Dolittle Raid in the past, DO-LITTLE for the world today
When I was little, I visited the thirteenth air force station in Wang Village and shuttled through the air-raid shelter with my family. Now, though years have passed, my impression of the station is still as clear as it ever was. Closing my eyes, the walls which are engraved with English names will come to my mind. I can even feel the damp atmosphere in the cave. For me, it’s my closest contact with the Doolittle Raid.
In fact, the Doolittle Raid has been praised by the local people in Quzhou so many times that almost every of my fellow has heard of it. But most of us knows nothing more about it except a great air attack and that our ancestors did a lot to help the American pilots. Unlike them, I learned a lot about it from a book.
In 2014, the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Mao Lulu, a local writer in Quzhou, published a book called SAVING THE BROKEN-WINGED EAGLES, telling a story of people in Quzhou and the pilots through the viewing angle of two children. I read the book and fancied the story. Though young ,I could imagine how surprised (a bit afraid perhaps) the villagers were when they first found the “giants with blue eyes and yellow hair ” lying under the tree and how determined some of them were when discussing whether to save the “giants” or not. And I imitated how the pilots tried to be friendly and communicate with the locals through gestures and expressions. When I got to know that the selfless villagers were all killed by the Japanese army at the end for saving the pilots, tears rolled down my cheeks and I just couldn’t fight it back. But I firmly believe that the villagers would make the same choice if they knew the result in advance. It’s a story about love,devotion and kindness, it’s a praise for the people of both country.It’s a history that truly happened on this beautiful land and shall never perish from the earth.
To write this article,I did some research and learned a lot about the Doolittle Raid online and in the museums.The world has reached an agreement that the raid caused negligible material damage to Japan, but its consequences had major psychological effects. I also found out that many of the pilots continued to fight in China and other parts of the world for peace,justice and freedom around the globe.Many of them sacrificed for this noble career and were never able to go back home...These pilots and villagers were only drops of water in the endless river of history but they represented the most precious character that mankind has ever had: bravery,selflessness and the eternal quest for freedom and human equality.
I believe the reason why we learn history is not only to remember the past,but more importantly,to look into the future.The Doolittle Raid has brought us a lot.Besides inscribing the wars in our mind,we shall ask ourselves why the war started and how to maintain the peace that we have now.Besides cherishing the decades long relationship between China and the U.S. ,we shall become the pioneer of a more diverse international communication and cooperation.And besides admiring our ancestors, we shall move on and do our own part in today’s world.
No matter what’s waiting for us in the future,we shall always have the faith that the power of love is always stronger than the power of hate.And every of us should keep fighting for our world just like our ancestors fought for their’s.
By Chelsea Cheng (程近)
Class 17,Grade 2
Quzhou NO.2 middle school of Zhejiang