have nottracked down. I'm still looking. They guessed that if Mr. Wang was fluent in English, he would most likely bein the USA now.
They were fascinated at my piece of parachute silk,embroidered with the rescue scene --the B-24 bomber, the seven parachutes dropping from the plane, and the camp's church steeple below.Each member of the rescue team autographed the silk next to his parachute embroidered on the scene.
Yesterday, members of the audience passed the embroidered silk from handto hand. I had brought the embroideryalong as my "show-and-tell." The widow of Peter Orlich, the youngest of the rescue team, gave me thistreasure after I tracked her down in1997. She and I are still trying to find out who embroidered this amazing memento. A woman in the camp gave it toPeter
Orlich as a goodby gift when Peter left for Qingdao in late August 1945.
Pete Orlich's widow says she thinks Peter said a White Russian woman gaveit to him. Does anyone know anythingabout this embroidery? In addition to the embroidery, I have a pattern of the picture on the embroidery. Thatmakes me think that other women mayhave embroidered this scene, using this same pattern.
What a day! Believe me, I don't usually travel threehours by train to tell this story andthen travel three hours back, but this was worth giving a day.
Mary Previte
Re:Shandong delegation
David Birch
Nov 12, 2000 05:09 PST
Dear Mary Taylor Previte, et al,
What an utterly amazing story! May God richly bless you, and continue toencourage you as he uses you to bring people together!
You have been and are a source of blessing and encouragement to the undersignedChefoo School alumnus and I truly thank God for you, Mary!
I have the privilege to have inherited a number of my father, missionary GeorgeAlfred Birch's books, among them the Chinese Bible he used for years, and alsohis copies of the two-volume biography of your great-grandfather, James HudsonTaylor.
Just a few years ago, probably about four or five years, actually, I ploughedthrough these massive tomes written byHoward Taylor and his wife, Geraldine Guinness Taylor. What a thrillingprivilege to 'share' the adventure of such a life! What a mighty man of God!
What a truly inspired work of God!
(Jim H.Taylor, Herbert's grandson, if you get to read this note, though I'venot contacted you until now, I recall you from the camp at Weihsien where welived for a while in a mostimpressionable time in our young lives. We did have a difficult time. I thinkan awful lot was expected of you, as a great-grandchild of Hudson Taylor andbearer of his name. But over the years, I believe, you have, by the grace ofGod, met the challenge.)
Mary, keep up the good work - but don't overdue it. At the rate you seem to begoing - a 'mile a minute' I think the expression used to be (when sixty milesan hour was considered 'high speed"), you could burn out. Please becareful - we're going to need you for a long time yet - if we have a 'longtime' to look forward to (eschatologically speaking, of course). Well, I'mrambling, so I'll quit for now!
Sincerely,
David Birch
(G. David Birch)
Re:Shandong delegation
Pamela Masters
Nov 12, 2000 17:30 PST
Dear David Birch --
I echo your sentiments regarding Mary Previte -- she is a gem! AndMary...listen to David, that's sound advice -- don't burn yourself out!
By the way, David, are you related to John Birch??? I have always admired himand hated to see that ultra-conservative, right wing group use his name for fortheir organization. I read an astounding bio of his, but loaned the book tosomeone, and, as usual, forgot to write down the name. You do know, that he hada covert radio relay station just miles south of Weihsien throughout most ofthe war, and guided our downed pilots and crew to safety, and three days afterhostilities ceased he was stabbed or bayoneted to death by a group ofCommunists, hence the Birch Society using his name as the first martyr tocommunism.
Take care of yourselves -- both of you.
Best always -- Pamela
Re:Shandong delegation
David Birch
Nov 16, 2000 07:49 PST
Dear Pamela,
Thank you for your welcome e-note! How pleasant to receive a response from you!Especially as it was unexpected.
Pamela, although both John Birches lived in China, my brother, whom you willfind mentioned by Dave Allen in one of the remarkable indexes he has providedfor his Weihsien letters sent to his parents in 'free China,' my brother, thatis, was only eleven years old in 1945 at the end of hostilities. I, who was thirteen going on fourteen atWar's end, was really bless'd to have John with me in the camp! I can recallwalking with him of an evening around the promenade in the park behind Block 23or was it 24, the building with the bell tower. John and the otherPrepschoolers lived downstairs there in a couple of large rooms. Miss Carr and,I think, Miss Stark, had rooms adjacent to those of the children.
May God bless you, Pamela! And it was so good of you to drop me a line.
Very sincerely,
David Birch
G. David Birch
Re:Shandong delegation
Stanley Nordmo
Nov 16, 2000 20:52 PST
Dear Pamela
Add my plaudits to the chorus for Mary Taylor Previte, as well as the wisecaution regarding burn out.
The book you read about John Birch may have been The Secret File on John Birch,by James and Marti Hefley, Hannibal, MO: Hannibal Books, 1995, 203 pages,paperback. (The authors had access to recently declasssified files)
Birch's daring exploits in China are gratefully summarized in Claire LeeChennault, Way of a Fighter: The Memoirs of Claire Lee Chennault, ed. RobertHotz (1949), and in James H. Doolittle, with Carroll V. Glines, I Could NeverBe So Lucky Again (1991).
Regards
Stanley Nordmo
B-24, rescue team, Aug 1945, MaryPrevite...Re: Shandong delegation
FrankOtto
Nov16, 2000 22:40 PST
Mary,
WW2 Net thanks you for the information.
Frank
Nepalencounter
Beard
Nov 16, 2000 23:20 PST
Our son who is in Nepal at the moment, met anAmerican called Christiana Cooke while he was trekking. She said that her unclewas interned in Chefoo (I assume that means Weihsien) and her father was bornin China. Can anyone identify thefamily?
David Beard
Re: Camp prisoner - Pg 3
David Birch
Nov 16, 2000 23:54 PST
Dear Dave,
Clear and concise. Excellent work. In your original, would you have footnotesto this material?
Some of the training for being an internee, for me at any rate at ages ten tothirteen (nearly fourteen) years of age, was contained in long (and helpful)series of meditations or presentations on the Israelites in Egypt and theirsituation both before and following that l o n g captivity.
Mrs. Dunachie, the mother of several boys who were with us at the Chefoo Schoolshortly before we were interned by the Japanese, was our guest speaker atmorning 'Prayers' in the Prep School. She spoke on this subject I have recalled(the memory is now just an impression, but a good one). Then in 1942, AlfieBinks, and I and our classmates who were moving from Upper One to Second Form(thus from the Prep to the Boys' School), received more of the same topic asour saintly old headmaster, Mr. P. A.Bruce, led us day after day in worship, first at the Boys's School and then inthe big Center House at the Temple Hill Camp (formerly home to medical doctorsand their families in the old Presbyterian Mission days).
Also, when a cluster of us boys in the attic, where we lived, gathered aroundanother wonderful man who had a lasting impact for good and for God upon ourlives, we asked this much-respected schoolmaster of ours, "What wouldhappen if the Japanese won the war?"
I clearly recall today Mr. Houghton's confident reply, "The Japanese won'twin the war." "But what would happen IF they won the war?" wepersisted. "The Japanese WON'T win the war," repeated Mr. Houghton."But JUST SUPPOSE they DID win the war!" (We weren't ready to giveup.) "Mr. Houghton's quiet reply to this third query was a simple repeatof his first two replies:
Quietly but firmly, 'THE JAPENESE WILL NOT WIN THE WAR!'
I believe that all of us went to bedthat night in that two-large-room attic apartment in the comfy old house on thehill comfortably convinced that the Allies were going to win the war!
Do you recall singing with Mr. Houghton leading us, "God is our Refuge,Our Refuge and our Strength!"?
And "God is Still on the Throne, And He will take care of His Own!"
And "The Lord is My Strength and Song, And He is Become mySalvation!"
And "The Lord hath need of me."
And "Only an armour bearer."
And "Dare to be a Daniel."
And so many other faith-building choruses and hymns!!!
Our Christian culture, and training and the example of parents, teachers andone another even was such a help to us.
Two of the older boys whose example helped me particularly were: JIMMY BRUCEand ROLAND STEDEFORD.
Also John Andrews and his brother. Jimmy Harrison was another boy who reallyencouraged me. He was three or four years older than I, I think. Alfie Binks'sbrother, Tommy, took me for a long walk one day at Temple Hill, and cheerfullyencouraged me to be a truly "committed" Christian. I have always remembered that walk andthat talk with gratitude. Miss Monica Priestman, while a tad strict, wasanother good influence on my young life just prior to internment. I've had tolearn to 'forgive' her for some strictness that may not have been entirelynecessary, but the discipline I learned to accept under her tutelage probablyhelped me a lot to bear the discipline of camp life cheerfully.
Some of my happiest boyhood memories are of those days in internment.
To any of you who have watched Bob Crane, the American actor in the TV series,Hogan's Heroes, some of our experiences at Temple Hill and Weihsien maybear a similarity. Remember Sgt BuShing! Remember King Kong! Not complimentary nicknames - but certainlynicknames that helped us to see our imprisonment with some humour.
Must runnow, gotta get to work in Point Grey tonight!
Warmest regards
David Birch
(G.David Birch)
China,POW,...Re: Shandong delegation
Frank Otto
Nov 17, 2000 02:53 PST
David,
Thanks for the info.
