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21
thinking that some secret airfield might have been constructed in the
southern part of Kiangsi, decided to raid down through all of Kiangei,
part of Kwangsi, and Honan provinces, which were the only areas close
enough so that planes could fly to Japan. If there were such a secret
airfield they planned on locating it. During the month of June 194
news that the Jape had crossed the river south of Kanchang, Just
75 miles north of Fuchow was heard. At first it was thought to be
only a rumor, or a small raid. At this time rumors were so prevalent
that you paid very little attention to them for they had been proven
false so many times in the past. But this time it proved to be more than
a rumor.
When it was ascertained that the Japanese had really crossed the Han
River, and which put them in our Vicariate, we were at a loss to know
what might happen. Of course, there were stories of the Chinese soldiers
putting up a stiff resistance, of stopping theme of defeating them, etc.
But I don’t think that there ever was a real battle at any times. Shots
were exchanged a few times, but other than that the Chinese soldiers
fled without fighting. however, the Japanese did advance fairly slowly.
I suppose they did fear, at first at least, that the Chinese soldiers
might put up some resistance, or that them might ambush them, and also
since the Chinese had torn up the roads years before, there was no way
of moving any tanks, trucks, etc., so they had to come by foot, horse,
and sail boat up the rivers.
When rumors got really heavy, and it looked like the Japs were really
headed in their direction, Steve Dunker in Fuchow had Father Herb
Vandenburg take the bigger orphans from the orphanage in Fuchow and head
in the direction. of Ihwang.
Both Steve and I (and everyone else as well) figured that Ihwang was
Just about the one place where the Japs would NOT come. Ihwang was in
the mountains; on the road to nowhere; unimportant militarily; hard to
get to, etc., etc. I Just could not seem to believe that they would come
there in any manner shape or form.
22
About a day after Father Vandenburg had left with the orphans the rumors
in Fuchow were getting hot and heavy, and so Father Steve Dunker and
Father Clarence Murphy decided it was time to get out. So towards
evening they loaded some of their things on to wheelbarrows, and
decided L to head towards Ihwang at daylight,
Around midnight they heard pounding on the gate of the residence. The
gateman would not open it, for looking out of the window he saw
that it was Japanese soldiers doing the pounding. This information was
shouted out, and Steve and Slug Murphy ran out of the residence. The
Japs were at the front door, at the only way out, so they ran towards
the back of the residence, and
with the aid of a ladder they crawled over the wall to the outside of
the residence. There were Japanese soldiers all about, but being night
they were not recognized. Lest they meet any of them face to face and be
recognized, they left the road and headed through some rice fields which
were filled with water. They circled the town, which the Japs had not
yet entirely occupied, and headed towards Shangtinfu. There was a
Carbolic mission there, with a Chinese priest in residence. They went to
the residence where they rested and waited for word as to the direction
the Japs were taking, and to see if they were going farther than Fuchow.
By that evening they heard that the Japs were headed in their direction,
so they took off for Chuha, a small town about ‘15 miles away, and where
another Catholic church was located. Both Shangtinfu and Chu-ha were in
the direction, and on the road to, Ihwang.
Having to floe from Fuchow as they did, they were unable to take any of
the things they had packed on the wheelbarrows, and all they had was a
small bag, or briefcase, which Steve had previously packed with money
and a few other essential articles. But as far as clothes, shoes etc.,
they had none, except what they had on.
When they arrived at Chu-ha they went to the mission there to rat and
get something to eat, thinking that they would be sale, at least for
some time. By nightfall they heard that the Japs were nearing the town
so they took off again, headed this time for Ihwang.
23
At Chu-ha they caught up with Herb and the orphans, and so they all
took off for Ihwang together.
All during this time I was not too worried, for Communications between
Ihwang and Fuchow had been broken off. There were lots of rumors, but I
did not believe too many of them. I just could not believe that the
Japanese would come to Ihwang. And even though the Chinese are prone to
believe rumors, not too many of them believed that the Japanese would
come to Ihwang, As a result, things were relatively calm and peaceful in
Ihwang.
Then one morning I received definite word that Father Vandenburg and the
orphans were headed for Ihwang, and would arrive within a few hours. So
I saddled my horse and decided to go out and meet them, and escort them
into town.
About 3-4 miles out of town I met the entire crowd, and to my
surprise found that Steve and Murphy were along, as well as Herb and the
orphans. Now, for the first time, I heard the whole story of what
happened in Fuchow, and along the way.
