Jee-ing graduated from Yenching University in Peking (Beijing). Contrary to her father’s wishes (Car-lo wanted her to go to graduate school first.), Jee-ing eloped with her long-time college boyfriend. The young couple was married by the Ship’s Captain while sailing to America. Jee-ing’s goal was a Master’s Degree in Child Psychology; while her husband, K.P. Huang’s ambition was to get a Doctorate in Philosophy. KP wanted to be a Scholar-Official in the Chinese Government--a real Mandarin. The University of Michigan housed them in the married students’ complex.
Both wanted the prestige and honor of an advanced American Degree. In 1935, Jee-in was among some of the first Chinese women to attend a university in America.
When their son was born a year later, Jee-ing and KP returned to Shanghai to honor Car-lo with the birth of his Number One Grandson. By this time, all of his objections to the marriage had been forgotten and forgiven. Unfortunately, KP had to return to Michigan for the start of summer school. Jee-ing elected to stay a while longer.
A few short weeks later, the Japanese blockaded the coast and bombed Shanghai. For four years, the family lived under the oppressive Japanese occupation. Then everything changed on December 7, 1941. Simultaneous with the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese announced that all American citizen in Shanghai will be interned in Concentration Camps.
Aware of the consequences, Car-lo instructed Jee-ing to burn any and all documents that indicated that his Grandson is a natural-born American citizen. Jee-ing’s travel documents and her son’s birth certificate went up in flames. To make doubly certain that his five year-old Grandson would never see a concentration camp, Car-lo arranged their escape from Shanghai.
Jee-ing only had a few days to prepare herself and her young son for their escape. You are the youngest soldier in China, she said as she gently laid the cloth money belt on the bed. Then she spilled out the contents. These are gold coins and diamonds, she explained. We will have to live on this money, so say nothing to anyone, understand? Bo nodded as she gently wrapped the belt securely around his small waist. Say nothing, she repeated seriously. You will be following your Great Grandfather’s example, Jee-ing said with a smile.
Mother and son boarded the coastal steamer. They were immediately separated. Males in one line and females in the other. Jee-ing stood facing her son as the Japanese soldiers marched down between the lines. They inspected the passengers’ papers. When the Inspector got to Bo, he looked up at the soldier, smiled and handed him some Japanese occupation money exactly as he had been told to do. Smiling in return, the soldier took the money, bent over slightly to pat Bo on the head, then moved on.
The ship reached Canton a few days later. There, mother and son changed into worn and patched peasants’ clothing. Properly disguised, they boarded a salt-laden river junk going west on the Pearl River Delta. They hid in a secret compartment under the burlap bags of salt when the junk reached the outer limits of the Occupied zone.
Here the Japanese made one last inspection. They knew the junk owner. This was just another one of the junk’s regular deliveries. The Japanese let the harmless cargo junk pass.
The Chinese underground had assigned Jee-ing to be Governor-General Li’s his private Secretary/Translator. Being bilingual, she would work with General Stilwell’s command.
Governor-General Li of Canton Province had been befriended by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek at the Whampoa Military Academy, the West Point of China. The Generalissimo had ordered Li to protect the assets housed in the vaults of the Bank of Canton. The gold, silver and paper currencies, both domestic and foreign, were packed into unmarked wooden crates, loaded onto heavy-duty Army trucks and driven inland ahead of the invading Japanese. At this secret location somewhere between Canton and Chungking, Li built his headquarters.
General Li’s war-time strategy was simple: protect China’s assets. Li positioned his troops in defensive rings around his headquarters. There, he sat and waited for the Americans to beat the Japanese. Li also hoarded the drums of American gasoline flown over the Himalayas. The precious fuel would be used to continue the fight against the Communists. This strategy would allow the Generalissimo to use these resources to solidify his control of China after the war.
The huge stockpile of 55 gallon drums was guarded by General Li’s long-time rickshaw driver. Rickshaws were obsolete in an modern Army moved by trucks. But, out of loyalty, the General gave the old man the job of protecting the Gasoline. This is an important job you know, the Old Man said to anyone who would listen. No one will sell one gallon of the General’s gas on the black market. And no one did.
Then disaster struck. It was the old man’s habit to sit in his rocking chair in front of the gas-storage facility. Between his feet was a small metal wash basin filled with chunks of bright burning charcoal. The heat warmed his feet and legs. Occasionally, he’d lean over and rubbed his hands over the fire. One day, he dozed off in the warmth of the winter sun. His rocking chair suddenly tipped backwards. The movement shocked him awake and he inadvertently kicked the heating pan. The hot coals spilled onto the gasoline soaked ground. Within seconds, just as he shouted his warning, the stockpile of gas exploded sending a column of thick black smoke 1,000 feet into the air.
Certain that the Japanese would send an observation aircraft over for a closer look, General Li ordered an immediate evacuation. The first trucks scheduled to move out were the ones loaded with gold, silver and all of the General’s secret documents.
Jee-ing personally loaded the General’s sensitive and secret papers in his truck. In her haste, one of the boxes fell open to reveal the contents. The documents caught here eye. She had stumbled onto a file of Swiss Bank Account statements. Knowing that she was on dangerous ground, Jee-ing closed the box and went about her business as if nothing had happened.
(To be continued...)
(To be continued...)
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