Frank
Re: Nepalencounter
Stanley Nordmo
Nov 17, 2000 11:33 PST
Dear David
That would have to be Joseph R. Cooke, who was only in Weihsien a short whilebefore being repatriated to America... So the reference to his having beeninterned in Chefoo would be corrrect, since Weihsien was but a week longstopover . His older brother is David B. Cooke had already graduated fromschool in Chefoo, so was not interned.
Regards
Stanley Nordmo
Re: Nepalencounter
Nov 17, 2000 11:37 PST
David:
Joyce and Eddie Cooke were the daughter and son of Ed and Vera Cooke. Theylived in Block 2 or 3, the same block where our family lived in the camp.
Joyce and Eddie live in Australia now. I can't figure out how Eddie could beChristina's uncle, however, as Eddie and his sister were the only offspring.Perhaps the Cookes will see this exchange and clear the matter up. They werefrom Tsingtao.
Albert de Zutter
Re:Nepal encounter
Nov 17, 2000 19:17 PST
Thanks Stanley, this fits in with the data Iwas given.
David
Re:Nepal encounter
Nov 17, 2000 19:20 PST
Thanks for the suggestion Albert. I think it'smore likely to be the Cookes that Stanley Nordmo mentioned as his Cookes fit mydata.
David
RE:Nepal encounter
Nov 17, 2000 19:21 PST
Here is a picture from Chefoo (probably 1941)of a bunch of lads hoisting Jack Bellin celebration of his victory (in a foot race). In trying to name the five faces below, the best I can do is:L>R, Hayman, Cooke, (? ) , RobinHoyte, (?) .
Speaking of Cookes, was this Joseph R. Cooke ? and if so, was Athene Cooke his kid sister ?
-Stan Thompson –
RE:Nepal encounter
Nov 17, 2000 23:06 PST
Dear Stan Thompson
Athene Cook had two brothers, Calvin and Luther Cook. They were the Cooks minusthe e.
Joseph R. Cooke had an older brother David B. Cooke..In November 1938 Joseph was in class !VA when I was in class11A. His brother David was in class V!A.
Luther Cook was in my class while his brother Calvin Cook was in the same classas David Cooke..
I am not sure who is in the picture besides Hayman and Robin Hoyte.. If itisn't Joseph Cooke, it might be David Harris who was in the same class as Bell.. Regards
Stan Nordmo.
RE:Nepal encounter
R.W. Bridge
Nov 17, 2000 13:35 PST
Re the Cooke family from what I have read fromexchanges there is a danger of two or more families being muddled. From thelist of inmates of Weihsien The following emerge with the surname COOKE
Cooke E J British <1898> M Company Employee Tientsin
Cooke V Mrs British <1909> F Housewife Tientsin
Cooke Joyce D Miss British <1928> F Student TientsinGrammarSch
Cooke Edward J C British <1932> M Child TientsinGrammarSch
Cooke Robert (Bob) J British <1902> M Office Employee Tientsin
Cooke F V Mrs British <1908> F Housewife Tientsin
Cooke Margaret V Miss British <1936> F Child TientsinGrammarSch
Cooke Joseph R American M Student Chefoo School
Cooke E J British <1876> M Company Employee
The American Joseph R Cooke was in Chefoo School moved to Weihsien and almostimmediately evacuated, in Sep 1943. He is listed as arriving in New York on theSS Gripsholm and in the NY Times of October 14 1944 shown as landing and thathis home town was San Jose California. His age is unknown but was probably 12 +or - 3 years. In printing the names above I have cut off relationships but theytend to list down as families. E J and RJ were well known Ice Hockey playersfor Tientsin (Tianjin for those with modern maps) in their spare time I believethey went to Australia with their families post war. I am building up a data ofall British Civilians in the Far East Camps and also everybody that ever wentnear Weihsien of what nationality. If anyone would like to let me have anythingto add to the data base either publish it on this Weihsien chat line or send torwbr-@freeuk.com if you want to mail let me know and I will send postaladdress. I may not get back to you straight away as I am very busy re theBritish Governments decision to pay those that were in Japanese Camps publishedlast week.
Rgds
Ron Bridge
Forthose in Kuling
Nov 18, 2000 14:21 PST
Eventsat Chefoo School in Kuling Sep 1948
08/31/48...Allen family arrives in Kuling to go back to school.
08/31/48...Gordon Allen & Dave sleeping in Martin House until resettled.
08/31/48...Peter Gray and Glen Nelson are my roommates in Martin House.
09/04/48...Raymond, Paul, Christopher and I go for hike up Monkey Ridge.
09/04/48...Martin house boarders had an indoor picnic.
09/06/48...Students receive class schedule for next term. My schedule...
............Mon........Tue..........Wed.............Thu........Fri............Sat
0910...Script.....Eng Lit ...Eng Lang...Script....Math........Math
0955...Math.......Science...History.... ..Math......Science...Eng Lit
1100...Latin.......Latin.........Science.....Latin......Latin.........Science
1145...French...French.....Math...........French...French....Geography
1230...to...1330 Dinner
1400...Eng Lan...Singing.....Off........Chinese..Singing....Off
1445...Eng His....Geog.........Off........Craft.........Art.............Off
1530...Chinese...Math..........Off........Craft..........Art............Off
1615...Sports......Sports.......Off........Sports......Sports.....Off
1700...to...1800 Supper
1800...to...1900 Play time
........................Homework Schedule....................
.............Mon.........Tue.........Wed.........Thu..............Fri.............Sat
1900...Science...Math.......Englit.......Hist..............Latin........Off
1930...Latin.........Scrip......Science...Geog...........French.....Off
2000...Math.........French...Math.........EngLang...Science....Off
2100...Off to bed.
Saturday evenings are for student concerts, special events.
09/02/48...Glen loaned me book "Austin Boys Adrift" to read.
10/02/48...Upper School boys hike to Paradise Pools and swim.
10/05/48...Mr Hayes, Old Chefooite (1905) shows pictures of USA.
10/06/48...Students given initial shots of tetanus.2 More before Nov.
10/07/48...Jeffrey family arrives in Kuling to start school.
10/07/48...Austin family arrives in Kuling to start school.
10/07/48...Boys get new soccer boots and play first game.
10/08/48...Students have 1/2 term tests.
10/08/48...Their team wins first game.
10/09/48...Our team beats them this time.
10/09/48...Mr Welch, school teacher from Weihsien show pictures.
10/09/48...Those pictures are of Bob Mathias in the Olympiad.
10/09/48...Boys find swimming pool filled with leaves and green scum.
10/11/48...Ruth Allen ends up in sickbay.
Weihsien- Kuling -3
Nov 18, 2000 21:01 PST
...........November 1948 at Chefoo Schools in Kuling.
11/07/48...Seven table boys and two women sent away ...
...................$4 and œ12 = 1 Gold Yuen
11/07/48...My job is to wash up dishes after supper.
11/09/48...Kuling Chefoo school played Chinese Kuling school soccer,
...................Score 2 - 0 our favor but they did not have soccer boots.
11/13/48...Ruth Allen has just received her glasses she was waiting for.
11/13/48...Mr Carlburg showed pictures of N.E. USA
11/14/48...Christopher, Paul and I go to Nanking Pass on a hike.
11/14/48...Mr Martin spoke on "Slavery and Freedom"
11/18/48...Took our final exams
11/20/48...Desks piled up and space made for home room for holidays
..................We played spin the platter, Charades
11/22/48...Upper IV boys presented concert
11/22/48...I acted in play "The Miller, his sons and their donkey."
11/23/48...On Thanksgiving we had turkey...arrived 11:40 ...gone 1:40
11/26/48...We had our first snowfall.
11/27/48...John Pearce and I go up Monkey Ridge...Snow .75 to 1.5 "
11/28/48...Telephone wires are covered with ice
11/28/48...Upper Boys and Girls go to Monument past the Gap; 30 or
...................more telephone poles are down
11/28/48...Listened to the "Messiah" played on the gramophone.
11/29/48...Girls from Bruce House move into McCarthy to conserve heat.
12/01/48...We started playing field hockey. My Houghton and Mr Brailey
...................play on different sides.
12/02/48...Those not going home for the holidays go on hike to Lion's
Leap. It is very steep at the top and there is a precipice there. Mr
Houghton, Mr Brailey, Mr Conway, Miss Elliott and Miss Dixon were the
teachers that went along. On the side of the precipice were some
characters carved in stone telling of the person who was the first to go
there. He had endured great ilness because of rain, so he erected a
pavilion and a kiosk so that others coming up might have the pleasure of
these things. There were caves there but we were not allowed to go into
them because it was too dangerous. On the way home we yodeled and listened
to our echoes.
12/04/48...It was Ruth Allen's birthday. The cake was delicious.
12/04/48...We had our last shots for tetanus.
12/05/48...Mr Houghton gave us three verses to memorize. Ps.119:67,71,75.
12/05/48...I've read about 4 - 5 books since holidays started.
12/05/48...Lowest temp last week: 23 Fahrenheit; This week: 57 degrees.
