Chinese and American citizens lay flowers at a Doolittle Raid Rescue memorial during a friendly exchange event, on April 17, 2025, in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/VCG]

In April, a group of Americans traveled thousands of miles to visit Quzhou, a small city in East China's Zhejiang province. While there, they expressed their respect and gratitude to the local people, who selflessly rescued some US pilots during WWII, after their planes were forced to crash.

Earlier in March, a documentary made its British premiere, telling the poignant story of Chinese fishermen on the Zhoushan Islands, East China's Zhejiang province, who rescued some British POWs from a Japanese ship during WWII. As the credits rolled, the audience members, deeply moved by the fishermen's compassion and care, rose to their feet in applause.

What happened in those skies and seas over China more than 80 years ago? How did ordinary Chinese people save foreign soldiers they had never met amid the chaos of war? Moreover, decades later, what invaluable connections have these rescues forged for those involved, and how do they continue to symbolize the enduring friendship between China and the world in the fight against fascism, and showcase the kindness and love of the Chinese people that transcend borders?

'A message of hope and respect'

"Historically, such instances are rare where the citizens of a nation take immense risks to aid those from foreign lands, helping them resist the brutal actions of another group of foreign invaders," said Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, during an event on April 18 that commemorated the Doolittle Raid Rescue, which took place 83 years ago.

"This is a story of extraordinary friendship and mutual sacrifice, as well as a tale of love and loyalty. It has become a remarkable touchstone that unites people from both countries, conveying a message of hope and respect," Greene added.

The Doolittle Raid was a surprise attack that significantly influenced the course of WWII. On April 18, 1942, 16 US bombers, led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, launched from the USS Hornet and conducted an air raid on Japan in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor. The operation was later adapted into the film Thirty Seconds over Tokyo in 1944.

Before their departure, Lieutenant Doolittle and his crew agreed to reunite at the airport in Quzhou. However, due to various challenges, including loss of communication and low fuel, the planes ran out of fuel before reaching Quzhou Airport.

As a result, 75 of the about 80 raiders on the bombers parachuted into the areas of East China's Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Anhui, and Fujian provinces. Among them, three lost their lives, and eight were captured by the Japanese army, while the remaining 64 were rescued by local civilians.

Under the help of Chinese civilians, the rescued US pilots later gathered in Quzhou before collectively traveling to Chongqing. In Chongqing, they either chose to return home or stay in China and join the Flying Tigers to continue their fight against Japan.

Liao Mingfa, an 88-year-old resident of Jiangshan county in Quzhou, still remembers that on April 19, 1942, when he was just a boy, his father, Liao Shiyuan, rescued a foreign man in the local mountains. Despite not knowing the man's identity or the reason for his presence in a remote village thousands of miles from home, Liao Mingfa's parents cared for their mysterious guest, tending to his wounds and treating him with medicinal herbs.

During a time when the Chinese people faced dire living conditions, the Liao family went to great lengths to care for their foreign guest, who turned out to be Lieutenant Charles Ozuk (1916-2010), one of the Doolittle raiders. They prepared special meals of rice or eggs for him while subsisting on corn paste themselves.

It is remarkable that, under such perilous conditions, ordinary Chinese civilians managed to execute such an effective rescue, that Zheng Weiyong, vice-president of the Quzhou Doolittle Raid Historical Research Association, expressed his astonishment when he first learned of this miraculous rescue 20 years ago.

Since then, Zheng has become deeply fascinated by the extraordinary bond between the American raiders and the Chinese civilians. He has spent two decades traveling across Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, and Jiangxi, piecing together the details to reconstruct the full narrative of the Doolittle Raid rescue. "When the Doolittle raiders returned to the US with great honor, we must not forget the Chinese civilians who aided them," Zheng told the Global Times.

It is important to note that the rescue came at a tremendous cost. Following the Doolittle Raid, the airport in Quzhou was subjected to intense bombing by Japanese forces, and Japan also waged biological warfare in Zhejiang, resulting in significant civilian casualties.

