Posted on 06/13/2017 1:32:07 PM PDT by Cecily
When 1st Lt. Robert Eugene Oxford’s flight went down in 1944, he was carrying supplies from China over the Himalayas.
On Sunday, hundreds of Chinese-Americans poured into his tiny hometown of Concord, about 50 miles south of Atlanta, to honor him. His remains returned to Georgia last week 73 years after the mysterious plane crash in a remote ravine.
“These mourners went to honor a man who had sacrificed everything to defend a country to which he did not belong, a people that he did not know,” read a story in the Atlanta Chinese Life publication. “The 308th Bombardment Group that he was attached to carried out supply runs and bombing runs in support of Chinese ground forces.”
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
Another poorly written headline. I wondered why they would turn on the water full blast at a funeral.
for half-a-second I thought the same thing! its the quality of US journalism these days....
Refreshing. All we ever hear about is how bad Americans
are to others. Gratitude is a dieing phenomenon.
In a nation whose children do not respect their parents, much less their grandparents and beyond, here are a people who respect a person 73 years after the fact who is not a blood relative.
Contrast this with a group of people who come for a foreign land, plant bombs, run cars over crowds, knife people, kill innocents on a whim, and more.
About all you can say is thank you to these Chinese people who show this much reverence for someone who did them a solid 73 years ago.
Touching...
From China? What did they supply us with?
Rubber dog s....
You are so right and those words are all too seldom said.
There was once a saying, “The Sun Never Sets On The British Empire.” Long ago cancelled.
A new saying should be, “In the name of freedom, the sun NEVER sets on American War dead.”
How does one make it through any college degree program and not know more about history?
I ran into one of these gentlemen at the grocery store recently. He was sitting quietly drinking his coffee, waiting for his buddies. A slight man, about 5’ 3”.
I noticed his military unit baseball cap with a plane on it, so went over to thank him. As I got closer, it was clear from the logo he had flown the hump. I confirmed, “So, you flew the hump?”
Him: “Yeah. Over a hundred times.”
Me: “What did you fly?”
Him: “25s, 51s, and 38s.”
Me: “WOW! All of those?”
Him: “Yeah. I was the pilot.”
Me: “Well, thank you very much! Appreciate it....”
Him: “You know what was the most expensive thing we ever flew into China?
Me: “What?”
Him: “A load of tampons. Those were the most expensive feminine products in the history of the world.”
:-)
Nice.
Canadians are still regarded very well in China because of Dr. Henry Norman Bethune, despite generations having gone by since his time there. Ignore the fact that he was a flaming red communist, just making the point that the Chinese culture has long memories.
This made me laugh so hard!
“About all you can say is thank you to these Chinese people who show this much reverence for someone who did them a solid 73 years ago.”
Amen to that!
Honorable people respect honor in others.
The supplies may have been coming from China.
“The 308th Bombardment Group that he was attached to carried out supply runs and bombing runs in support of Chinese ground forces.””
Some Chinese remember the good America did.
Some South Koreans, too.
I was sitting next to a Chinese lady on an airplane flight some years ago. She didn’t speak a lot of English but she knew what and who the Hump pilots were.
My dad was one of these pilots...
Nice observation. I agree.
And even today, in Communist China, the American members of the Flying Tigers are revered and memorialized.
Hump pilot. One of my friends from childhood, whose father was one. I didn’t know until his funeral
I believe Gene Autry flew a few runs in that area, too.
I recommend that one view, if possible, this documentary “HONOR & DUTY: MISSISSIPPI DELTA CHINESE” about the several hundred Chinese-American men from the delta counties of Mississippi who went off to war in all branches of the US military. This is an interesting niche history of a group of Americans who answered their nation’s call to duty.
http://www.deltastategiving.org/giving/otherareas/honor
Here is a good article about Samatha Cheng who was the person behind getting it made and on the air. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/how-one-woman-helped-put-mississippi-delta-chinese-map-n562821
I personally vouch for her efforts at accuracy, especially in the military related parts about the soldier’s service.
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