National Memories: China-USA World War II Collaboration at Hawaii's Pacific Aviation Museum

"The historic friendship between China and the United States in World War II was significant for the outcome of the war, and continues to resonate with citizens of both countries," said Shauna Tonkin, director of education of the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, "this exhibit portrays the events and emotions of that era through remarkable photographs that bring this history to life."

It's big. Really big. Larger than life comes to mind. Inspiring. It makes your spirit soar. 

Hawaii's Pacific Aviation Museum at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor offers a unique historical wow-factor like no other. I've been coming here since the museum opened on its first day in 2006. For me the closest thing to immersing myself in aviation up to that time was flying Economy-class on a commercial airline. 

But now? Oh! 

I'm a huge fan of this museum, a must-see for anyone visiting Hawaii's Pearl Harbor. I'm also a huge fan of that special-class of aviation historians and airplane afficiandoes. They talk-story about their flying machines and experiences with a special affection and reverence that brings a smile. 

Earlier this Spring I was sent news of a new exhibition that got my blood pumping. On March 15, 2015 National Memories, a photo exhibition like no-other focusing on the collaboration between the USA and China during World War II was opening. Its focus is on the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater. When I was reminded that the exhibit was set to close on July 31.

(Click here for a link to Hawaii Governor Ige's official proclamation in recognition of the exhibit). 

I was bounded and determined to put any and all my commitments on the back-burner to see it. If I had to walk to Pearl Harbor so be it! Fortunately my already-worn running shoes and leg muscles were spared. 

That's the U.S.S. Missouri Memorial on the left; the conning tower of the Pacific Aviation Museum in the center; and the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial on the right. My visit to Pearl Harbor was on a picture-perfect day -a stark contrast to those on December 7, 1941 and thereafter. 

This is the restored conning tower at the Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island, Pearl Harbor Hawaii. 

The National Memories exhibit was in Hanger 79, a part of the Pacific Aviation Museum. 

This is the scene I beheld when I quietly strolled into Hanger 79. 

The sheer size of the hanging panels lends itself to what is so evidently true of those portrayed here. The Chinese and Americans worked side-by-side under horrendous circumstances to do the impossible -and as a result earned for themselves the larger-than-life reputation they so clearly deserved then as they do now. 

Many Americans today still think China is on the other side of the world.

This photo was a popular one among my fellow visitors. It shows an American soldier and a Chinese soldier leaning in each others' direction to light a cigarette during the fighting in Burma's Hukawng Valley: 

Click here for a link to the story published in China Daily. David Lampton, the former president of the National Committee on US-China Relations summed this image up by saying, "It showed a kind of cooperation. It's very humane... this is a good model for cooperation we should apply in the future, it also reminds us that there is no peace in Asia unless the United States, China and Japan get along, so we have to find a way to do that."

Dashing and daring, don't you agree? Meet Canadian-born Chinese Aviator Albert Mah. 

Dated May 1, 1944, "American-Japanese interpreters with Brig. Gen. Frank Merrill's Infantry troops in northern Burma. Left: T/Sgt. Herbert Miyasaki, Paauild, Hawaii. Right: T/Sgt. Akiji Yoshimura, Colusa, California. 

This was my favorite image of the exhibition. Meet 16-year-old Pvt. Pan Chen-to of the 1st Chinese Commandos. "The youngest paratrooper in the world... is smiling happily after making his first jump at Kunming, China. The paratroopers are being trained by American officers and men of the Office of Strategic Service." 

Another personal favorite of mine was this image. Dated June 25, 1942, it was all-smiles for Jean Lynch and Lt. Pao-Chuen Chung, Lt. Yuen-Kong Ling, Lt. Ming-Wei Chang, and Lt. Wen-Su Hsu. They were "at an eastern air base in New England [the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and my ancestral home, Connecticut] where they were receiving advanced aerial operation instruction" while enjoying "ice cream cones at the PX" by Miss Lynch. 

I found a familiar face among the photos! may I introduce you to U.S. Marine Cpl. Richard W. Miller? The Philadelphia native is shown here in this image dated September 30, 1945 is bargaining with a native of Tianjin (Tientsin) for a ride in the man's rickshaw. Miller is familiar to me through my late-father, Herbert Bingham Mead, who was stationed in Tianjin with the 1st Marine Division at the same time (See my historical blog site My Dad the U.S. China Marine). Miller was a Marine photographer who was serving with the occupation and repatriation troops there and in Beijing. 

On my way out I paused to gaze at these window panes. The bullet holes you see are from the December 7, 1941 attack by forces of the Empire of Japan. 