Han Qiang, president of the Quzhou Doolittle Raid Historical Research Association, emphasized that the people of Quzhou and surrounding areas not only repaired the airport for the Doolittle raiders before the operation and rescued them during it, but also made great sacrifices afterward. "These actions contributed to a shared global struggle against fascism," Han noted.

Four of Doolittle Raid's Tokyo Raiders (left) pose with Chinese soldiers in China in May 1942. [Photo/VCG]

'Always very grateful to them'

On March 17, the Chinese documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru made its British debut. This poignant film tells a story of some British prisoners of wars (POWs) in the Lisbon Maru incident in 1942 during WWII, filled with blood, tears, love, and humanitarian compassion. More than 80 years after the incident, this powerful narrative has finally returned to the homeland of these POWs through the documentary.

The Sinking of The Lisbon Maru reveals the long-buried truth of the 1942 sinking of the Lisbon Maru, an armed Japanese cargo ship that participated in WWII. In October 1942, the Lisbon Maru transported more than 1,800 British POWs from Hong Kong toward Japan, without bearing a sign indicating it was carrying POWs - a violation of the Geneva Conventions.

After being struck by a torpedo from a US submarine, Japanese soldiers, instead of trying to save the POWs, cruelly battened them down below deck, left them to drown, and even shot at them, leading to the deaths of 828 prisoners.

When the ship went down off the coast of Zhoushan Islands, 384 POWs were fortunately rescued by the local Chinese fishermen who risked their lives to pull the POWs from the water. Despite the danger of being killed by the Japanese soldiers, they brought the POW survivors back to the village, offered them food and clothes, and even cut off their own quilts to make shoes for the barefoot survivors.

For decades, the humanitarian spirit of those ordinary Chinese people has provided warmth to the surviving British POWs from the Lisbon Maru incident and their descendants.

"My dad always said that the Chinese fishermen were heroes. He was always very grateful to them," Denise Wynne, daughter of one POW survivor Dennis Morley, told the Global Times. "Without them, I wouldn't be here."

"The Lisbon Maru incident not only exposed the cruelty of war and the brutality of Japanese fascists, but also highlighted the collaboration between China and the UK - both their military forces and civilians - who fought shoulder to shoulder against fascist aggression during WWII," said the documentary's director and producer, Fang Li.

Fang praised the Chinese fishermen who risked their lives to save British POWs, highlighting their profound sense of compassion and empathy. "Their pure kindness and care are truly touching," he told the Global Times.

Friendship endures

Time has passed, but the friendship forged in blood and fire endures in the hearts of the Chinese and foreign people, who once joined hands in the fight against fascism for global peace.

In June 2024, descendants of 15 British POWs surviving from the Lisbon Maru incident traveled to the Zhoushan Islands. On the shores that once echoed with the sounds of war, they embraced the descendants of the Chinese fishermen who had rescued the POWs, calling each other brothers and sisters.

During this special trip, Wynne expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the fishermen's descendants. She shared her hopes of bringing the younger generations of her family to China in the near future, to further explore the country and learn more about the deep connections they share.

"I would definitely love to come back and continue the friendship and connect with the Chinese people," Wynne told the Global Times.

Since the 1990s, descendants of the Doolittle Raiders have frequently visited Quzhou, inviting their Chinese rescuers to commemorative events in the US.

"Although we are separated, we are like one family. Susan, the daughter of one of the Raiders, visits us every year and reminisces with us. As soon as she steps out of the car and sees our family, she hugs my father as if they were siblings," Liao Qunxiong, son of Liao Mingfa, told the Global Times.

The friendship and yearn for peace are also being passed down to the next generation. On April 17, representatives of the participants in this year's Doolittle Raid Rescue commemorative events, along with a group of local high school students from Quzhou, planted trees near the gravestone of Leland Faktor, one of the Doolittle Raiders who died after parachuting into Quzhou.

"When these three trees mature, people will say they were planted to honor the memories of those war-torn years and, in this way, the story of the Doolittle Raid Rescue is passed down through generations," Zheng said while his eyes sparkling with hope as he gazed at the young saplings.