Mom arrived in China in January,
1946. Dad arrived a year later. I am lucky to have most of the letters Mom wrote
to her parents from China as well as the majority of letters Dad wrote to his
mother, sister and grandparents. The letters together number into the hundreds.
Here are just a few excerpts.
Our
ship was the Marine Flasher a C-4 transport and we had 250 colored
enlisted troops, 200 (white) Army officers, two Chinese nuns, 8 Chinese
Air Force Officers and 20 other officers and a number of enlisted Chinese
men in the Air Corps, plus approximately 30 civilians, both American
and Chinese.
I
was seasick practically the whole trip - not bad enough to lose a meal,
but I was able only to eat about one meal a day. The rolling of the
ship made all kinds of things happen. Be eating dinner and suddenly
our dishes go to one end of the table or in your lap. Walking through
passageways you'd hit both sides and sometimes we wondered if we'd be
able to stay in our bunks. Our suitcases would go scooting across the
rooms and everything would go crash. (Mom)
|
Shanghai!
I'm sure there isn't another city like it in all the world. It isn't
Chinese, it isn't American, it isn't English, it isn't Russian, but
has something of all to make it International.
Then
the thing I was really amazed at was the noise. Honestly it's nosier
than New York City, Chicago or any of them. There's very few cars, mostly
trucks and jeeps (Army), streetcars and a few buses and then thousands
upon thousands of rickshaws and peddybikes all crowded together on the
narrow streets. Everyone is yelling at everyone else, little children
from about 6-12 are selling things - well, it's just the noisiest spot
you've ever seen, but more fun. It's even nosier at night than during
the day time. The traffic jams are worse than anything you ever saw
in the States. (Mom)
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Our
UNRRA man had us in for a short meeting - gave us final instructions,
then he gave us $10,000 in Chinese money which was to hold us over until
we got our per diem money. You should have seen us flashing those $1,000
and $2,000 bills. U.S. rate of exchange is $1485 Chinese money for one
U.S. dollar. Our second day here they gave us $87,500.00 to last us until
the end of the month ($6,500 a day for meals).
And
the different kinds of money! We just sit and laugh every time we go
to pay a bill, because we don't know what we've got, or how much. It's
getting fairly easy, but seems so funny to pay $350 for a cup of coffee.
A steak is anywhere from $800 to $1,000, a dry martini is $1,900. And
we darn near need a basket to carry it in. (Mom)
|
Mother,
it isn't at all necessary to encode your letters to me with all sorts
of odd phrases and symbols. First, the distribution of my mail is confined
to me alone; my receipts correspond exactly to your remittances, and I'm
aware of no instances in which letters haven't reached me or have been
opened before I opened them; anyway, anyone looking into a letter with
a ten-dollar bill inside would doubtless realize that there is a ten-dollar
bill in it without reading the letter to find out what the green thing
in his hand could possibly be. Second, even if some person other than
myself did read my mail (which is not the case) I would far rather be
suspected of possessing some U.S. currency, to which I'm legally entitled,
than of being descended from a family in which insanity is congenital
as the weird remarks might well indicate. (Dad) |
You
should see me eat a meal with chop sticks, and I thought I'd starve
if I ever had to eat with them. It's really amazing how you can eat
with them. We had chicken and sweet corn soup which is something out
of this world. A vegetable dish, sweet-sours (meat) and a whole fish
with vegetables and sauce served on a huge platter, and all the tea
you can drink. What wonderful food. I had another wonderful Chinese
meal there on Wednesday night. This fellow who does all the ordering
for us has lived in China off and on for 18 years, and he really knows
the good dishes. (Mom)
|
Unless
something is done to correct the situation soon the coming months are
going to find the winter winds howling around my almost nude form unchecked;
briefly, I'm running short of clothing. What I need is someone with
good, young but fairly conservative, tastes to pick out the things I
need, purchase them and reimburse themselves according to previous methods,
pack and ship them to me. My remnants from happier days (pre-Navy) are
next to negligible, so that's out. I simply need new clothes, and in
China they're nearly extinct; those available are quite inferior and
the prices are fabulous. (Dad)
|
First
on the table were two plates of prunes, rather candied. These we ate
with chopsticks and spit the seeds on the floor, just like the Chinese.
Then next (I'm almost forgetting one important thing) a large bowl of
boiling water was brought and in this everyone scaled his rice bowl,
spoon and plate. With twelve people diving in at once, the tablecloth
was soaking in nothing flat. With that done, the bowl was taken away
and a tray with ten small bowls on it was placed in the center of the
table. In each bowl was some sort of sauce, soy sauce, peanut oil, chopped
onions, mustard, and six others. From these ten you mixed up your own
sauce in your rice bowl. Well, we had to try practically everything
out, and not one of us had the same sauce when we were through. Can't
you just see twelve people busily making his particular sauce and tasting
it and trying to see what else to put in? That took us quite some time,
and when we were all finally satisfied, that was taken away and plates
of cold meats brought in. This we dipped in our sauce, and was it delicious!
As soon as one dish was finished another appeared. Fish dishes, candied
apples, sweet and sour pork, chicken, ham, everything you could think
of.
After
about six or eight courses, and we were so full we could hardly move,
a charcoal stove was placed in the center of the table and on this boiling
water. Plates of sliced raw beef and mutton were brought, raw cabbage,
watercress, spinach, etc. and this with the aid of your cooking ability
you fixed next. First grab a piece of meat with your chopstick and dunk
it in the hot water until it was done as well as you wished, then dipped
in your sauce was really something. The vegetables were cooked in the
same way and dipped in the sauce. So we stuffed some more and then when
we thought it impossible to eat another bite, all the meat and vegetables
that had not been cooked was put in and cooked and we had soup from
that. And during all of this we were drinking hot rice wine. Honestly,
I don't know when we've laughed so and had so much fun and good food.