This was one of those exhibits that left me feeling inspired. It was all so historic, and yet so new. I also felt a tinge of validation about my own book project on the post-World War II American China Marines of which my father was one of them. Here were two very distinct peoples (Chinese and American) fighting together in a cause that brought out the best and the bravest. What I identified with most was the humanness of this exhibit. While the military historical overtones were obvious this what I witnessed on this visit was a human story. I loved it and, in all honesty, hated to leave. 

The exhibit was organized by the China Overseas Exchange Association, the Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, Rhythm Media Group Inc. and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. 

Please go to the Pacific Aviation Museum here in Hawaii soon. This exhibit concludes July 31. You will not regret it. I hope your spirits soar as mine did.

For more on this exhibit go to the following resources:

Photo exhibit on China-U.S. WWII collaboration unveils in Honolulu.  Xinhuanet Asia & Pacific Edition. March 15, 2015. 

Photos Record US-China Friendship During WWII. Global Times. March 19, 2015. 

National Memories: Sino-U.S. Cooperation During WWII. Beijing Review. Updated June 11, 2015. 

C-100 Supports Commemoration of U.S.-China WWII Collaboration. Committee of 100. October 15, 2014. 

Asian Civilizations Museum: A Must-Visit Stop in Singapore

"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." Oscar Wilde

As a traveler I often find myself amazed -even startled- by the wealth of history I encounter. One of the transformational benefits of our adventures is coming face-to-face with civilizations far different and older than our own.

It's one of the reasons why I love museums. More often than not I like to stroll among the exhibits alone. Each visit is like a recurring dream of times, places, cultures and people who intrigue the imagination. For me this is one of life's greatest pleasures.

In March I visited one of my all-time favorite treasuries of history and culture, the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore. I had not been here in seven years. It was well past time that I became reacquainted.

The museum is located at the mouth of the Singapore River in the Empress Place Building. Its neo-Palladian exterior countenance proclaims a distinctive grandeur associated with Singapore's early colonial history. This was where it all began. Government offices were housed here. A museum staffer told me that the building was originally intended to be a courthouse. As the government grew so did the need for offices, especially to serve Parliament House.

The name 'Empress Place' was designated in 1907 to honor Queen Victoria. The building continued to be used for various government functions until the 1980s.

 

The surrounding area includes a pedestrian path along the banks of the Singapore River, Cavanaugh Bridge (built 1869), the Fullerton Hotel (formerly the post office) and the modern business district. The area has one foot in the mysteries of the historic past and another in the future -just like the rest of Singapore.

Visitors are permitted to bring in cameras and take non-flash photographs. The subdued lighting at some exhibits made that task challenging.

 

The first thing I noticed were the stairs to the exhibition level. Wide, stately and symmetrical, the was a perfect introduction to the rest of the museum.

I was impressed by the elegant Doric columns, magnificent cornices and superbly detailed moldings under high ceilings.

And -truth be told- the air conditioning was a welcomed respite from the pungent stench of haze from Sumatra, overcast skies and temperatures in the mid-90s.

 

Each of the exhibition spaces was like entering a new time zone. Each zone was defined by its featured history and cultural artifacts on display.

My empirical encounters with the objects on display caused me to move between those cultural zones. I gained a sense of perspicacity, delving into each object in wonder. Indeed, I was curious about what the ethereal, everyday lives of those who created these objects were like.

I found myself filled with a growing sense of wonder as my journey continued. For a while I recalled an earlier chapter in my life back in Connecticut. In my boyhood years I received a telescope as a Christmas present. During the winter months when the evening skies were clearest I'd venture outside and cast my gaze to the heavens -realizing that the Universe is quite large, complicated and full of wonder. I felt that same sense of awe again. It felt good.

The textiles, furniture, sculptures, weapons, jewelry and more took my imagination in all sorts of directions. What a stunning collection!

I grew to again understand how this island-state in Southeast Asia was the scene of a convergence of cultures, traditions and people that spans centuries. Coming from America -a civilization barely 238 years old- I also found myself asking lots of questions.

The Asian Civilizations Museum was a perfect place to saturate my curiosity in the material histories of the Chinese, Malays, Indians, Muslims and the rich diversity of Western Asia. I thought about their descendants who call Singapore home. What a great place to reconnect with one's heritage!

The second level of the museum featured a special exhibit on China, Secrets of the Fallen Pagoda: Treasures from Famen Temple & the Tang Court. The capitol of Tang China was Chang'an (Xi'an today), which was the core of economic commerce and cultural convergence. For more than 1,000 years a crypt near the Famen Temple was sealed. Rediscovered in 1987, magnificent objects of gold, silver, ceramics and glass were displayed before me. The borders between past and present, Chinese and American melted away.