Both Steve and Slug had been walking for almost 3 says, and they
had blisters on their feet, caused by the fact that they had waded thru
the rice fields in getting out of Fuchow. They got mud and sand in
their shoes, and could not stop to clean their shoes, and consequently
got blisters. So I gave them my horse to ride between them, and I
walked.
We arrived at out residence around 11 A.M., and when I asked Steve if he
thought there was any possibility of the Japanese coming to Ihwang he
said that he hardly thought so, but just to be on the safe sides it
might be a good idea to pack some of our more valuab1e things on a boat
and send them to the country, and hide them in some Christian’s home. So
I started packing some things, and sent a man out to see if he could
here a boat to take some things out to the country, just in case the
Japanese did come.
24
I saw no need to panic, for even though the Japs had come to Chu-ha,
that did not mean they necessarily would come to Ihwang, for, from
Chu-ha the main road went west, and the road to Ihwang wan only a branch
road, and a minor one at that, Nevertheless, I did start packing some
things intending to put them on a boat tomorrow and take them up river.
During the time I was packing Steve, Herb and Slug lay down to get some
rest, for they had been walking and getting very little sleep In the
past three days. Since they had no clothes except what they had on their
backs I gave them some of mine, but it did not fit too wells for they
were both bigger than I was but it was the best we could do. I sent
their shoes, which were muddy and water soaked over to the women’s side
of the residence and asked some of the women to wash their clothes and
clean up their shoes.
Steve went upstairs to my bedroom; Murph went to the guestroom, and
Herbie lay down in the breeze-way. All this time I was leisurely packing
a few things into boxes and baskets. But money and some other valuables
I put in a small valise that I would carry with me in case I had to
suddenly run.
Suddenly about 2 o’clock gunfire started, and after a while you could
hear bullets whining over the buildings. I was standing there in my room
trying to figure out what this meant, when Steve flew down from my
upstairs bedroom shouting: “The Japs are here. The Japs are here” He
hardly stopped for a moment, and was then out the back door of my, room
and to the back door in the residence wall, with Herb and Murph nor far
behind him.
Before laying down I had told Steve that Just in case we did have to
leave we would go to one of our missions, 0u-tu, where we had a small
church, priest’s room, school, etc. At this time it seemed a very remote
possibility that we would have to go but Just to be on the safe side, we
would make these plans.
I could hardly believe that the shooting and the bullets were from the
Japs, for I thought they might be from Chinese soldiers. As a result, I
did not immediately flee. However, within the matter of a few minutes
every single person in the residence, as well as
30 Fuchow
25
orphans, three priests, etc., had gone
through the back gate of our residence and. headed towards the bridge
which took them to the other side of the river from the town. and
opposite sides of the river from which the Japs had to come in.
I still doubted if it really was the Japanese, and the for the need to
flee, but when I saw that I was now the last person left in the
residence, I decided that I might as well go too, rather than be left
alone, Consequently I than ran into my room to get the small briefcase I
had prepared with money etc. I picked it up by the handle, but in
excitement forgot that I had previously not latched the lid, only closed
it. As a result, when I picked it up, it fell open, scattering all 1
contents on the floor. I began picking them up, but by now panic was
taking hold of me, and I ended up scooping and shoving the larger piles
of articles into the valise, and letting the other lay.
I ran out my back door, and then did one of the foolish things a person
does under stress. I guess it was just so ingrained in me to lock my
door when I want out, that when I was some 10 feet away I remembered
that I had not locked my door. So I went back, locked the do and
streaked out the back door in the wall,
By this time, and it must have been longer than it seemed, but to me it
seemed that it could not have been 10 minutes from the time we heard the
bullets whining over the house, but in this time the entire residence
had evacuated, as well as thousands and thousands of townspeople had
already crossed the bridge, and were on the other side of the river.
This would have been a physical impossibility in the short time it
seemed to me, and though it might have been longer than it seemed to me,
I will say that surely a record was set that day by the number of people
evacuating the town.
By the time I had gotten across the bridge, not. only the Ihwang people
and Fuchow people, but it seemed to me, all of Ihwang, were headed up
the river and almost out of sight. None of the Fuchow people had ever
been to Ou-tu, and they had only a vague idea if how to get there. So,
loot they take some wrong road, and land up somewhere else, I wanted to
catch up with them and see that we stayed on the right road.
26
By this time it seemed that I was
behind the entire horde of people, all running up the river, and away
from Ihwang. Consequently I began to run as fast as I could to catch up.