12/06/48...Holiday time we are exploring downstream from Kuling and hiking
all over the mountains. We have been singing Christmas Carols, wrapping
Christmas presents, listening to readings by the teachers. LIstened to
"39 Steps" by John Buchan; I've been reading "Greenmantle";now its "The
Three Hostages"
Weihsien- Kuling 2
Nov 18, 2000 21:01 PST
...........October 1948 at Chefoo schools in Kuling..............
10/02/48...Upper School boys hike to Paradise Pools and swim.
10/05/48...Mr Hayes, Old Chefooite (1905) shows pictures of USA.
10/06/48...Students given initial shots of tetanus.2 More before Nov.
10/07/48...Jeffrey family arrives in Kuling to start school.
10/07/48...Austin family arrives in Kuling to start school.
10/07/48...Boys get new soccer boots and play first game.
10/08/48...Students have 1/2 tern tests.
10/08/48...Their team wins first game.
10/09/48...Our team beats them this time.
10/09/48...Mr Welch, school teacher from Weihsien show pictures.
10/09/48...Those pictures are of Bob Mathias in the Olympiad.
10/09/48...Boys find swimming pool filled with leaves and green scum.
10/10/48...Paul and David take observations at MOP: max, min,
10/11/48...Ruth ends up in sickbay.
10/17/48...Observations + wet bulb and rain for 1 week.
...................6.30..W.B. 6.30..W.B....Rain...Rain
OCT......Min..Max..a.m...a.m..p.m...p.m....a.m....p.m
Sun 10...51...76...61....52...59....50.....0
Mon 11...59...79...60....55...60....53.....0
Tue 12...56...66...58....56...52....50.....0
Wed 13...46...50...49....47...49....48.... .75... .25
Thu 14...47...55...50....49...50....50.... 0..... .05
Fri 15...44...65...49....47...56......52.......0
Sat 16...47...64...52....48...52............
Sun 17...51........50.......................
10/17/48...Boys & servants dig up potato patch to make basketball court.
10/19/48...Table servants get into hubbub, strike and leave.
10/19/48...Upper school boys and girls, serve tables,
...........wash and dry dishes.
10/21/48...I'm reading a book "Twelve Famous Evangelists".
10/23/48...Mr Joyce showed us pictures of Palestine.
10/24/48...Mr Joyce spoke about the Moslems and their religion.
10/24/48...Children wake up with spots on faces...chickenpox
10/24/48...Dorothy Allen is one of them.
11/02/48...We celebrate our monthly holiday
TheUpper Boys were divided into two teams. The team I was in set a trail with chalk marks, sticks,stones and using our symbol an arrow with an "R" at the side. We didthis so we would know if the Chinese had set a false trail and were monkeyingwith our trail. After a prearranged time the second team followed. We watchedthem with field glasses. When theyfound us we split up into four groups. Mr Brailey was our chef. Mr Martin, Mr Brailey and Dr Pearce were the adultsupervisors.
We had boiling hot soup, some sandwiches, two or three squirt (tiny) oranges, and 2-3 candies. We had to clean upour fireplaces, so we buried it andcovered it with a large clod of grass. After lunch we played attackers and defenders. It was our job to take their flagand get back to our fireplace beforethey swiped our tails. In our little group was Paul Grant, Freddy Wilhelm, Alan Moore and myself. Wewere the attackers first. When the timewas up and it was their turn to be attackers they said it was our small regiment that had turned theirhairs gray. We had disappeared and they lost track of us. We were only 100 yards from the flag when the whistle blewfor us to change.
Weihsien- Kuling 3
Nov 18, 2000 21:02 PST
...........November 1948 at Chefoo Schools in Kuling.
11/07/48...Seven table boys and two women sent away ... ...........$4 and œ12 =1 Gold Yuen
11/07/48...My job is to wash up dishes after supper.
11/09/48...Kuling Chefoo school played Chinese Kuling school soccer,...........Score 2 - 0 our favor but they did not have soccer boots.
11/13/48...Ruth Allen has just received her glasses she was waiting for.
11/13/48...Mr Carlburg showed pictures of N.E. USA
11/14/48...Christopher, Paul and I go to Nanking Pass on a hike.
11/14/48...Mr Martin spoke on "Slavery and Freedom"
11/18/48...Took our final exams
11/20/48...Desks piled up and space made for home room for holidays..........We played spin the platter, Charades
11/22/48...Upper IV boys presented concert
11/22/48...I acted in play "The Miller, his sons and their donkey."
11/23/48...On Thanksgiving we had turkey...arrived 11:40 ...gone 1:40
11/26/48...We had our first snowfall.
11/27/48...John Pearce and I go up Monkey Ridge...Snow .75 to 1.5 "
11/28/48...Telephone wires are covered with ice
11/28/48...Upper Boys and Girls go to Monument past the Gap; 30 or...........more telephone poles are down
11/28/48...Listened to the "Messiah" played on the gramophone.
11/29/48...Girls from Bruce House move into McCarthy to conserve heat.
12/01/48...We started playing field hockey. My Houghton and Mr Brailey...........play on different sides.
12/02/48...Those not going home for the holidays go onhike to Lion's Leap. It is very steepat the top and there is a precipice there. Mr Houghton, Mr Brailey, Mr Conway, Miss Elliott and Miss Dixon werethe teachers that went along. On theside of the precipice were some characters carved in stone telling of the person who was the first togo there. He had endured great ilnessbecause of rain, so he erected a pavilion and a kiosk so that others coming upmight have the pleasure of these things. There were caves there but we were notallowed to go into them because it wastoo dangerous. On the way home we yodeled and listened to our echoes.
12/04/48...It was Ruth Allen's birthday. The cake was delicious.
12/04/48...We had our last shots for tetanus.
12/05/48...Mr Houghton gave us three verses to memorize. Ps.119:67,71,75.
12/05/48...I've read about 4 - 5 books since holidays started.
12/05/48...Lowest temp last week: 23 Fahrenheit; This week: 57 degrees.
12/06/48...Holiday time we are exploringdownstream from Kuling and hiking all over the mountains. We have been singingChristmas Carols, wrapping Christmas presents, listening to readings by theteachers. LIstened to "39 Steps" by John Buchan; I've been reading"Greenmantle"; now its "The Three Hostages"
Weihsien-Kuling 4
Nov 18, 2000 21:02 PST
...........December 1948 at Chefoo Schools in Kuling.
12/11/48...Miss Elliott invited the older boys and girls to a house warming. Weplayed games and had a thoroughly good time.
12/06/48...Writing letters to relatives and friends in Johnsondale, CA; PeopleI had worked for in Greenhorn, CA, and Glennville, CA.
12/15/48...Mr Brailey took the Older Boys and Girls down the bottom of the.thousand steps. There we cooked our meal.
12/15/48...I went to Gordon Allen's birthday party. I sawed wood for the .campfire that evening and we sang camp fire song and negro spirituals.
12/16/48...We hiked to Hun YuangPeak, the highest peak in the Lushan .Range...10 miles there and 10 miles back. We ran and walked it. in 21/2 hours. We baked our potatoes, ate sandwiches, one orange, made a pig in a blanket, some cocoa and ate some candies.One third of the way is Temple in the Clouds which as kind of dilapidated now.Returned in 2 hours.
12/18/48...I hiked to the cave of the Immortals and saw the Buddha in.a glasscase.
12/22/48...Presents given to our servants for appreciation of their work.
12/23/48...Teachers created a commissary. I bought scissors for Gordon,. Woolcap for Ruth, purse for Dorothy, pencil for Raymond.
12/24/48...Middle and Upper School boys go caroling. We sang to the Chineseschool across the valley and resident foreigners.
12/25/48...Mr. Carlburg came dressed as a Chinese Coolie carrying Christmas.for students. After breakfast and our jobs we went to the .................Assembly Hall to open ourpresents. For Christmas dinner the Chinese helpers bought us some oranges andcandies, and lit off some firecrackers. Father Christmas came along about 5 pmon a sled with reindeer. I was given a game of Bible riddles.
12/29/48..We awoke to the ground covered with snow. The older boys assisted MrConway to pile up snow on the ramp and runway.
.................The road slopes downhill from Tyng's to the playing field.
12/30/48...We went up to the cemetery to find pine cones. We played capture theflag without being tagged with a pine cone.
.................If tagged three times you had to go to home base and count to100 before going out to battle again.
British internees in Chefoo/Weihsiencamps
Beard
Nov 19, 2000 01:08 PST
The subject 'Nepal Encounter'spawned some interesting data which I'm here following up. Many thanks to RonBridge for his very useful contribution.
Ron, as I should come into the category of British nationalheld prisoner by the Japanese during WW2, I'm interested in your build up ofdata of British civilians in Chefoo/Weihsien camps. I need factual verificationof my being an internee at both camps for attachment to my British ex-gratiapayment application form. Would be most grateful if you could e-mail meanything relevant.
In addition, I need the date when the Chefoo School leftYantai in Sept 1943, and the date when our party arrived in Weihsien. Cananyone assist?
"R.W. Bridge" wrote:
I am building up a data of all British Civilians inthe Far East Camps and also everybody that ever went near Weihsien of whatnationality. If anyone would like to let me have anything to add to the database either publish it on this Weihsien chat line or send to rwbr-@freeuk.comif you want to mail let me know and I will send postal address. I may not getback to you straight away as
I am very busy re the British Governments decision to pay those that were inJapanese Camps published last week.