And you should have seen the tablecloth when we got through. One thing
about a Chinese meal - you get just about as much on the cloth as you
eat, and the dirtier the cloth, the more you enjoyed the meal. Well,
by the looks, we really enjoyed that one plenty. (Mom)
|
We
learned a lesson that day we shall never forget while in China, and
that is never take beer on an all day trip in China. After about two
hours or so, we had to go! Luck was with us when we discovered that
they were going to inspect an old electric plant. So while the fellows
went to look over the plant, Trudy and I sneaked off, or so we thought.
In case you don't know, the Chinese are without a doubt the most curious
people in the world, and before Trudy and I had taken ten steps we had
about five people following us and we couldn't get rid of them. And
then we bumped into at least three people who were doing what we wanted
to do. By this time we were almost helpless with laughter and yet it
wasn't funny, either. Finally we decided to find out what happened to
the two Chinese girls that were with us, and after about ten minutes
found them coming down the walk. We had difficulty in explaining what
we wanted, for they spoke very little English, but we finally got it
across and said to follow them. We did. Into a little old Chinese home,
through a couple of rooms (also picked up a few more people to follow
us) and finally they took us into a bedroom and pointed to a little
wooden pot on the floor. Trudy and I looked at each other, then looked
at the gathering in the doorway watching us, and we just about had hysterics.
I finally shooed them out and as long as one of us stayed in the other
room they stayed too.
We
got back on the boat and continued our journey to Minghong. After going
through the village we took the car which met us there and started back
to Shanghai. There were several places these Chinese wanted us to see
and so had made these arrangements. One of the places of interest turned
out to be the insane asylum. I didn't even know they had them in China,
but they do, and we saw some horrible sights. However, there is never
a dull moment, and on the second floor of one of the building Trudy
spied a bathroom, and thought opportunity was knocking for us, as this
was about four hours after the above tale. So in we went, shut the door
and then we discovered that there was no doorknob on the inside, and
we WERE LOCKED UP IN AN INSANE ASYLUM, and all the noise we made didn't
mean a thing. It's only in China that things like that happen. We finally
got out, or I wouldn't be writing this, after pounding on the door,
etc. And I don't know which was the most surprised at our getting out,
the attendant who opened the door or us. (Mom)
|
We have a houseboy and he really takes care of us. There's
no hot water, so it's his job to see that we have hot water all the
time, boiled water for drinking, cleans up the place, makes beds, etc.
We're going to be really spoiled. In the evenings when we come home,
he has our hot water bottles in bed with our pajamas wrapped around
it - our robe and slippers are laid out. He does all our pressing -
takes our cleaning and laundry out and brings it back. Then every morning
when he hears us get up, he brings in coffee.
We're
going to be the laziest bunch of people you ever saw when we leave China.
We not only don't have to worry about our laundry, cleaning or pressing,
but we have an amah come in every week and she washes out all the things
we don't want sent to the laundry such as hose, panties, etc. and then
presses all our blouses, etc. (Mom)
| Yesterday
afternoon, by way of example, Jed and I were ashore in Shanghai when word
came out that all military personnel except MP's and SP's were to be off
the streets at once; it seems that there were rumors of a Communist attack
on several points in and around the city, so the entire place was turned
into an armed American garrison within an hour or two. In order to avoid
the restriction and see what was going on we just removed our hats and
our insignia, and that was that. Actually, of course, nothing has happened,
even yet, as is typical of these occurrences; one of these days something
might, but as yet none of the major coastal cities have been troubled.
Tsingtao was nearly surrounded about two months ago by the Commies but
the whole affair eventually collapsed because of the presence of American
Marines and Navy close to the town. If, however, American forces are ever
withdrawn or even substantially reduced in China all hell will break loose
promptly. (Dad) |
Incidentally, if you can beg, borrow or steal a pair of nylons I'd
be most happy. If you could, but don't strip yourself, send them airmail
like a letter. Nylons sell for $35.00 a pair here (American money) so
I guess you know I'll not be buying any, but I sure wish I had about
dozen pairs to sell. Silk hose $4.50 a pair, or $8500 Chinese money.
What a racket!
They
say linen is the best thing to wear here in the summer, and then I discovered
that linen is $17.00 a yard, so I'm afraid I'll not have very many linen
dresses or suits. One just can't imagine such prices, how the Chinese
manage is beyond me. (Mom)
|
My
roommate and I decided to hold a small party for a few friends of ours
the other night, but by the time the thing got into full swing and all
our friends brought their friends and their friends' friends we wound
up with about seventy people, swarming through four rooms in the hotel.
As a result of our social venture we have invitations to three affairs
Saturday and a dinner and another party Sunday night. Aren't we the social
butterflies, though? We've been quite lucky in meeting people in UNRRA,
for this outfit has an unusually high percentage of weird characters with
whom nobody would want to be associated. (Dad) |
Click on mini pictures
for enlargement.
Mom sailed across
the Pacific to
China on troop
transport ship,
Marine Flasher.
|
Mom at UNRRA
Office,
Shanghai
|
Dad at
Chinese
pagoda
|
Dad in Pedicab
Note suitcase
awkwardly jammed
between his legs
|
Dad dressed
in temple
boy's robes
|
Mom locked
in insane
asylum - note
no doorknob
|
Mom in search
of a bathroom
followed
by the entire
town's
population
|
Great Wall
|
Shanghai
|
Shanghai, 1946
|
Work in rice paddies
|
Pagoda
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