After perhaps a half mile or so I could see Stephen up
ahead. I could do this because he was bigger than any of
the Chinese. Everyone
was running, and would not stop, and being out of hailing
distance, and as I was thoroughly winded, I decided to whistle to them
so they would 1ook back and see me, and I could give them the
signal to wait. Chinese never could whistle through their fingers, so I
knew that if Steve heard this whistle he would know that it was I, and
look back,
After trying for some time to wet my fingers and lips to whistle, for I
was so tired and scared that my mouth was as dry as sand. Finally I
was able to lot out a whistle blast. Everyone looked back, and when
I waved for Steve to stop, all the Chinese who were between myself and
Steve, seeing me wave and yell something, which they did not understand,
being panic stricken, someone thinking my whistle and motions meant that
the Japan were immediately behind me, so he shouted: “The Japs are right
behind!”
So instead of stopping everyone took off even faster than before. I was
at a loss to know why they immediately started running faster than
before, for I did not hear the Chinese shout that the Japs were right
behind us. So after a little I decided to whistle again. Again,
the same results everyone started running all the faster.
since I could not stop them I could do nothing but try to keep up with
them in the rear. Soon exhaustion overcame everyone, and I was able to
catch up, and reach Steve and the others farther up.
Ou-tu was 50 ly (17 miles) away, and it would have been impossible to
reach there that day, so I decided that we would proceed a bit farther,
and then stop at the home of a very good Catholic, Ao-Yang, Chwren-.sen
for, the night, whose home was only about 2 miles farther on. We could
stay the night at his home, and proceed to 0U-Tu the next day.
That evening after supper at Chwren-sen’s house I got to thinking that
we had left Ihwang in 5-10 minutes notice. We had only the clothes on
our backs; the Blessed Sacrament was left in the church; we had no Mass
wine, extra clothes, etc, for our undetermined length stay in Ou-tu.
27
The more I thought of t, the more convinced I because that it would be a
relatively simple matter, and probably not too dangerous either to
return to Ihwang and get some things out of the residence;
consume the Blessed Sacrament in the church, and do so without being
caught by the Japs.
The residence in Ihwang backed up on the river, and between the back
gate of the residence and the river there was nothing but a sand beach,
and on the other side open fields. Up somewhat from the residence there
was a bridge across the river, but since there was the possibility that
this might be guarded, I could easily go downstream from the
bridge, and opposite the residence and wade across the river, for it was
not very deep at this point. After wading the river I could slip in the
back gate of the residence, get out the things we wanted, and then back
through the gate again.
Two young men who worked for the residence, and who wore with us said
that they would go back with me, and so we set out. Across the river,
opposite the residence a Catholic family lived about ) of a mile from
the river. When we neared Ihwang we stayed &way from the river, just in
case the Japs had guards at the bridges, and since we were near this
Catholic family’s home, we decided to stop and ask them the lay of the
land. They said that the Japs had briefly crossed the river, but had
gone back and were nowhere on this side. this family consisted of an old
lady, a widow, and her married son. The old lady said that she had been
into town towards dark, and saw no Japs around the river. She
said that since she was old, she felt she had nothing to fear, and said
that she would cross the bridge now to see if there were guarding it.
She said that if she met any Japs she would simply tell them that she
was looking for her son, who had not returned home.
So we went up to the bridge, the old lady going across first. She soon
came back and reported that the coast was clear, and that there were no
Japs in sight. So we all crossed over, and were soon slipping into the
back gate of the residence.
Having an old woman crossing the bridge before us was a switch, but it
just goes to show how things are frequently turned around in China. In
the circumstances it was probably the most logical. An old lady had
28
little to fear; whereas, any man, and especially me, an American had
plenty to fear.
When I entered the back gate of the residence I could see no light of
any kind in any of the buildings, nor could I hear any sound. I felt
sure that if the Japs were sleeping in any of the buildings there, they
would have had guards, and likewise some sort of light somewhere. Never-
theless I approached the priest’s house very cautiously, and listened
for any sort of sound. But not a sound was to be heard, and while it was
not bright moonlight, it was not pitch dark either, and looking through
all the ground floor windows I could see or hear nothing. I cautiously
went through the whole house, and there was no one present. The men who
had come with me went to the front of the compound, to the front gate,
and they come bock saying there was no one there either,
I then went to the church and found that though the Japs had been
there, it was surely for a short time only, and outside of a few drawers
being pulled open, nothing else was touched. They probably came looking
for people, and when. They found none they did not linger long. The
tabernacle had not been touched, and the key was still in the sacristy.