Re: British internees in Chefoo/Weihsiencamps
Stanley Nordmo
Nov 19, 2000 15:12 PST
DearDavid
In "A Boy's War" David Michell gives the date of departure fromYantai as September 7, 1943. The arrival in Weihsien was two days later. In"Chefoo School 1881-1951" S. G. Martin wrote about arriving inWeihsien on the second day at about 5:00 p.m. From other sources all agreedthat the trip took about two days. One stated 48 hours, while another mentionedtwo days and two nights. It would seem that September 9th would be the date ofarrival of our contingent from Chefoo to Weihsien.
An advance group made up of American and Canadian students and teachers hadleft Chefoo for Weihsien before the rest of us. These were among the ones wholeft the camp on September 14, 1943 as part of a prisoner exchange.
According to Martha Philips in her book "Behind Stone Walls and BarbedWire" the route home was convoluted. From Shanghai to Hong Kong, across toSan Fernando in the Philippine islands, up through the Mekong river to Saigon,back and through the Straits of Java, over to Mormugoa, a Portuguese port onthe west coast of India. They arrived there on October 15th.. July 22, 2004, message from Norman Cliff: This was published by: Bible Memory Association, P.O.BOX 12000, Ringgold, LA 71068-2000. Tel: 318-894-9154
This is where the prisoner exchange was made, and they transferred from theTeia Maru to the Gripsholm. The next stop was Port Elizabeth, South Africa.Then around the Cape of Good Hope on to Rio de Janeiro before finally dockingin New York City on Dec. 1st 1943. The headline that date Gripsholm BringsFreedom to 1500.
Regards
Stanley Nordmo
MSN Chat
Beard
Nov 20, 2000 15:01 PST
Hi Frank
The 'help' you got from MSN Customer Support sounds like the usual uselessinformation provided by customer support groups!!
I have never tried to access MSN Chat and don't know much about it, but I doknow there is a plugin called ichat that some people need to participate inonline chats. You may wish to explore if you have that or need it. If you areusing Netscape, it could be that Microsoft have made it difficult for Netscapeusers to connect, so you could try using IE and see if you get any joy.
Margaret Beard (David's wife)
Re: MSN Chat
David Birch
Nov 21, 2000 13:14 PST
Hello David and Margaret,
I quite clearly remember David Beard at Chefoo. Not many details - but adefinite memory. I'll send you a private e-letter right away. I've alreadyprepared it in draft form. It's a bit rambling, but I'm sure that with a littlee-dialogue we'll be able to solve the insoluable (is that a word?) problems. AsWinston Churchill is supposed to have said, "The difficult can be done atonce. The impossible will take a little longer."
David Birch
George David Birch (b. 1931)
(Interned with the Boys School at Temple Hill from November the fifth, nineteenforty-two . . . then taken with my fellow students (plus staff and other adults) by Japanese ship (the Kyodo MaruTwenty-eight) down the China coast, then by land to the Presbyterian MissionCompound near the town of Weihsien. I recall our liberation by the USservicemen in August of ineteen forty-five.)
--- Beard bea-@xtra.co.nz wrote:
claim
Natasha Petersen
Nov 23, 2000 05:19 PST
Hello all,
Is anyone filing a claim for Ex-Gratia payment for Ex-Far East risoners...... or Civilian Internees? www.dss.gov.uk/wpa/htmldocs/exgratia.htm
The above will give you the information.
What proof would be acceptable? I am asking for advice.
Thanks
Natasha
Re: Claim for ex-gratia payment
Beard
Nov 24, 2000 04:00 PST
Hi, Natasha,
I'm in the early stages of preparing a claim. Your birthcertificate will help show that you are you, and the daughter of your father.Have you got his former British passport? Make contact with someone who has alist of Weihsien internees. If you go back to the subject 'Nepal
Encounter' of 17.11.2000, you'll see a reply from Ron Bridge, who is a ViceChairman of ABCIFER, the Assn of British Civilian Internees Far East Region,saying that he is building up a data base of all British civilians in the FarEast Camps. rwbr-@freeuk.com
Good luck! Regards, David Beard
** RE: POW, Jap, WWII....Re: British interneesin Chefoo/Weihsien camps**
R.W. Bridge
Nov 27, 2000 09:10 PST
Complete the claim form with copies of what youhave got, those that are not in the UK the need is proof of British citizenshipat the time. AS was said a couple of days ago once British always British, youcan sin and go astray to the US or wherever but you can always comes home toUK. The War Pensions Agency has UK Govt lists from which they can verify. Ifthere is a problem they will come back to you the word from Prime Minister ispay if you can and they know that I will give them a very hard time withABCIFER contacts of half House of Commns if they try to prevent Parliamnetswill.
RE:POW, Jap, WWII....Re: British internees in Chefoo/Weihsien camps
R.W. Bridge
Nov 27, 2000 13:30 PST
Complete the claim form that was the attachmentwith copies of what you have got, those that are not in the UK the need isproof of British citizenship at the time. Remember you had to be British at thetime of internment either have or be on your parents British Passport. Paymentis only to those that were in a camp or those that are the widows orwidowers(who can be of any nationality) of someone that was British in a camp.As was said a couple of days ago once British always British, you can sin andgo astray to the US or wherever but you can always comes home to UK. The War PensionsAgency has its website www.dss.gov.uk/wpa/index.htm which has the claim form todown load, complete and send to Norcorss. The WPA UK Govt lists from which theycan verify. If there is a problem they will come back to you. However, I haveor have access to the lists of those in camps and the WPA will pass the name tome for help in verification if necessary. The sources of names is endless, forinstance I am in the War Museum tomorrow deciphering a shirt which wasembroidered by inmates of one camp with their names and signatures. There arequite comprehensive British Government lists and there is always theInternational Red Cross in Geneva. the word from Prime Minister is pay if youcan and they know that I will give them a very hard time with ABCIFER contactsof half House of Commons if they try to prevent Parliaments will. The key isget the claim in even if you plan to send additional evidence at later date.
* Ron
Let'sall send holiday greetings to the team that liberated Weihsien
mtpre-@aol.com
Dec 03, 2000 08:56 PST
Hello, Everyone,
The holidays are approaching, bringing another lovelyopportunity to
remember the team of heroes who risked their lives to rescue us in 1945.
Let's greet them with holiday cards or letters from aroundthe world.
Major Stanley Staiger will celebrate his 82 birthday onDecember 30. I hope you'll also sendbirthday cards. Major Staiger is in extremely frail health and suffers failing vision at a time when he is very muchalone.
Remember the dizzy euphoria you felt on August 17, 1945, when these angels dropped out of the sky into the fieldsbeyond those barrier walls? Now please,please, please send Major Staiger a birthday card or letter. I can't think of a nicer way to say "Thank you;we remember."
Here's the list of addresses:
WEIHSIEN RESCUE TEAM (DUCK MISSION) -- current addresses
Mrs. Raymond Hanchulak (Helen) widow of Raymond Hanchulak
Birthdayof Helen Hanchulak: April 18
Phone: 717-472-3520
P.O. Box 4
243 Laurie Lane
Bear Creek Village, PA 18602
James J. Hannon Birthday: November 12, 1919
Phone: 760-364-4580
P. O Box 1376
Yucca Valley, CA 92286
James W. Moore Birthday: October 5, 1919
Phone: 214-341-8695
9605 Robin Song Street
Dallas, Texas 75243
TadNagaki Birthday:January 25, 1920
Phone: 308-762-2968
RR 2, Alliance NE 69301
Mrs. Peter Orlich (Carol) widow of Peter Orlich
Phone: 718-746-8122 Birthday ofCarol Orlich: June 13, 1921
15727 20th Road
Whiteston, N.Y. 11357
Stanley A. Staiger Birthday: December 30, 1918
Phone: 702-825-3766
Village of the Pines
700 E. Peckam Lane, Apartment 259
Reno, NV 89502
Mary Previte
Re:Let's all send holiday greetings to the team that liberated Weihsien
David Birch
Dec 03, 2000 10:43 PST
21321 122nd Avenue
Maple Ridge BC
V2X 3W4
The Lord's Day
December 3, 2000
Dear Mary, et al
Thank you for the timely reminder. I, for one, will follow your suggestion. I'msure many others will as well.
Respectfully
David Birch
(G. David Birch, b. Nov 1931)
PS I feel certain that God's blessing is resting on you, Mary. I pray that youwill experience a refreshing like gentle showers in Alpine meadows full ofmany-hued flowers. "God is watching over you, today."
GDB
Newaddress for Weihsien rescuer
mtpre-@aol.com
Dec 04, 2000 15:16 PST
Hello, Everybody:
Weihsien rescuer, Tad Nagaki, tells me the Post Office has changed his address. I have corrected the address listas noted below. Please discard the address I mailed you yesterday.
Mrs. Helen Hanchulak, widow of our rescuer/medic, Raymond Hanchulak, recently
suffered a heart attack.
Send your cards to the addresses listed here.
