Interview by Kun Shi and Daniel Jackson, August 7, 2017

I knew some English but I have forgotten most of it.

Some pilots do not smoke, so they just sell their cigarette ration. They would give them to me. I would sell them. Ordinary Chinese could not afford cigarettes, so they sold them to people with relative wealth.

Did you grow up in this area?

I did. In the Zhijiang area, but in the rural villages. Now I’m living with my grandson.

How did the war impact the area here before the Americans came?

A lot of Japanese bombing in the area. My home village is about five kilometers away. One time there were twenty-eight Japanese planes bombing everything and a lot of people went to the caves to protect themselves. Another story I remember is there is a tower, one of the famous sites near the airfield – there were so many explosion holes in that area.

What was the organization you worked for as a secretary?

I can’t remember the code, but they wouldn’t tell us the name of the forces. In the beginning when I was working there, they came just briefly [to Zhijiang] and then go back to Yunnan or some other places. After quite some time, then they stayed.

But the organization that you worked for as a secretary – I think the English name is the War Area Service Corps?

Zhanjifutan, yes. And I was working for the Number 4 Hostel.

How did you end up getting into that work and when did you start?

In 1944. I had to take a test in order to get in. In February of ’46 the Corps disbanded and we went home.

What was on the test?

So I first served in the Nationalist police of the city and then I returned [home] because my father was sick. And then afterwards, I needed the money, so I to the Service basically because originally of my official records, so they basically just tested my health and then I went in.

What did your daily duties consist of when you worked at Hostel 4?

In general, cleaning places and preparing food, but my job then, because compared to the others, I knew how to read and write, I was basically keeping the records of anyone going in or out. Especially for those who were carrying vegetables, or meat, or chicken, taking their names with a note and they come out and then check out, so that’s the main thing that I did. My main duty was keeping those records of people going in and out.

How much were you paid?

Actually, there was no cash payment, just free meals, and then each month I was given approximately 750 kilos of grains, so I could support the whole family, basically.

When you were working at Hostel 4, was it both American and Chinese airmen living and working there?

The Service Corps arranged people there. Then the soldiers were sergeants.

How many lived in that hostel?

There were several hostels. Only Number 2 was mainly for the American pilots. At Number 4 where I was working, there were some pilots and also Chinese pilots there and also some ground crews. For Hostel Number 4, they wore only civilian, specially-designed civilian clothing, but Number 2, because they all served air force, some of them, just because if emergency comes, they took off their regular uniform and fly out. Some of them never came back to get their stuff, so some of the people working there just wore the American uniforms. 

Especially after the Japanese bombing raids, what was the feeling of people here seeing Chinese and Americans working together and flying together in the same units to stop the Japanese?

Two points, one of course, I and the other people I know are very grateful to the American airmen, but then the second point, because the discipline of some American soldiers was not that great, so sometimes some of them fooled around with the Chinese women.

Do you remember, in 1945, when the Japanese were driving toward here to take over this place, did you prepare to evacuate? What do you remember of that time when the battle came so close?

Yeah, they were prepared to evacuate through the river and then they already planted some bombs, hundreds of pounds of bombs, under the airfield, getting ready to, if the Japanese really arrived, they would just blow up the airfield.

Did you have a role in it? Were you supposed to take your records with you? What was your family’s plan if the Japanese came?

I didn’t have any secret information, so I don’t know how the management would deal with the records, but as to personal and family issues, of course I was scared, but where can I go? So I and my family just stayed here. If there was anything that needed to be destroyed, it was the people above me.

Did you see the Japanese planes come here when they surrendered? What was the mood like in town when you found out that you won – that Japan had given up?

When we learned about the surrender of course we were just overjoyed. Some of them even prepared sharp knives – not to kill them, but to shave them bald.

What did you do after the war for work? And how did your work for the Guomindang affect your work after the civil war?

So in general I was just becoming a regular farmer – back to the village. But compared to the other residents, I had more education, so I was interested in how to increase the yield of the food and the crops. At one time, around 1955, I was actually working for the county department of staple food, because of my interest and knowledge in plants and crops. However, because of working for the Nationalist government and Americans, later on, I suffered some, including my children [Cultural Revolution]. But that was a national tragedy. A lot of people suffered.

Do you have any stories you particularly remember from the war?

I got married in 1945. And right after the war, my only interest was how to make money to support the family. For any interesting stories, I can’t think of any right now, I’ll have to reflect after a while.