I opened the tabernacle and began consuming an almost full ciborium of
hosts. After a very short while I could swallow no more for they were
just too dry. So I had one of the men who was with me to get a bottle of
water. By taking a mouthful of Hosts, and then a swig of water, it
worked much better, and finally I consumed all of the Blessed Sacrament.
The next step was to go and see if they stole our two horses, that were
stabled in a sort of a barn. We found that the Japs had probably not
even gone to the barn, for the horses were still there So we led them
out, and I tied them at the back of the residence, and I planned on
loading articles, clothing, bedding, etc,, on them so we could take
more. One of the horses however became frightened and broke away- and
ran out the back gate. The other one remained. We got carrying baskets
and began to pack clothes, Mass wine, flour for hosts, host-making.
gadgets, blankets, and anything I could think we would need for our stay
out in the hills.
29
Instead of a saddle I tied about 6 big bed comforters on the back of the
horse, and the men who were with me got their carrying poles and put the
basket of things I had collected on their shoulders, and we set off. I
led the way leading the borne, and the men followed me.
Instead of going the most direct way, up the road alongside the river,
we detoured, for about the time we were leaving the residence we heard
8-10 shots somewhere near the upper bridge. As the road alongside the
river passed this bridge, we detoured and hit the road above town.
It was just
getting daylight when we got to Chwren-sen’s house, and while I was glad
to see everyone, I guess they were even gladder to see me. I had been
busy all the time, and bad no time to worry too much about anything; but
they had nothing to do but to worry, and hope and pray that nothing
happened to me.
After breakfast our entire group, which must have consisted of about 30
Fuchow orphans, between the ages of 12 and 17; 4=5 women from
Fuchow along with the orphans, and about 8-10 men and women from Ihwang,
who were either teachers or workers in the residence, started for Ou-tu.
Ou-tu was still 12-13 miles and we did not reach it till late in the
afternoon, for everyone was walking, and carrying something or her.
Neither Steve or Murph had any decent shoes, As previously noted, when
they arrived in Ihwang, I had their shoes sent to the department to be
cleaned. When the Japs came the shoes bad not yet returned, and the only
footwear they had was Steve had a pair of my cloth Chinese shoes which
were too small for him, He could only get the front part of his foot
into them, and the back of the shoe he turned down and he walked on it.
Murph had a pair of my rubbers, which he could hardly get on his feet,
so he did as Steve did: put his toes into them and walked on the back
part of the uppers. When Murph was running up the rivers with me trying
to catch up with theme he ran through a puddle of waters and the bottom
was muddy, pulling off one of the rubbers and. he lost it, and ended up
with only one. My shoes were too small for Steve to walk in, so he and
Murph both took them off and walked barefooted
30.
Shortly after noon we ran into Father
Leo Moore. At this time he was my assistant in Ihwang. He was
always rather jittery, and never wanted to get entangled in anything.
The morning when I left to meet the Fuchow crowd rumors began to fly
thick and fast, Leo decided to get out of Ihwang, and he went across the
river to some hills there, located about 2 miles from Ihwang. He
remained there all afternoon, and when he saw the Japs come into town
shortly after noon he dared not come back. he remained with a family
there in the hills all night, and the next morning he too decided to
head for 0u-tu and we met him on the road.
Father Moore’s feet were more the size of Murph’s than mine, so Father
Moore gave Murph his shoes, as Murph’s feet were so sore and blistered
that he could hardly walk any more. Father Moore went barefooted to
Ou-tu, and Steve’ rode my horse.
By night we arrived in 0U-tu. There were now 6 priests: Steve, Murph,
Vandenburg, Moore, myself, and a Chinese priest, Father Duh, who was in
Ou-tu. We didn’t have enough beds, so we took down some doors and made
beds out of them. The Fuchow Orphans and others slept any and everywhere
there was a few feet of space.
The next few days were anxious ones, for rumors were flying in all
directions. We heard that the Japs were in Er-tu, in Ssu-tu (only 5
miles away), and on the road to Ou-tu. We hearly believed them but
by now we didn’t know whom to believe, for we firmly believed that they
would not come to Ihwang, but they did. We thought that they would not
come to Ou-tu, but who knew if they would or not? Definitely there was
the possibility.
