VETERANS: CHENGDU BURMA-INDIA OLD SOLDIERS REMEMBER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000263 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI MARR PGOV SUBJECT: VETERANS: CHENGDU BURMA-INDIA OLD SOLDIERS REMEMBER CHENGDU 00000263 001.2 OF 002 1.(U) Summary: Chengdu veterans of General Stilwell's army in the Burma-India Theater presented commemorative medals to the Consulate and spoke of the importance of remembrance and keeping the memory alive. The veterans complain that their history has often been ignored and that the region lacks military cemeteries for China's World War II veterans. The veterans group hopes to raise money for a museum in Chengdu so that the memory of the veterans of the Burma-India Theater will survive them. Keeping the Memory Alive: Comradeship with American Allies -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) Drinking tea with Acting Consul General and Congenoff in Chengdu's People's Park, a dozen veterans, all over eighty years old, spoke of the great appreciation the people of Southwest China have for the Flying Tigers and the protection they provided to Chengdu and other interior cities against the Japanese. The veterans demonstrated the A-OK thumbs-up sign they learned from American comrades-in-arms. They recalled their American teachers in Stilwell's army, the American food they ate every day, and the American tanks and weapons they fought with. The commemorative medal the veterans presented to the Consulate reads "That we fought bravely to kill the enemy and that we defeated the Japanese invaders - these are our greatest glory. Medal struck by the Chinese National Resistance Army and their descendants and by the Chinese India Burma Expeditionary Army. September 3, 2005." In the center of the medal is a picture of General Stilwell. Keeping the Memory Alive: Veterans Wish to be Recognized -------------- -------------- ¶3. (U) The veterans said they were disappointed that many young people today do not know their story and that there are no graveyards and memorials in China honoring the Burma-India campaign veterans. One of the veterans, Huang Shaopu, told of being asked during a 2005 interview with Asia Week (Hong Kong) if there are reminders of the Flying Tigers and the American wartime presence in Chengdu. Huang said he had to tell the reporter that nothing remains in Chengdu from those days. Huang said that there should be a museum to educate people about the sacrifices of the soldiers who fought in the Burma-India campaign. The group told the Consulate that it hopes the United 
States could help. They gave the Consulate a group photograph they had taken with an American veteran of the Burma-India Theater who had visited them in October 2008. Keeping the Memory Alive: Books -------------- ¶4. (U) In this and a June encounter with the veterans at the Jianchuan Museum in Dayi, Chengdu to dedicate an exhibit to U.S. flyers, the veterans enthusiastically recommended recent books on the Burma-India campaign and the U.S. Army Air Force in China which they presented to the Consulate General: -- In 2005, Xu Wen, a Chinese Burma-India Theater veteran and graduate of Sichuan University, edited in five volumes interviews with over 100 veterans together with an additional 20 accounts written by individual veterans themselves. The book, entitled "Hot Blood, Expeditionary Army - Revealing the Secrets of China's Expeditionary Army" [Rexue, yuanzheng - zhongguo yuanzhengjun dajiemi] was published by the Dazhong Wenyi Chubanshe, 2006. -- "Superfortresses: B-29 in China - Documentary account of fight of the U.S. Army 20th Air Force in China" [Chaobao Dui: Meiguo Lujun diershi hangkongdui fuhua zuozhan ziliaoji]. Edited by Li Xiaowei, three volumes, Tianma Book Company, Ltd. , Hong Kong (contact: b29inchina(at)yahoo.com.cn) --" The Story of General Sun Liren - An Account of the Chinese Newly Organized First Army in the India Burma Theater in the War of Resistance Against Japan", [Sun Liren jiangchunzhuan] edited by Xue Qingyu, published by Neimenggu Chubanshe, 2000. Keeping the Memory Alive: Old War Stories Are Less Sensitive Now -------------- -------------- CHENGDU 00000263 002.2 OF 002 ¶5. (U) This visit with the Burma-India Theater veterans was the sort of reminder of US-Chinese friendship one regularly encounters in Southwest China. As the history surrounding the period becomes less politically sensitive, Chinese television dramas about World War II depict soldiers dressed in Republic of China uniforms defending their country against the Japanese invaders. In earlier decades, such portrayals of military heroism would be reserved for communist guerilla fighters or for the Red Army. The veterans complained that many young people today do not know about the sacrifices they made in the Burma-India Theater. The veterans hope that their story and sacrifices will receive more attention in the coming years. Chengdu Veterans Contact Person -------------- ¶6. (U) Chengdu Burma-India Theater Veterans group contact person: Huang Shaopu, hsp1925(at)163.com ONUFERTD