I was in historical heaven!

If you expect when you visit the Asian Civilizations Museum to be here a mere hour or two think again. I do not exaggerate that I visited most of the exhibits on display at least twice. Aside from a well behaved school group, the museum was quiet during my exploration.

Native American poet and writer Joy Harjo has said, "I know I walk in and out of several worlds every day." I strolled among the cultural and spiritual realms of ancient Asian civilizations for hours -and I was never bored. The various dimensions and complexities of Southeast Asian civilization dazzled me. The special exhibits illuminated my perceptions, much as the constellations of the winter night skies of my Connecticut boyhood did years ago.

My journey through alluring stories, ancient artifacts and well-laidout exhibits was a wonderful one. This was a great place to get lost in time.

Still a Wonder: Thian Hock Keng in Singapore

I got lost. My flight had landed at Changi Airport only hours before. 

Did the fact that I lost my bearings particularly matter? In retrospect? Not really. After a seven-year absence from Singapore I correctly assumed that my initial explorations of the Lion City would be ill-predicted. By that I mean that I'd spend the first day or two wandering around and simply making up my journey along the way. 

The smell of "haze" from burning fires in Sumatra filled the air. But as I rounded a street corner lined with traditional shophouses the distinctive, pungent aroma of burning joss sticks filled the air -and then there it was: 158 Telok Ayer Street. 

Dignified. Splendid, yet understated. Exquisite in its exactitude. A meticulous connection to Singapore's engaging past like no other. 

The initial sight of Thian Hock Keng delighted me. At last! I would be renewing an acquaintanceship started nearly ten year before.  

As an historian I've toured many historic churches, synagogues and temples. My family even built a few, such as the Second Congregational Church in my ancestral home in Greenwich, Connecticut USA. The stories told and untold make for compelling analysis and exploration. Thian Hock Keng was clearly outside my traditional comfort -much to my satisfaction. 

In a city-state that bustles with action day and night this beautiful oasis of calm and serenity has been here since 1839. Once upon a time the nearby area was the waterfront. It was at this historic spot where early seamen and migrants from China's Fujian province would pay their respects and express their gratitude for a safe journey and arrival. 

I thought about my own ancestors in Connecticut and what their lives were like. Living in homes that still grace our roadways on land they farmed in relative safety, I juxtaposed them with the precarious, formidable journey faced by those early migrants from China to the shores of an island colony founded by Sir Stamford Raffles just twenty years before. It was a time when whatever semblance of law and order existed on the seas still posed severe challenges for those who risked it all for a better life in a young, struggling colony. I felt humbled. 

Not a single nail holds this temple together. Surrounded by modern skyscrapers and now far from the shore, the mysteries of this place were forcibly compelling to me, but in an inspiriting,

serene way. 

This Chinese guardian lion seemed to smile. These are found in pairs in front of temples. They are said to have robust, legendary powers -with safeguarding benefits! 

I consider this temple to be an architectural masterpiece. I loved the ornateness of the roof details, the Chinese scripts on the red columns, the red lanterns, the serenity and symmetry of the courtyards, such as the one pictured above. 

The most important element of this temple is that it is still alive with worshippers. Indeed, this is a functioning temple and not a tourist haven. Photography is not permitted in the areas where worshippers pay their respects, just as generations have done so here for 175 years. 

As I wandered among the courtyards, doorways and soaked in the cornucopia of Chinese traditions around me I found myself at time feeling emotional. At the time I was surprised and unsure why. 

But I came to understand that I was witnessing an intersection of my own, albeit indirect, reunion with Chinese civilization through my father. My wanderings triggered thoughts and buried feelings of my late-father, who passed on four years ago. 

Dad had never visited Singapore, but he was stationed in China after World War II. I could picture Dad in his youthful early-20s meandering among similar temples in Tianjin and Beijing. Years ago he told me stories of his wonder and astonishment at the ancientness of those temples, of an encounter with a civilization far older than our own. I felt teary-eyed at times in a way I have a hard time articulating in words. 

I also thought about my friends in Singapore and their ancestors who made the difficult, even treacherous journey to come here. I felt a commonality with them, with their progenitors and mine so long ago. The experience of reuniting with Thian Hock Keng reminded me that despite cultural, language and other characteristics we, together, are part of a chain of history that started so long ago. And, together, we had history to celebrate, to connect with through smiles, curiosity, and the exquisite pain of tears of separation and joy that proved to be an unexpected gift. 

It was all so poetic. As I departed the front gate and turned to look one more time I felt grateful. You encounter all kinds when you travel the world. One of the guides nodded and smiled as I re-entered the modernity of Singapore. He bade me a safe journey. That was nice.