As a result we decided to move on again. About 3-4 miles from
Ou-tu we had another mission, Den-kwo-gee, and we owned a building there
that was used as a chapel, and a priest’s room. Den-kwo-.gee was hidden
from Ou-tu for it was half way up a mountain,.
in a small valley, and the only way of getting to it was by a small path
that wound through the mountain. it was a village of 8-10 families,.
just about all of what were Catho1ics. So we all moved in, to the number
of about 50. We used doors, boards and what not for beds, and for the
first time in about a week felt relatively safe.
31
We definitely lacked many things, but
we were lucky to have the most important and essential thing: money.
Both Steve and I had been able to bring a considerable sum of money with
us when we fled, As a result, we were able to buy rice to eat, and also
vegetables, but rarely anything in the meat line. We also, at last, had
relative safety, and so did not mind putting up with other
inconveniences.
I really believe that at Den-kwo-gee I had one of the tastiest and most
appreciated meals in my entire life1 After being there for ten days or
so, with a daily diet of rice and vegetables three times a day, this
diet began to pall just a little One day someone wan able to buy an old
hen from one of the villagers. This old hen was probably so old that she
quit laying, and this must have been the reason the owner was willing to
sell. But we did not, mind that, she still had a little meat on her
bones. We boiled that old hen in rice till even she , tough as she was,
became tender. We didn’t have any dish or bowl large enough so this dish
of chicken and rice, we served it in a wash basin. But let me tell you,
that was the most tasty meal in my entire life, and I think I will
remember it all my life. In the more than 30 years that have elapsed I
have eaten many times chicken and rice, and enjoyed it every time, but
none of them could compare to the one in Den-kwo--gee,
There was not much to do but sit, but at least we were safe. It was not
long before we got word of what happened to Ihwang, The Japs had set
fire to the town, but only about 1/10 was burned. They shot any man,
woman, child, cow, hog, or just about anything that moved. They raped
any woman from the ages of 10-65, and before burning the town
they thoroughly looted it. When they Wanted something to eat they would
shoot any hog that they saw, then cut f I a few pounds of meat
that they wanted at the moment, and then leave the rest of the animal on
the ground to rot, There weren’t many cows, but those they saw they did
the same to them.
No one knows the number of persons killed by the Japs in Ihwang, but
surely the number was in the hundreds. And none of the humans shot were
buried either, but were left to lay on the ground to rot, along with the
hogs and cows.
32
This part of the Japanese army were
absolute barbarians. The men of the Roman Legions could not have been
more barbaric. They acted as though they were out of their minds in
their hate of the Chinese----- though they had little reason to hate
them, for the soldiers did not even resist them. They killed without any
provocation, and thought no more of taking a human life than they would
of squashing a fly or a mosquito; they looted they raped
indiscriminately, they burned.
This happened not only in Ihwang, but in every town they went to. In.
Fuchow it was the same; a good portion of the town was burned
including the residence, though the church, constructed of stone, did.
not burn. In our diocese 15-20 churches, or schools, or buildings,
either singly, or all, were burned.
In Iliwang I bad built a new rectory within the past 5 years. We used
the old rectory for a school. This old building was infested as were
many of the buildings in China, with white ants (termites), The first
report we got in Doa-kwo-gee was that all the buildings in the Ihwang
mission were burned. The first thought that came to my mind on hearing
this was:”Well, I’ll bet that this got rid of the white ants.”
Actually none of the Ihwang mission were burned. They did knock down
doors, kick out walls, burned furniture for firewood, and tore up
the place as well as looting it. Since the Japs were on foot or
horseback they could not carry off much except valuables like gold,
silvers money. etc. But what they could not carry off they destroyed.
The Japanese stayed in Ihwang only a few days, and then moved on, and
they left no garrison behind. But like a swarm of locusts, they left
behind nothing but destruction and. chaos. -
After 8-10 days we got reliable word in Den-kwo-gee that the Japs had
left Ihwang, and that son residents were returning. So I decided to
return to Ihwang to try to keep as much of the church property from
being carried off as I could. Consequently, Slug Murphy and I returned
But what a scene of destruction and smells met us as we entered the
city! All of the afore-mentioned pigs, cows humans etc., that had been
killed by the Japanese, and left to rot where the fell, were smelling to
high heaven. Some, especially the humans, had had some dirt shoveled
33
over them, but they were just too many, and too decayed, to be
buried1 However, there were packs of dogs, whose masters either had fled
or had been killed, and who had no one to feed them. Consequently even
enough man of the cadavers had been covered after a. fashion by people
who had returned to the town, the dogs usually dug them out to get
something to eat. The big maggot producing flies were almost as thick as
snow flake in a snow storm. If these flies lit on a wire, or branches of
trees, there were so thick that it made the wires look like sticks, and
tiny branches of trees like limbs. They swarmed about you, and you had
to keep your mouth closed lest they fly into your mouth.
