Interview by Kun Shi, August 18, 2017

Background:

            Daniel Jackson and Kun Shi met Mr. WU Eyang during their research trip to Yunnan in August 2017, collaborated with the Yunnan Society for the Study of History of Anti-Japanese War in Western Yunnan. Mr. Wu graciously agreed to an interview recorded by Kun Shi on August 18, with the consent of using his story in any publications as along as acknowledgment is made. The interview was conducted in Chinese because Mr. WU preferred that. The interview went more than half an hour and the following is a summary transcription of his story. (Minor editing is made by Kun Shi because some audio parts are repeated and corrected, and some information is beyond the focus of this interview.)

(Mr Wu’s story as told in the first person.)

History of CAMC and personal background:

            The Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMC) was established in 1934 in Hangzhou of Zhejiang, formerly known as Hangzhou Aircraft Manufacturing Company. When much of China was invaded by the Japanese, CAMC was first moved to Wuhan, and then to Chengdu and Kunming. The Nationalist government moved it again to Leiyun in southwestern corner of China to avoid the Japanese attack from the east.

            My name is WU Eyang and I was born on the ninth day of the ninth month (October 19) in 1931 on lunar calendar in Hankou, Hubei. My family of six (parents, one elder brother, two elder sisters and me) moved with CAMC to Chengdu, Kunming and then Leiyun. I spent two memorable years (1940-42) in Leiyun on the border with Burma.

Experience in Leiyun:

            During my time in Leiyun from the spring of 1940 to the spring of 1942, I was in elementary school and my teachers were from northern China, all speaking Mandarin. My father served as head of the non-military logistics department because of his business background. There was no shop locally and all supplies had to be purchased from the outside. My brother was a mechanic working for the CAMC assembly line. He graduated from a Christian high school in Shanghai and could speak good English. There was no secondary school in Leiyun at the time, so my two sisters went to the CAMC hospital to become nursing assistants.

            For more than a year, life in Leiyun was peaceful and enjoyable. Like other eleven-year olds, I was excited about the natural playground in the woods, hide-and-seek under the living quarters of the stilt houses of the Dai (Thai-speaking) people, and hot springs in the mountains.

Because four members in my family worked for CAMC, living standard in terms of food was excellent even compared with today. For example, my breakfast often included Chinese food of rice porridge, fried pork flakes, salted mustard and eggs, or western-style food such as coffee, milk, bread, butter, cookies and fruit jam.

However, this peaceful and happy life was interrupted when the CAMC sirens went off as the Japanese bombers approached Leiyun in the summer of 1941. The first Japanese bombing took place during a Sunday as pilots were being trained for take-off and landing. My brother asked me to run and hide in the wooded mountain. When I returned home at night, I saw a bomb crater not far from my home that left a huge pile of mud around it. Adults said that was the result of a 500-pound bomb. I did not see the bombings, but each time as I escaped to hiding (from my home near the airfield), I saw the young and brave American pilots rushing to the airfield in their jeeps, laughing and singing, as the ground crew was getting ready their planes. I cannot forget the scenes of these fearless young Americans who were fighting for China at the risk of their lives. As I recall those days as a grandfather now, I am especially moved by their spirit.

Not long after the bombing, the P-40 fighter planes arrived. My brother said these “supersonic” planes would defeat the Japanese. They were really loud and very fast. Most of the Japanese bombers came from the east direction. Now we were proud to have the powerful P-40s and I wanted to watch them fight. Despite my mother’s warnings to hide, I managed to watch dog-fights at three occasions. In one of those occasions, I was so excited to see one Japanese plane shot down. This was real, you know, not like watching movie scenes today. After the sirens became silent and the American pilots returned, they were cheered by crowds and showered with beer.

In mid-April 1942 when the Japanese forces were entering China (from Burma), CAMC was relocating to Kunming.

The Bombing of Baoshan on May 4, 1942:

            As I escaped with my mother and sisters in a CAMC truck to Baoshan in mid-April, I witnessed thousands of people/refugees fleeing on the Burma Road, most of them on foot and a few killed in tragic accidents. I also saw many soldiers of the Expeditionary Forces going in opposite direction to fight the Japanese. A couple of days later, my father and brother joined us in Baoshan.

I thought we reached a safe haven in Baoshan, but witnessed the “Big Bombing of Baoshan” on May 4. That day, as we were about to move into a rental residence after two weeks at a hotel (due to high cost), I saw many Japanese bombers “pooing” from the sky. I remember a saying at the time: “There is nothing to fear in the world except for (Japanese) planes dropping poo poo from the sky.” After the bombing that day, Baoshan was like hell on earth! We managed to escape to the outskirts of Baoshan, because my brother knew the second wave of Japanese bombers would come in a matter of hours. On the way, I witnessed some of the most horrific scenes that I will never forget, including a human arm hanging on the wire, a middle aged woman whose waist was cut open by shrapnel screaming for help, and a woman holding her baby burned to death inside a damaged vehicle. In addition, I saw many historical buildings flattened or on fire, and many vehicles with people destroyed outside the city gate of Baoshan.

Life after Baoshan:

            In a few days (I cannot remember how many), we escaped to Kunming. Life was hard in Kunming then due to famine and fear of Japanese soldiers coming. My parents took me and my second elder sister to Chengdu first and to Shanghai after the Japanese surrendered. My brother worked for the ground crew of the American air force in Kunming and then to India to support the Hump transport. My eldest sister worked for the air force hospital in Kunming.

            I married SHEN Pei, daughter of General SHEN Chang who was in charge of the railway system in Yunnan during WWII. After 1958, we moved to Hangzhou to work for the Zhejiang Song and Dance Troupe. We suffered during the “Cultural Revolution” (1966-76), and moved to the U.S. in 1993 after retirement to be with my son who was graduating from NYU. We now live between Minnesota and Hangzhou.

            Mr. WU ended by saying that he appreciates our work to promote mutual understanding between China and the U.S. He is willing to answer any questions at any time. He asked us to contact him if we ever visit Hangzhou. He introduced two people in Hangzhou: Mr. JIN Leiyun who published a book in Chinese about CAMC and has a time-limited exhibition about CAMC; Mr. PAN who operates a private “Sino-US Friendship Museum”. (I will ask him for contact info if needed. He also shared the story of his wife who does not have the experience in Leiyun or Baoshan.) Mr. WU’s cell number is 134-8617-7165.