Existence Depends Upon Co-existence
—a Lesson Learned from Doolittle Raid
On April 18th,1942, exhausted and desperate after 13 hours of flight, 64 American airmen unexpectedly crash-landed in Quzhou. It was a dark, rainy night, the noise of the engines startled local civilians as they considered it a Japanese aircraft. So they turned off the lights in the house and kept silent. But soon they found the airport was on fire and at once set off extinguishing the fire before eventually discovering the American soldiers. They had been treated well after someone in the city recognized them to be American soldiers. Shelters and food were provided by those civilians, who also made great efforts to keep the airmen from being discovered. As a result, many of them were killed by Japs during their search for Doolittle’s men. Unwilling to risk the civilians’ lives, most of the airmen surrendered while some left the shelters and managed to survive on their own. When the civilians helped the Americans escape, the grateful Americans, in turn, gave them whatever they had on hand. The gratitude and friendship remain even after the war. To commemorate the great help from Quzhou civilians, Quzhou and Red Wing became Sister Cities in 1994.
As a member of the young generation, when I was listening to the narration for that incredible event from the elderly, I was completely moved by the simple kindness shining in those dark cruel days. Though most of the airmen have passed away, the friendships formed then are still flourishing and impacting both China and America. I remember participating in a symbol-design competition in middle school in which a girl who drew a lotus as the symbol of everlasting friendship won the first prize. And I had the pleasure of listening to many lectures given by President Pan of my high school, who has been organizing bridge-building activities between our school and some American high schools, to introduce the Doolittle Raid and the exchange programme we have with our sister-school in Red Wing. By now, the two cities have established cooperation widely from education to economy. In a word, I can feel the frequent and various communication between the two nations in my daily life.
But as I play myself back to those days, what I feel is something much deeper and stronger. During World War II, a cruel and scaring stage of human history, how grateful the airmen must have been when they were saved and secured against the Japs by the Chinese civilians. There’s a saying from E.B.White that goes like this ‘As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate.’ Indeed there were a great number of journalists, merchants, vicars and even citizens, --civilians risking their lives to save soldiers of allied forces or Jewish people. Their uplifting spirits equipped the world with a strength to conquer desperation and to avoid catastrophe. Wherever and whenever people, regardless of nationality, hear their stories, they are cheered and I bet they would be moved by the rare kindness just like I do. Although the friendships are built between China and America, the spirit of Doolittle raiders and Chinese civilians will exert a global influence.
However, currently, the relationship between China and America is facing serious challenges. The economic and political tensions between the two countries are severe as the trade war is fully on and the clash is extreme. However, in spite of all these conflicts, the general consensus and shared interest still outweigh the oppositions. The strength of being united that has been proved by our predecessors should not be ignored. People in the two countries should always work together in promoting world economy and defending world peace. The spirits of kindness and cooperation are two things that we can learn from the great Doolittle Raid and transfer to the following generations.
By 王艺霏 from Class 3 Senior 2