With all this carrion, and the flies to spread it, disease was rampant.
There surely were not as many people as flies by a long shot, for I dare
say that not 1/20th of the people of Ihwang had returned. But even
though the people were outnumbered b y the flies, they died like flies.
These flies spread disease of all types. People were especially subject
to skin rashes and sores. Later on cholera took many victims. A woman,
who cooked our meals, was well when she got up. She cooked our
breakfast; by noon she was feeling bad; died about 2 o’clock, and they
buried her before night.
While Murph and I were there, there were daily rumors of the Japs as
being here or there; that they were coining to Ihwang, etc. However,
they never materialized, but they did keep one in an almost constant
state of tension and worry.
One day the rumors got especially bad, and the report was that the Japs
were only I mile from Ihwang. However, the direction from which they
were supposed to be coming was the wrong direction. They were in Fuchow,
to the north, but not on any of our sides, either east or west at least
not very close. These rumors this day said that they were approaching
from the west, and while it would not have been impossible for them to
approach from this direction, it was not too probably. Everyone began
evacuating the city. Murph and I decided that it was only
34
a rumor, and there was no need to flee. However, after watching just
about everyone in the city running as if the Japs were only a foot
behind them; terror written on their faces; urging us to go, etc., I
said to Murph that it seemed that all the people of the town were
leaving, and we might as well go too, as we would be the only ones left.
So we began packing out things to return to Ou-tu. We began in a very
calm and leisurely fashion, but after seeing everyone scurrying about
like rats with a cat three feet behind them, panic began to take hold of
us also. And before we finished our packing we were running around
grabbing things and preparing to leave just about as fast, and as panic
stricken as the Chinese. We surely learned from this that panic is
contagious.
We returned to Ou-tu and stayed for a few days, but the Japs never did
return to Ihwang, so we did, and this time it was permanent.
After about two months the Japanese drew back to their original lines,
which were outside our diocese, and everyone was able to return to their
homes.
This raid was of no practical value to the Japanese, for they did not
find any secret airfield from which planes could take off to bomb Japan.
It cost them plenty, and the only ones who got anything out of it were
the soldiers who looted silver and god. The Chinese suffered terribly,
with thousands and thousands of persons killed, hundreds of towns
burned; and no one knows how many suffered from looting, rape, etc.
(During this invasion, just about the same thing happened in Yukiang,
where Bishop Quinn, Tom Smith, Bob Kraft, Norb Miller, Howie Glynn, the
Sisters from Poyang, etc., spend three months out in the hills around
Yukiang. That is another story.)
At the time of the original invasion, Father Verdini, whom I first met
in Poyang when I arrived in China for the first time, and who regaled
Tom Smith and I with so many interesting stories about life in China,
was in 1uking. Father Verdini as an Italian
priest, working with us,
and he volunteered to remain behind to sort of take care of things, when
the
35
Japs came. At the time Italy and Japan were on the same sides, so he
figured that he would have no trouble with the Japanese. When the Bishop
and the rest came back to Yukiang, after the Japanese retreated all they
found of Father Verdini, and some 20-30 people who were in the residence
at Yukiang when the Jape came, a pile of bones in a pond behind the
residence. They had all been killed by the Japs, to the very last man,
woman and child, and not one single person was left to tell the story as
to how, when, where and why it happened.
Also at Wushan, a French Vincentian, Father Michael Poizat, who was also
working with us, was strung up by his thumbs by the Japs for half a day
and. severely beaten. When the Japs left someone cut him down, but he
died from the mistreatment shortly thereafter.
Around August 15th Steve and the Fuchow crowd were able to return to
Fuchow, and he found pretty much the same situation as I found in
Ihwang. Only in his case the priest’s house had been burned to the
ground. Ho has a number of stories told him of ‘happenings at the time
of the invasion, and later, since they (the Japs) kept a garrison of
soldiers in Fuchow during the three months of the invasion.