Mary Previte
WEIHSIEN RESCUE TEAM (DUCK MISSION) -- current addresses
Mrs. Raymond Hanchulak (Helen) widow of Raymond Hanchulak
Birthdayof Helen Hanchulak: April 18
Phone: 717-472-3520
P.O. Box 4
243 Laurie Lane
Bear Creek Village, PA 18602
James J. Hannon Birthday: November 12, 1919
Phone: 760-364-4580
P. O Box 1376
Yucca Valley, CA 92286
James W. Moore Birthday: October 5, 1919
Phone: 214-341-8695
9605 Robin Song Street
Dallas, Texas 75243
TadNagaki Birthday:January 25, 1920
Phone: 308-762-2968
5851 Logan Rd., Alliance, NE 69301
Mrs. Peter Orlich (Carol) widow of Peter Orlich
Phone: 718-746-8122 Birthday ofCarol Orlich: June 13, 1921
15727 20th Road
Whiteston, N.Y. 11357
Stanley A. Staiger Birthday: December 30, 1918
Phone: 702-825-3766
Village of the Pines
700 E. Peckam Lane, Apartment 259
Reno, NV 89502
Chinesesearching for Weihsien rescuer Eddie Wang
mtpre-@aol.com
Dec 07, 2000 17:18 PST
Hello, Everyone:
A Chinese official who was in my audience recently atUniversity of New Haven is pursuing mysearch for Eddie (Cheng-Han) Wang, the Chinese interpreter on the Weihsien rescue mission. He wanted to translatemy Weihien story and post it on theinternet. I sent him a small article I recently wrote for the China Burma India Round-Up. Hereis Mr. Ma's most recent letter to me.Mary Previte
Dear Madam Mary T. Previte,
Thank you for giving me this article and the authority to post it on the internet. i am sorry i could not reply youearlier.
I have posted the story to webking.online.jn.sd.cn , the biggest news group in China, whose server is in Jinan, Shandong.
I hope we can find something about Eddie Wong.
thank you for the article again.
best wishes
MerryXmas to all & a healthy NY!
Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke)
Dec 13, 2000 03:38 PST
Hello. My name is Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke). Ilive in Sydney, Australia. I have justpublished a softback book (103pp)re: Weihsien (my biography). It tells of my experiences in Tsingtao before, duringand after WWII. It contains somephotographs, and names of people and places are authentic and may bring back memories to ex-Weihsien camp-ers.Name of the book is "Forgiven ButNot Forgotten", and is available through my email address which is:
bobj-@tpg.com.au
Cost is $22 Australian. This includes postage. My address is:
100 Coxs Road
NORTH RYDE NSW 2113
AUSTRALIA
It should answer a lot of questions I have read on this Email List re: Weihsien (incl. the escape of Hummel andTipton). I have not had time to advertise it as yet, as I have been touring the USA (incl. Chinareunion in Scottsdale) and have onlyrecently returned to Sydney.
Wishing you all a Happy and Prosperous Christmas and New Year!
Joyce
NewBook on Young Woman Interned by Japanese
Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke)
Dec 15, 2000 01:49 PST
Hello all. Concerning the previous messageabout my book which tells of myexperiences in China and as a prisoner of the Japanese, I wish to make a correction to the email addressgiven. It should read: bobj-@tpg.com.au or glb-@gos.comcen.com.au
Anyone who is interested can email me for more information, and I would be only too happy to assist.
Regards
Joyce
Re:British internees in Chefoo/Weihsien camps
David Birch
Dec 16, 2000 20:40 PST
To: Stanley Nordmo
From: David Birch (b.25Nov1931)
21321 122nd Avenue
Maple Ridge
British Columbia
CANADA
V2X 3W4
December 16, Y2K
Dear Nordmo,
Just a few friendly lines in order to try to establish contact with an 'olderboy' than myself from those far away days when we lived 'on the shores of anEastern Sea;' I do hope that you will take a few minutes to acknowledge receiptof this message. I too, with the providential help of chaps like Ron Bridge andothers, am doing my own research to establish the precise history of the'Chefoo Community' back in the nineteen-thirties and nineteen-forties.
As probably many of the rest of us did, over the years, I often told truestories to my children at bedtime. Of course, they enjoyed hearing the talesthat 'Daddy' (I), had to relate about his (my) adventures when he (I) was a boygrowing up in far-away China.
For a number of years, one of my two daughters, now an elementary schoolteacher in Richmond, BC, a suburban city in Greater Vancouver, this youngwoman, I say, persisted until I actually wrote several stories, which now formchapters in my autobiography, tentatively entitled, A Bedtime Storybook, byGeorge David Birch.
Since I am a bit of a stickler for precision and accuracy, not perfect at itmind you, but since I am concerned withbeing "bang on" when it comes to reporting history, especially whereI am personally involved, I may be able to assist you at some time.
Of course, I sailed from Qingdao (then Tsingtao) on the U.S.S. Lavaca. I planto write to the Department of National Defense, in Washington, D.C. to verifythe precise dates. However, this I do recall, among many other facts concerningthat (to me) historic voyage.
On leaving Qingdao, our first port of call wasShanghai, where we were permitted shore leave. The next immediate destinationwas Okinawa, where some eight hundred United States Marines (USMC) boarded theLavaca clambering up the port side (if my recollection is correct) on nets fromlanding craft; then we headed out to sea again: this time to Pearl Harbor onthe Hawaian island of Oahu. From Pearl Harbor, we steamed on to San Francisco(still accompanied by a destroyer escort-there were two (2) destroyers, and Irecall my marine friends (Fritz, Ivan, Krug, and Jim (Hynes) spending a lot oftime with us, also "Mr" because he was already thirty-five years old,Mr. Fisher. Anyway, one or more of these 'heroes' of my boyhood (I was thirteengoing on fourteen), pointing out the destroyers as they prepared to shoot somemines that were floating in the water somewhere between Okinawa and PearlHarbor. I was quite impressive to watch the plume of water shoot up into theair, though the destroyers were quite a distance from the U.S.S. Lavaca, andthe sound of the guns was only a muffled boom. The San Fransisco newspaperreporters boarded our vessel when we docked there on November the fifth,nineteen forty-five, three years to the day since I had walked across the cityof Yentai (Chefoo as I thought it was called) with a little blue packsack on myback containing my Bible and my treasured 'Robinson Crusoe' by Daniel Defoe,with a cardboard panorama in the center that depicted Crusoe on his island. (Mypacksack likely contained a few other 'necessities' such as a handkerchief,tooth brush, soap, maybe some toothpaste. I don't really recall anything exceptthe important things: my British & Foreign Bible Society Bible, and myRobinson Crusoe book). On the journey, by foot, I clearly recall stopping infront of the Japanese military base, and being led by our teachers (including,I feel sure, Mr. Stanley Houghton) in the singing of two choruses. "God isStill on the Throne, and He will remember His own;" and "God is ourRefuge, our Refuge and Our Strength, in Trouble, In Trouble, A VERY PRESENTHELP . . ."
All the dates that you and I are concerned about, are very readilydocumentable. Your destination may have been different from mine (I left SanFrancisco, where John (my younger brother, b. 1934), and I continued on byGreat Northern Railway (now Burlington Northern), through mountain passes andfertile valleys, from California, through Oregon, and Washington State. We evenpassed through (I am almost certain) Vancouver, Washington (also named forCaptain George Vancouver) until we reached Seattle, WA. Then we were almosthome. Within another couple of hours or so, my brother and I, along with MissPearl Young our Upper One teacher, left the train at the Great Northern Stationat Main Street and Terminal Avenue, in Vancouver. There, after several years ofabsence from one another, we were met by my dear mother, Mrs. Grace LilianBirch (Dad could not get away from the farm at Agassiz, BC because of coursecows have to be milked twice a day, and it was a long drive (about seventy-fivemiles) over snowy roads, including a winding mountain highway (only two lanesin those days) and we didn't even have a car in those days. The 'historic date'documented by the Vancouver newspapers, of our arrival that dark, snowyevening, was November the eighth, nineteen forty-five.
Anyway, Stan, I hope you had a great day for your recent birthday. May God'srich blessings, and encouragement be yours now and always.
Sincerely, (and with Christian love and respect)
Dave
(gdavid-@yahoo.com)
Saturday, December 16, 2000
memories
Thompson
Dec 17, 2000 10:24 PST
DavidBirch,
David, old buddy !
It is good to hear your stories. My memories part company with yours at Qingdao - apparently because I was beingsent back to Ireland and you were returning to Canada. In retrospect I had no idea at the time that youwere of Canadian origin. We were just missionaries' kids. We must have beentogether in Quingdao. Until you reminded me, I had almost forgotten about theescapade on the pebbled roof of Edgewater Mansions, where I disappeared andleft you and your little brother John to face Mr. Chalkley's wrath.I leftQuingdao, bound for Shanghai, on a Liberty ship whose name I can't remember. Ido remember with great clarity the mess hall where we had delicious foodslopped on to steel trays, and I had never seen such soft, sweet and delicatewhite bread ( I thought it was cake). I wolfed it down with great gobs of peachjam from my steel tray. In the evenings they showed movies on deck ! The firstmovie I ever saw was on that deck (it was I believe called Hanover Square, athriller in which George Sanders turned into a murderous fiend whenever heheard a shrill noise !). The weather was horrible (later we were told that itwas the tail end of the famous Okinawa Typhoon " that sank more Americanships than the Japanese did during the entire war"). I remember that theship was fitted out as a troop transport, with bunks about 18 inches apart andstacked 5 high. I can remember feeling so sick that I wanted to go on deck, andas I emerged from the second bunk, someone in the 5th bunk vomited down besideme ! Does this sound like the ship that you were on on the way to Shanghai ?
