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"Black Market"The allied civilian internees had heroes: the local Chinese farmers. These farmers lived outside of the compound and risked their lives to smuggle food over the walls to prisoners. The Chinese farmers also smuggled news and messages into the camp for the internees to know what was going on on the outside of the camp. At one point, Chinese Nationalist Party guerrillas even helped two internee men, Arthur Hummel, Jr., and Laurance Tipton, escape from the camp. These escapees lived with the guerrillas until the end of the war.
[edit] American Liberation
Weihsien liberation monumentOn August 17, 1945, two days after the official Japanese surrender to the Allies, a small rescue team parachuted from an American B24 Bomber. The team included six Americans (Major Stanley Staiger, Ensign Jimmy Moore, Lt. Jim Hannon, Ramond Hanchulak, Sgt. Peter Orlich, Sgt. Tad Nagaki) and one Chinese interpreter (Wang Chengnan).[1] The mission, named ("Operation Duck") successfully liberated 1,400 allied civilian prisoners.
Located two miles east of Weihsien, the American Presbyterian Compound in Weihsien was known by the Chinese name of "Courtyard of the Happy Way." Its Shadyside Hospital, constructed in 1924, was considered one of the best constructed mission hospitals in North China. However, by the time internees arrived, all useable equipment had been looted or carried off. Student dormitories, consisting of rows and rows of rooms, as well as large buildings originally used as classrooms and libraries, housed the internees. One of the largest camps in China, Weihsien housed, at one time or another, almost 2,250 internees. Two internees who escaped provided information on the camp to OSS operatives in Chungking, while remaining in the vicinity of the camp with Nationalist guerillas. At the end of the war Weihsien was the scene of an exciting drama when a seven member OSS team parachuted near the camp and were welcomed by the overjoyed internees. Afterwards, Chinese Communist guerilla activity prevented the evacuation of the camp. After an initial group was removed by rail to Tsingtao, the railway line was blown up. Internees were finally airlifted out by Army Air Force planes.
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楼主: 就是小鱼儿
以国家兴亡为己任,置个人死生于度外
发表于 2012-12-3 08:21
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