One story told Steve was by an old Catholic’ woman. They thought that
the Japa would not bother old women, so she, and some other women
remained at home when the Japs took over. Some time shortly thereafter,
she, and a couple of other old women, were thrown into a cistern by the
Japs. Whether they thought the fall would kill them, or whether they
intended later to come and throw dirt on them, thereby burying them, no
one knows. And from some of the other actions of the Jap soldiers at
this time, who would say that they threw these old women into the
cistern for no reason at all; or just for the fun of it? Anyway, after
being pushed down this cistern ‘the Japs did not return. Luckily there
was only a little water in the bottom of the cistern, and none of. the
people drowned. The Catholic woman who was in this cistern, also found
that a friend of here, a pagan woman, was there also. They expected to’
die at any moment, so the pagan woman, who knew a little about the
Catholic religion, asked’ the Catholic woman to baptize her. The
Catholic woman reached down and got some of the water
36
from the bottom of the cistern and baptized her pagan friend. The
Japanese never returned, and that night some people pulled them out of
the cistern, and they were no worse for the happening; in fact, the
pagan was better off, for she was baptized.
After the Second World War was over things gradually got back to normal
again, in 1947 I returned to the States for a vacation. When I returned
in 1948 there were rumors of the Communists getting stronger,
especially in the northern provinces of China. They were able to come
out of the province of Sian, and captured a fair amount of territory in
the northern part of China.
The reasons the Communists were suddenly able to spread out and, gain
territory, after remaining in Sian for almost 10 years without spreading
out was because when the Japanese surrendered at the end of the war, the
Communists being in that area accepted the surrender of the Japanese,
and took over all then guns and war materials. Up to this time the
Communists had practically no arms at all, and all of the propaganda
about the Communists fighting the Japs is just so much hog wash.
When the Japanese surrendered practically all of the Nationalist Chinese
soldiers were in Chungking, Ssu-shwen province, in the extreme western
part of China. American planes immediately began ferrying Nationalist
soldiers to the east to accept the surrender of the Japanese, and they
were able to do this from Pekin on south, but from north of Peking the
Communist’s ot there first and took the surrender of the Japanese. This
was the one thing that enabled the Communists to have enough guns to
begin fighting the Nationalists, and eventually take of or the entire of
China.
I have heard numerous persons say that it was the fault of America that
the Communists took over China; that if America had. Helped the
Nationalists more the Communists couldn’t have taken over. This just is
not true. America did all that she could, or that could be expected of
her, and it was not the fault of America that China was lost, but it was
the fault of the Nationalist Government, add no one else.
37
America did play into the hands of the
Communists, and did enable the Communists to take over quicker than they
might ordinarily have done, but it was because there were some men in
the United State’s State Department by the names of White, Service,
etc., who, if they were not actually Communists, were definitely
pro-Communist. They sold President Truman and General Marshall the idea
that the Chinese Communists were just mere agrian reformers; that they
were not real and true Communists, etc. and that America should give
them a break. Because of this bad advice General Marshall insisted on
having a coalition government after the war, with the Communists
represented as well as the Nationalists.
However, putting a Communist in the government, especially one that was
supposed to be a democratic one, is like putting a lion in a pen with a
sheep. Chiang Kai-shek knew that it would not work but he was forced to
allow it by General Marshall,
Because of this representation in the government, the Communists gained
respectability. Previously they were looked upon, and called, what they
really were: “bandits”. Now they suddenly became agrian reformers;
staunch foes of the Japanese; workers for democracy, etc.
All this helped the Communists to gain respectability, and it helped
them take over more and more of China, and they were aided in this to a
degree by what America did do, and not from what she did not do, or what
she should have done, but didn0t.
Another big factor enabling the
Communists to take over was the fact that because of the long drawn out
war the Nationalist Government began running their money printing
machines 24 hours a day, to pay for necessities. Due to the war, and the
disturbed conditions, practically no taxes reached the Federal
Government. Plenty of taxes were collected, but for the most part they
were used up before they got to the Federal level. Due to the disturbed
conditions law and V order had broken down for quite some time. Very few
public officials received any pay, so they began to get it. by bribes,
extortion, etc. Bribes were always a way of life for the Chinese, but
now it became rampant. Soldiers were always poorly paid, and even more
so now so they became extortionists and robbers.
38
Inflation during this time was so bad that they simply dropped the
last two....zeros on the bills (there was no silver: all paper). As a
result, $1.00 became 1¢ $10.00 became 10¢ and $100.00 became $1.00. No
one trusted the money, and rice became the standard on which every,
thing was gauged. You hired a man to work for you, for say 6 bushels of
rice a month, plus 2 pounds of oil and I pound of salt, etc. You did not
have to pay in rice and oil, etc., but whatever the price of rice was at
the time the salary was to be paid, and you paid that much money.