I don't remember being allowed to go ashore at Shanghai. I suspect the same orsimilar ship took us on to Hong Kong, because it left no mark on my memory. Wearrived at Kowloon, and housing was found for us near the KaiTak aerodrome. Mybrother Paul (b. 1931) and I started collecting coins. We discovered that themoney changers - all along the same street in downtown Kowloon - each had adrawer filled with useless change, rupees and this and that. We made friendswith American sailors docked in Kowloon and explained that we needed cigarettesto exchange for coins for our collection. After that, the destroyer was ourfirst stop, and when each of us had packs of Lucky Strikes stuffed in all ourpockets, we headed for the money changers street. When we were out of Luckieswe took the bus "home" to gloat over our loot.
Itwas six weeks before we got places on a ship headed via the Suez Canal forLiverpool , where our Dad was waiting for us on the dock.
Stan Thompson
1.Repatriation2.. ex gratia payments
Stanley Nordmo
Dec 18, 2000 00:10 PST
Dear David Birch
1. Repatriation
Your homeward itinerary was very different from mine.
As Norwegians, my two sisters Kathleen and Audrey and I left Qingdao on the USSGeneva for Hong Kong the staging port for passage to Europe. We sailed out ofHong Kong on the SS Tamaroa in late November and disembarked in Colombo, Ceylon(Srl Lanka) on December 5th, 1945 . On December 11, we flew to Calcutta to meetmy mother and younger brother Rowland who had been evacuated the first week ofJanuary 1945 with the CIM school from Kiating, Szechwan (Sichuan) to Kalimpong,India.
With Calcutta in the throes of the independence movement, a curfew was ineffect for all foreign nationals. In the midst of the turbulence, the IndianRed Cross and RAPWI (Repatriation of Allied Prisoners of War and Internees) puton a fantastic spread on Christmas Day 1945. From Calcutta the family, minusour father who was still in Shanghsien (Shangzhou), Shensi (Shaanxi) waitingfor missionaries from Norway to relieve him, flew to Karachi on January 8,1946. We had fueling stops in Bahrein, Cairo Egypt, Augusta Sicily, andMarignane France before reaching Poole, U.K. on January 12, 1946. We spent 10days in London before taking a train to Newcastle and then sailing forStavanger, Norway.in very rough North Sea weather . Our father joined us a yearlater for Christmas 1946. I left to go to college in the States in early 1947.
As you can see, aside from both of us being in Qingdao after leaving Weihsien(Weixian), our paths have not crossed. I do have a Canadian connection now thatmy younger sister Audrey Nordmo Horton lives in Kamloops, B.C., where herhusband is a Baptist minister. They have dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.
2. Ex gratiapayments.
With the current discussion about the ex gratiapayments for British citizens, it might be of interest to mention a parallelmove by the Norwegian government which is considering paying a lump sum toevery surviving Norwegian who was either a prisoner of war or a civilianinternee during the second World War. The War Pension Office would handle thedetails of distributing the money if the government approves the plan. We areeligible for this program since we were Norwegian citizens at the time.
For many years the War Pension Office in Norway has been processing andaccepting disability claims based on the post-traumatic stress syndrome, andvarious medical conditions attributed to camp conditions. This one timepotential grant in Norway is unrelated to the current monthly WarPension disability payments.
Best Regards
Stanley Nordmo
Re:memories
David Birch
Dec 18, 2000 00:59 PST
Stan (or should I call you Thompson Three?):No, of course not! We share several years of rip-roaring memories! Boy, if I'donly known about the earlier 'plot' by Jack G. which somehow you were inveigledinto, I'd have probably had it out with the 'rotter' instead of heading off forthe hills, all alone, except for little David Allen, to find that "buriedtreasure chest" up at "Eve's Knob." My hat!!! Wow!!! And tothink that I actually 'fell' for all that baloney!
Well, Stan, here's wishing you, and Jack, and David, et al, a Very MerryChristmas and a Happy New Year!
May blessings abound!
Dave
GDB
--- Thompson boo-@ginniff.com wrote:
(nosubject)
alison holmes
Dec 19, 2000 12:05 PST
What an extraordinary couple of days...first tohear about the exgratia payment and then to read all these memories ofWeihsien. This is the first time I have written to a bulletin board and I waswary about how to identify myself (hence the abbreviated signature!). I wasAlison Martin, daughter of Gordon and Heather Martin,teachers at Chefoo School,sister to Elisabeth, John, and Richard. It's amazing to see how very vivideverybody's memories are...as are mine. I well remember that boat trip toWeihsien as I put my foot out through the railings of the boat and one of myshoes dropped off, good leather shoes, imagine!, and mum had to make me a clothshoe in blue and white cloth for me to limp into Weihsien where we went througha moongate and had a welcoming tea. So many pictures, the Japanese dentist,that gritty eggshell on a spoon, making coal balls, planting our castor oilbeans and morning glory seeds, listening to the nuns singing downstairs inBlock 23 and having my parents horrified to find me lying in bed playing with a'necklace' the nuns had given me and crooning songs to the Virgin Mary...ohrags of Popery! They made great donuts or at least donut holes. And then I hadto return the rosary and kept away from the nuns though some bad boy and Istood under their window and sang rude songs just to show that we weren't goingto get caught by theit wicked religion.. Of course the night of the escapestands clear in mind with the midnight roll call, and those horrid greatAlsatians with their permangante streaks on them prowling around us. How did mado it? She managed to give us all a square of chocolate to eat as we waited onthe field under search lights with trucks bustling in with guards bristlingwith guns.Do you remember the funeral of the lad who jumped to touch theelectric wire? I was not meant to go, but crept in behind others, climbing atree to see what was going on. I remembering picking alfalfa with some girl andas we were laughing facing the setting sun, a Japanese guard went by and was soangry with us for laughing, rattled his sword and came to slap us on our faces.Real terror. Was there an underground tunnel on the east side of thecamp...there are pictures in my mind but no clearcontext. It's amazing to think we spent two years, six of usin two tiny rooms, Block 15, opposite Block 23. Elisabeth and I went back therein 89 and saw how tiny they were. Pa made it habitable for us by giving each ofus a painting on the wall above our bunk beds that just belonged to us. Richardhad a tiger and I had a copy of a picture by Ma Yuan of some venerable sagerocking quietly in his boat, paddle just touching the water, surrounded bybamboos. I have a copy of it in my bedroom now and it has always felt like anicon of place. Do you remember the smell of bedbugs sizzling in candle flames?And the wonderful taste of corn after liberation? And that very first Hersheybar? Pa always used to "Et haec olim meminisse iuvabit" (Some day weshall be glad to remember even this) How true! There is not a single August 17ththat comes without my rejoicing at the memory of being in the church having asinging lesson and hearing someone say It's not a jap plane and then all of ustaking off out of the church past a weakly protesting teacher, dashing on tothe field, picking up those pamphlets and then seeing the seven men and therainbow of parachutes, running out, bare feet ignoring mighty prickles andrunning, running to greet those heroes. I think my love of colour, the factthat I am now living and working in the States, all go back to that vividmoment of seeing a larger context around our grey world. Thank you all forbringing back memories.
Re: Alison Holmes recollections
Albert de Zutter
Dec 19, 2000 12:28 PST
Alison:
Of course, I never knew you in Weihsien camp, as I was not a Chefoo studentand, as I recall, all of you stayed mostly to yourselves. Your mention of yourparents' horror at finding you with a rosary brought to mind the fact that, asa Catholic growing up in Tsingtao, I never experienced religious prejudiceuntil our family was interned, first in Tsingtao in October 1942, and then inWeihsien in March 1943. My Tsingtao camp experience was that a 10-year-old girlwho was the daughter of American missionaries was forbidden to play with mebecause I was a Catholic boy (also 10). And, of course, in Weihsien, there weremany Evangelical missionaries who looked down on Catholics or considered them(us) outright evil. However, there were many positive spiritual experiences atWeihsien, and those outweighed the negative ones.
I'm sure, and I hope, you've gotten over your horror of Catholics.
Anyway, I enjoyed your memories.
Albert de Zutter
Re:
Natasha Petersen
Dec 20, 2000 05:25 PST
DearAlison,
Welcome to our site. Your e-mail goes on and on to the right. Would it bepossible for you to re-write it, but within the margins of a page?
I do not remember you, but there is much that I do not remember about Weihsien.I am from Tientsin, and my father and I were in block 9, room 10. I was knownas Natalie Somoff, now I am Natasha (my Russian name) Petersen. I am keepingall the "memories" in one folder.
Natasha
Re:****
alison holmes
Dec 20, 2000 06:48 PST
Help! I get a message telling me to download aPan European Text Display support which I have no idea how or where to do. Ihave had a couple of replies from Albert and Stanley and they did not say I wasgoing off the page and it didn't look lke it to my eyes..I apologize that .I amnot computer savvy, so if you start making URL noises at me I won't know how to respond!
Message wrapping
Beard
Dec 20, 2000 11:16 PST
Alison, I use Windows and Netscape Navigator.In the Preferences Section it gives me the option of instructing the computerto 'wrap' outgoing messages. What are you using?
