Mrs. Huang Huanxiao was the only nurse in the American Air Force
Field Hospital on the route of?"the Hump" during World War II.
Now she is 90 years old and recently began to write her memoirs.
The old lady, who was once called "Angel of the Hump", wants to
leave the true stories of World War II and "the Hump" to her
descendants.
Mrs. Huang was born in Xinhui City, Guangdong Province, and
moved to Macao with her family when she was four years old. She
joined the Royal Association of Nurses after graduating from the
Nurses' School of Queen Marry Hospital. In 1942, she responded to a
call made by Song Qingling (wife of Dr Sun Yatsen, founder of the
Republic of China and one of the famous "Soong Sisters") and went
back to the mainland to join the anti-Japanese war. Then she was
sent to the Flying Tiger Hospital of America's Air Force in Yunnan
Province. At that time, Huang was the only female nurse in the
hospital although there were about 30 doctors and nurses in the
hospital.
In 1941, the Japanese waged war on Southeast Asia. Yunnan turned
to another battlefield. American general Claire Chennault formed
the Flying Tiger Fleet which consisted of American volunteer pilots
and supported Chinese people to fight Japanese invaders during
World War II. They transported arms and other materials, and
carried out air raids. The route was known as "the Hump".
"Those American pilots were all brave and noble-minded," Huang
said. "At the beginning of the hump airline, many planes crashed
when buffeted by unpredictable winds and storms of the Hump. After
the opening of the airline, many wounded pilots of transport planes
and fighter planes were sent to our field hospital everyday. Those
serious wounded pilots would be sent to the rear hospital in
Kunming after our emergency treatment to these patients."
The pictures, which were collected carefully by the old lady,
show that the hospital was simple and crude. There were only
several one-story houses which were used as patients' wards and
emergency treatment wards. Most of the doctors and nurses lived in
tents. "The time of working in the America's Air Force Field
Hospital was the most memorable time for me though I was in danger
and tired at that time. We saved many wounded heroes everyday and
waited for the victory news everyday." According to statistics, 600
airplanes crashed and more than 1,500 pilots died and missing
during May 1942 and March 1945 in "the Hump".
Huang and her husband lived in Kunming after the war. In 2002,
her husband passed away. Then, her children accompanied her to
visit her hometown Macao and some European countries, such as
Germany, France, Belgium and Holland. Media from these places
reported the lady's story. Her experience, especially the
experiences in World War II, evoked people to reflect upon the war
and brought her respect from peace lovers. Newspapers admired her
for bringing peace and love from Asia to Europe.?
Huang began to write her own memoir last year. She also
concerned herself about the salvage of crashed Flying Tiger Fleet
planes in Dianchi Lake in Yunnan. "There must be many crashed
planes waiting for us to find them. I hope they can be discovered
and let the spirits of the martyrs go back to their hometown as
soon as possible."
(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan August 25, 2003)