So with all this turmoil and uncertainty inflation, graft, corruption,
etc., the climate was ripe for a takeover. The Nationalist soldiers were
of the very lowest caliber. But this was nothing new, for soldiers
always had to be coerced to join the army; many times being chained.
There is an old Chinese rhyme which says :You do not use good iron to
make nails, and you do not use good men to make soldiers.” Soldiers had
always been looked down upon, and usually it was for a good reason. They
very rarely ever fought the enemy, but did oppress the civilians. They
received very poor salaries, and were more or less forced to extort both
money and necessities of life from civilians.
So when the Communists began closer and closer the ordinary person was
more or less glad to hear that. They said that nothing could be worse
than the way things were at the moments and the way they had been for
some time now.
Immediately prior to the Communists taking over Ihwang-----and this
applied to any other place in the same way----conditions were
unbelievably turbulent. The Nationalist soldiers were retreating, and I
don’t believe they ever put up a decent attempt at resistance; they just
retreated in a rout, And when soldiers retreat in disorders. without any
semblance of order or discipline, it is a shambles. The soldiers
forcibly and with guns grabbed any able bodied man they found to help
them carry their equipment. Some of these forcibly captured carriers
• 39
were able later on to escape and return home, but some were never
heard from again.
Other than the soldiers, civil servants of all types, who had worked for
the Nationalist government, knew that if they fell into the,
hands of the Communists, their days would be numbered. As a result,
practically every official of any kind fled, even policemen, when it
became evident that the Reds would take over. So there was no one to
enforce law and order of any kind. It is little wonder then that the
ordinary citizen thought that “anything would be better than this”, and
were not too averse to the coming of the Communists. So many more or
less welcomed the Reds, not particularly because they liked the
Communist, or that they were for Communism, but they felt that anything
would be better than what they had been enduring. But, oh, how wrong
they were! When it looked like i6 was inevitable that the Communists
would take over the entire country, Bishop Quinn sent home some of his
missionaries, especially the young, and also some of the older ones. H
closed the seminary and sent three theologians to Europe to finish their
studies. And then we sat back and waited. In Ihwang we received word
that the Communists had taken over Fuchow. Some days later I had a
letter from Steve Dunker, and he said that they had caused the church no
trouble, nor had they bothered’ him wither. This was reassuring, and we
then saw that the Communists were not going to act like the Japs did
when they took over. We were very glad to hear this, for we were fearful
as to just how they would act, especially towards American priests; two
things which they hated: Americans
and ministers of religion. The Communists had been in Fuchow for about a
week, and there were continual rumors of their arrival in Ihwang, but so
far nothing materialized. However, one day the rumors of their arrival
were no longer rumors. Without any fanfare, or advance notice, they
simply were
40
there. What happened was that many of them dressed not as soldiers, but
as ordinary people, bad been coming in small numbers for some time,
unknown to anyone but themselves. And when the main force of the army
came, they put on their soldier uniforms and Joined the main force of
the army.
The first I knew that they had arrived in Ihwang was a small group came
to the residence investigating to see if thorn were any Nationalist;
soldiers, or officials, around. They were very courteous and caused no
trouble, and after a short while left. And, for some few weeks not a
single soldier so much as put his head in our property.
At this time I had a. radio, and I had an aerial on the top of the
house. So as soon as the first group left I took it down, for they would
surely say that this was a transmitting set, and that I was either
communicating with the Nationalists or America.
Next I had a .22 caliber rifle and revolver. I took the revolver and
threw it behind the rice bin in the barn, where it could hardly ever be
found. The extra cartridges I had, with the exception of a few boxes, I
threw into the big latreen where all human excrement was put so that it
could be later used for fertilizer,
The Communists caused no trouble in town. They were very law abiding,
and bothered no one. They said that everyone should go about their own
business, and that they would go about theirs, and neither would bother
the other. They never gave any orders, or started 1ayin down rules and
laws. They said that their only job was to chase out the Nationalist
“bandits”, and that they had no intention of bothering law-abiding
citizens. They also said. that they were there to protect and help the
people, and to liberate them from the yolk of the Nationalists. They
urged all former officials to return and resume their jobs and offices,
and promised that they Would not be harmed unless they were evident
criminals.
At first all this nice talk was naturally taken with a. grain--- or two
or three or four----of salt. But after the elapse of 10-15 days,
with its constant repetition, and their being so nice to every one,
business did begin again to a certain degree. No Nationalist
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