Margaret Beard
Christmas
Stanley Nordmo
Dec 25, 2000 02:12 PST
Norwegian Christmas Greetings to all
Gledelig Jul og Godt Nyttår
For Natasha, we did celebrate Christmas in Weihsien. Norman Cliff describesbuying small presents at the White Elephant, besides creating gifts out ofwood, cloth and paper. He remembers games and parties as well as jointChristmas services in the camp church.
He was part of a group which went from block to block on Christmas Eve singingcarols. They would conclude with "We wish you a merry Christmas, a merryChristmas, a merry Christmas ; We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy NewYear, And hope it won't be here.!" From my own notes the highlight of theculinary year was Christmas Dinner when the menu skipped such staples as beetand turnip tops and eggplant in exchange for pork, peas and other vegetables,finishing with Christmas pudding and Christmas cake or stollen incorporatingwalnuts, Chinese dates and grated orange peel.
Best regards
Stanley Nordmo
Christmasgifts in Weihsien
mtpre-@aol.com
Dec 26, 2000 15:04 PST
Hello, Everybody,
A special thank you to Natasha Petersen for filling ourlives with joyful memories this year bystarting this Weihsien memory board.
Do you remember the year our Chefoo teachers presentedus with small lap slates and chalk forChristmas? I have no idea where they got the money or the slates. But that gift of lap slates rescued us from having touse and erase and re-use and erase andre-use the cheap notebooks we used to write all of our lessons. As I recall, we each got only one notebook a monthand used and re-used until we erasedholes in the pages.
I have never stopped counting my blessings for thoseremarkable teachers who saved ourspirits. Like many of you, we Taylor children did not see our parents for 5 1/2 years. I still speakwith awe and admiration the names ofthose teachers .
Major Stanley A. Staiger, who led the team thatliberated Weihsien, is terribly frailand increasingly ill -- rarely able to be out of bed now. I had difficulty hearing him yesterday duringmy holiday phone call to him. He willcelebrate his 83rd birthday, December 30. If you haven't yet sent a birthday card, the address is
Village of the Pines, Apartment 259, 700 E. PeckamLane, Reno, NV 89502
In California, the Hi-Desert Star filled most of a pagein its Living Section, December 2,2000, with a story about Lt. James Hannon, one of our rescuers. In the story headlined, STRANGER THAN FICTION, Lt.Hannon "claims to have spent overfive weeks with Amelia Earlart after she was reported missing."
Let me quote from this article in the Hi-Desert Star:In Weihsien, Lt. Hannon says he was "asked to look aftera semi-conscious woman who was beingkept in her own room and being given high doses of morphine. 'She was so drugged she couldn't speak.' Hannondetermined this woman was Amelia Earhart."
The article pictures the rescuing B-24 bomber droppingrelief supplies after the American teamparachuted to the fields beyond the barrier walls of the camp.
I wish you all a Happy New Year.
Mary Taylor Previte
RE:Christmas gifts in Weihsien
Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke)
Dec 29, 2000 02:54 PST
Hello Mary
Just read your interesting story. So sorry to hear of Major Staiger'sincreasing illness. Do you know if Amelia Earhart was really in our camp? Anddid Lt. Hannon actually look after her? This has been a rumour for a long time,and I would love to have it confirmed or denied. I read it years ago in anaviation magazine printed in the USA. Does James Hannon confirm this?
Please do ask him, to satisfy my curiosity!
Regards
Joyce Bradbury
PS: Btw, I hope you received my long letter.
POW
Matt Sarah-Jane Yates
Dec 29, 2000 15:49 PST
HI there,
I'mhaving troubles trying to get anything off your site. My name is Sarah-Jane andI am the daughter of a POW from Weihsien, we have been told that there is someinformation to be gained from your site, if this is correct could you pleasee-mail me exact instructions how to get it (help I can't drive the internetvery well!)
Thanks SJ
AmeliaEarhart in Weihsien
Pamela Masters
Dec 30, 2000 13:24 PST
Hi Joyce --
Thought you had a copy of The Mushroom Years, where dear old Lt. Jim Hannon'sstory was completely debunked by dear old Maj. Stan Staiger. No, AE was neverin Weihsien. The lady Jim refers to was a personal family friend of ours (theAmerican wife of a Brit whom we all lovingly called The Yank) and who suffereda traumatic breakdown in camp. She was flown out of Weihsien along with LloydFrancke the day after our liberation. Anything else Hannon wants to dream up isjust that – a dream. Good news about her: she completely recovered from herordeal, has a family (both children and grandchildren) and they don't need thistragic episode in her life warmed up and rehashed after 55 years.
By the way, if you don't have a copy of the book andwant one, I'll be happy to send it to you with an invoice, and you can pay forit by credit card. Right now our web page, hendersonhouse.com, is beingupdated, and allthough you can pull it up, the secure ordering page doesn'trespond. Should be back on line early in January.
Happy New Year. It sure was great seeing you again atthe OCH Reunion -- only wish I could have stayed longer, but my love had aheart attack and I had to hurry home on Friday.
Fond regards -- Pamela Masters (nee Bobby Simmons)
Weihsienmemories from Franciscan nuns
mtpre-@aol.com
Dec 30, 2000 20:19 PST
Weihsien memories from Franciscan nuns
Most of us who post memories on our Weihsien bulletin board were childrenor teenagers in the camp. We littlekids were so sheltered from terror, I often find my self thinking of Weihsien with the fond memories like those ofa pyjama party.
Grown ups had a very different view. Here are a handful of memories collected by Franciscan nuns who wereinterned in Weihsien. I have culled a few paragraphs from more than 300 pages of unpublished recollections entitled: FRANCISCANS: Shantung, China 1929- 1949
After America entered the war in 1941, there had been many rumors that American and British nationals were to bemoved from their homes and put in prison. Finally the day came when the Sisters of OurLady of the Angels’ Community was to besent to a Civil Assembly Center in Weihsien. Weihsien was a small city 70 - 80 miles east of Tsinanfu.
Japanese authorities told the Sisters that each could take along amattress, a trunk and two suitcases. Infact, the Sisters took one trunk between two, a suitcase each, sheets sewn into bags, later to be stuffed with strawfor mattresses, wooden planks andwooden horses for beds.
They arrived on March 21, 1943, about 4 p.m. They were “packed like sardines” into buses and taken to a largePresbyterian Mission which had been amiddle school and University. They were assembled on the Athletic Field, read the camp rules and given a camp number.
The first two months, all the Sisters were billeted in large classrooms.The Sisters from Our Lady of the Angelswere in a room with 52 other sisters. There was absolutely no privacy. Mr. Tu., the Sisters’ business man, had traveled to Weihsien and managed to buystraw to fill the Sisters’ mattress bagsand pillows.
Nourishment was the great problem. Large iron receptacles were built over brick stoves in several areas designated askitchens. Meals, so called, were served three times daily and usually consisted of vegetable soupwith small infrequent chunks of dubiousmeat floating around. At first there was no bread but some millet thickened the soup. Later the men built ovensfrom scrap iron and, procuring yeastthrough the Japanese, they were able to bake bread and allow two slices of bread with eachmeal. People lot weight very quickly and easily and were always hungry. The men suffered themost as they had much heavy work to do.Many developed sores and ulcers of skin and mouth from lack of vitamins. Children of all ages perhaps sufferedleast as everyone saved any scraps theycould spare for them.
Black Market: Somehow the internees discovered thatthey could contact Chinese from thecountryside and nearby towns, procuring food “under the wire and over the wall” at some risk to bothparties. The most successful “blackmarketer” was a Trappist monk. There were four Trappist monks inthe camp. They had not spoken freelyfor many years, but certainly made up for it in their captivity. The Trappist became famous for his procuring food “over the wall.” He was caught sometimes andput in solitary confinement in a littleone room brick hut on the grounds. The Sisters would put his food outside his door and sing camp news to himas though they were singing hymns.
The Father would always sleep during the day and sing his office in a loud voice all through the night, thus keepingawake the Japanese officers who livedin a house nearby. The officers soon got tired of this and his “solitary” did not last for long.
Everyone had to give three hours daily to general camp work. The teachers, mostly the Sisters of St. Francis, taughtthe children who had regular school schedule.
The Japanese had installed a whole row of “squat” toilets but had notpiped in any water! The Sisters from OurLady of the Angels were the first contingent brave enough to undertake the necessary sanitary work. Laterthe men were able to build showers withhot water used certain times a week.
Many people had not been able to bring eating utensils with them, and tin cans became a very precious commodity.Prisoners also made stove pipes from tin cans. Some ingenious people salvaged broken bricks and flattened tin cans and made little stoves. Fuel for thesestoves was “stolen” coal dust, stolenat night from the Japanese quarters or from the amount allowed for thekitchens.
(Note: Several pages detail the repatriation of 500 Americans on September 13- via train to Shanghai, via a Japaneseship named the Teia Maru to Goa, thenon the Swedish Red Cross ship, the Gripsholm, to Port Elizabeth in South Africa, to Rio de Janiero, to New Yorkon December 2, 1943.)
Sister Reginald died in the camp hospital. By the time the war ended and internees were released, there had beentwenty-five deaths and about thirty birthsin the camp.
Sisters Bede, Ludmilla, and Servatia were having a very difficult time asthe war dragged on into 1945. Food waspoor and clothing was wearing out. People were getting despondent andfinding it hard to face another cold winter under such conditions. The Sisters were able to build a smallbrick stove in their rooms. The stovepipe was made from 14 tin cans. By this time they were getting bread and water for breakfast and not much morefor dinner and supper.
On August 15, 1945, it was rumored that the war was over; but not even the Japanese seemed to know for certain.Finally, on August 17, about 10 a.m.,the first American airplane hovered over Weihsien. The plane circled lower and lower and eventually menparachuted to the ground.
Sister Ludmilla writes, “ The shouts and cheers of the internees were deafening. After the airplane waved a lastfarewell, there was no holding anybody-- the internees rushed out of the gate into the open fields to find the men they had seen dangling from theparachutes, who were not sure of theirsurroundings and had hidden themselves in the high grain, preparing for an attack. From the shouts and cheers ofthe people, however, they knew thatthey were safe. The Japanese were also taken by surprise and at first tried to keep us within the walls of thecompound, but no one bothered about them; and all they could do was to remain in the guardhouse just lookingon.”
“The guardhouse ceased to be a place of terror, and our meals were better. We now received tomatoes, eggs, and applesas our portion. Chewing gum, cigarettes, and chocolate bars were the first things given to us bythe Marines.”
First, the sick and older people were flown out. On September 25, 1945,the Sisters had a fairly comfortabletrain journey to Tsingtao with boxes of food provided by American soldiers. “The trains were all decorated withChinese andAmerican flags. There weremany billboards with Chinese and American writing bidding us a hearty welcome and a safe journey.” At everystation they passed, were cheeringcrowds of Chinese people bowing and waving. At one station a band was playing for them. On arrival in Tsingtao, thewhole station, the rooftops, and allvantage points were crowded with cheering people waving Chinese and American flags. From the station at Tsingtao,the Sisters were taken to the EdgewareHotel by bus. But the bus developed engine trouble and some Americans who were passing, offered the Sisters a ridein a jeep. This was the first time theyhad ever seen a jeep, let alone ride in one.
Mary Taylor Previte, Haddonfield, NJ, USA
RE: Amelia Earhart in Weihsien
JoyceBradbury (nee Cooke)
Dec 30, 2000 21:26 PST
Dear Bobby. Thanks for the message about A.E. Ihave written in my book which is now out that I was quite satisfied she wasnever in Weishien simply because the inmates would certainly have known aboutit but nobody ever mentioned it. Her face was so well known to everybody at thetime she could not have been In the camp without being identified.. You haveput the matter to rest as far as I am concerned. I have a copy of your book andfound it most interesting. I have correctly named all inmates to whom I referin my book - Even Fr Scanlan who recently died at the age of 101 years. We,too, enjoyed the re-union. Sorry you had to leave early. I can post my book toUSA by Air mail for (Australian) $22. Bank draft or money order. My homeaddress is 100 Coxs Road, North Ryde 2113 Australia. Best regards, JoyceBradbury.
** Re: Weihsien memories from Franciscan nuns**
Pamela Masters
Dec31, 2000 09:27 PST
Thank you Mary for sending on this material.
From your notes I gather that the Sisters of Our Lady of the Angels were anorder from Tsingtao, but I'm not certain they were Franciscans. By far thebiggest Franciscan order, known throughout China as the White Sisters, had thedesignation FMM after their names and were the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary,the gentle souls who ran the convent of St. Joseph which I attended. They hadmissions, schools, and orphanages all over China; one, in Chefoo, becameinternationally famous for the "Chefoo Lace" made by the blindorphans they took care of.
Sister Servatia, OSF (Order of St. Francis) who wasalso in camp, wrote a book, A Cross in China (ISBN 0-9614659-4-8), and I readit with mixed emotions. I believe her order was known as the Grey Sisters --this, of course, due to the color of the habits they wore. Her convent, ormission, was in Tsinan, not far from Weihsien, so her journey to the camp wasnot that distant.
In locating a copy of her book, I went through Cuchullian Publications in FortWayne, IN, and had the pleasure of corresponding with her brother-in-law (whoedited the book), Robert Emmet Connolly, an attorney. In fact, if I recall, weexchanged books, He said he got a totally different slant on prison camp lifefrom my "civilian" perspective, and after reading Sister's book, Ihad to admit I had no knowledge of the different missionary factions in thecamp, Protestant and Catholic -- especially the lifestyle of the Sisters andFathers at Weihsien. They were confined within a confinement.
Mary, is there any chance I could get a full copy ofthose Franciscan papers?
If so, let me know the cost, and I'll send a check to cover.
Thanks again for opening another door on our past.Happy New Year to you all -- and a Happy New Milllennium of Peace and Hope.
As always -- Pamela
RE:Weihsien memories from Franciscan nuns
Joyce Bradbury (nee Cooke)
Dec 31, 2000 22:04 PST
Dear Pamela. Your message re the Sisters of Our Ladyof the Angels from Tsingtao has prompted me to add some information which maybe interesting particularly to ex-Weishien and Tsingtao people. I attended bothHoly Ghost Convent and St. Josephs middle school from the age of about 5 yearsuntil the Japanese came when I was thirteen and a half years old. Quite a lotof the nuns from Tsingtao, were taken into Weishien and in fact travelled withus by train to the camp from Tsington. They consisted of British, American,Dutch, Portuguese and one from France. They did wonderful work in Weishien. Ihave the signatures of quite a few of these nuns and I list their names and anycomments they made in my autograph book. I also have the autographs of manypriests and brothers which I shall put into the net if there is anybodyinterested in their names The nuns I have are;
(The following are all from St Josephs) - Sr Verna OSF who wrote "DearJoyce. If as you grow older you come closer to God your life will have beensuccessful. Lovingly, SR. Verna" - :Sr.Hiltrudia, who wrote, "May Godbless you and guide your footsteps to our Heavenly Goal, lovingly Sr.Hiltrudia; - Sr. Mary Elaine OCM(?) "May mother Mary ever keep you thesweet girl you are now is the sincere prayer of Sister MaryElaine":
RE:Weihsien memories from Franciscan nuns
R.W. Bridge
Jan 01, 2001 07:48 PST
For Joyce Bradbury and Pamela Masters,
I have read your remarks re nuns. I have a copy of a Cross in China, there aresome minor errors of fact in it regarding Weihsien not that they detract fromthe book in any way. IT is a very good description of the dedicated people thatwent out to help the Chinese. Pamela perhaps you can let me have R E Connoly'saddress either mail or web and I will straighten them out.
Re the nuns I have a complete list of all that were in and I am compiling acomplete list of all that were in Weihsein for anytime. The areas I am havingtrouble with are:
The Catholic Priests and brothers that were shipped to Peking.
The Americans that were shipped out in Sept 1943.
I have a copy of the NY Times giving the names of all that were expected in theStates but it does not give the camp that they came from.
Also the 30Jun44 Weihsien nominal roll has all those with names beginning Safter Stevens missing and all those after Margerite Wulfson I have managed toput some names in but suspect that I am still missing some.
This exercise started when I realised a year ago how poor records were and thatI f the ABCIFER legal case in Tokyo succeeded names would be needed. That casecontinues but of course the lists are useful for the UK War pensions Agency toverify claimants bonafides. At this stage I either have on disc or access onpaper to about 90% of the British civilians that were interned by the Japanese.The main trouble areas other than above being Shanghai and Borneo.
Happy New Year to all my readers
Photosof heroes, 1945 and now
mtpre-@aol.com
Jan 01, 2001 15:49 PST
Hello, everybody:
Happy New Year.
Natalie Peterson, who started our Weihsien bulletin board, has suggestedthat we nudge our recollections byposting "then" and "now" photos of ourselves and some information to bring everyone up todate. What a great idea! I think only acouple of people have posted the snapshots.
Here are some of mine, in several e-mails, for ease of downloading.
I thought you'd enjoy some of the "then" and "now" photos Iincluded in a photo scrapbook I createda couple of years ago as a Christmas gift for each of the heroes who liberated Weihsien. I tracked them all down in1997 and then criss-crossed America tovisit each one -- survivors and widows.
In Weihsien, I was Mary Taylor, a student in the Chefoo School's LowerSchool Dormitory (we called it LSD). Mysister Kathleen, Jamie, and John and grandpa Herbert Hudson Taylor were also interned in Weihsien. We LSDgirls lived first in Block 23 and then,after the escape of Hummel and Tipton, on the second floor of the hospital. I was 12 years old when theAmericans parachuted from the B-24 toliberate the camp, August 17, 1945.
I started my career as a high schoolteacher --English and journalism -- until our daughter, Alice, was born. Alice is an attorney who also helpsme take very elementary steps on theInternet. For nearly 27 years I've directed a youth detention center that serves thetoughest-of-the-tough delinquentteenagers -- about 1,600 a year. My book, HUNGRY GHOSTS, tells
about Weihsien as well as the astonishing story of how a suburbanhousewife (me) took over an explodingjuvenile lock-up and turned it around. I'm now also serving my second term in the New Jersey state legislature andcontinue to speak to audiences aroundthe country.
I hope all of you will also bring us up to date with your own stories and snapshots.
Mary Taylor Previte