Chinese centenarian veteran recounts Sino-American cooperation in WWII

CHENGDU, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Time's river wipes away much, but nothing can wash away the indelible wartime years of a 101-year-old veteran of the war against Japanese aggression.

Each bomb weighed 250 kilograms and stood 2.5 meters tall -- silent giants waiting to be loaded into the bellies of American B-29 bombers destined for Japan. "Back then, we fueled the planes and armed the bombs, all to ensure they fell on the aggressors' heads," Xue Shuzheng murmured, voice trembling yet resolute.

Xue was born in 1924 in Yibin, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province. In 1944, this young mechanic was dispatched to Xinjin airfield, where his fate became intertwined with the B-29 Bomber.

The first sight of the B-29 remains etched in his memory: "That aircraft was enormous. When its four engines roared, the ground shook, and the sheer force of the propellers could knock you off your feet." As a sergeant, he led a team of 10 mechanics responsible for refueling and arming two B-29s.

Every morning, the bombers roared into the sky. By dusk, many returned scarred with bullet holes and shrapnel wounds. Nights were a frenzy of repairs and reloading under floodlights, with Chinese and American mechanics working side by side.

"Some planes never made it back, and others were so badly damaged that they crashed just short of the airfield," Xue said. "It was truly heartbreaking for all of us."

Danger also lurked constantly. Once, Japanese planes tailed returning B-29s and strafed the airfield. "Sirens blared. Flares lit up the night. We leapt into trenches by the runway," Xue said.

Xinjin airfield was more than just a military base but also a symbol of China's desperate resistance and the unyielding spirit of its people.

Nestled in the heart of Sichuan's fertile plains, Xinjin airfield first took shape in 1928. With the outbreak of full-scale resistance war against Japanese aggression, this airfield was designated as a strategically vital aviation base.

Major expansion efforts began in 1938 as part of a broader campaign to develop nine critical airfields across the region. By 1941, Xinjin had completed its fourth phase of expansion.

In late 1943, to support Operation Matterhorn, a special national defense initiative was launched to build or expand forward operating bases at four places including Xinjin.

Operation Matterhorn was a United States Army Air Force military operation in World War II for the strategic bombing of Japanese forces by B-29 bombers based in India and China. Targets included the Japanese homeland and its bases in China.

Safely positioned in China's wartime hinterland, with convenient river access for construction materials and an optimal position along the Hump airlift route to strike at the Japanese homeland, made Xinjin an ideal location to operate the mission.

Men and women, young and old, over 200,000 workers from Sichuan laid down their farm tools, shouldered bamboo baskets, and marched to Xinjin.

"Without machines, we crushed stones by hand, hauled gravel in baskets, and dragged concrete rollers that weighed more than 10 tonnes with hemp ropes to build the runway, inch by inch," said Jiang Youcai, a 98-year-old local resident who joined the airfield's construction.

By May 1944, Xinjin boasted a 2,600-meter runway, thick enough to handle the massive B-29s, along with three fuel depots. It became the operational hub for the U.S. Headquarters 20 Bomb Command, Headquarters Squadron 58th Bombardment Wing and Headquarters Squadron 40th Bombardment Group, housing over 50 B-29s.

On June 15, 1944, a fleet of B-29s took off from Xinjin, crossed the East China Sea, and bombed Japan's Yawata Steel Works. It is the first air strike on the Japanese homeland from Chinese homeland.

By January 1945, they had conducted over ten bombing missions over the Japanese mainland, making significant contributions to defeating Japanese fascism and writing a glorious chapter in the history of Sino-American cooperative resistance against aggression.

Without the miracles wrought by Chinese hands, this victory would not have been possible, American General Kenneth Bonner Wolfe said.

Today, Xinjin airfield is quieter. What was once a vital base for China-U.S. allied operations during World War II has now become a civilian aviation training institute, with modern aircraft gracefully traversing its runways where B-29 bombers once roared.

In 1956, the Civil Aviation Flight University of China (CAFUC) was established in Xinjin. Over the past 70 years since its founding, the university has cultivated nearly 200,000 professionals in various civil aviation fields.

Among them are plane Captain Liu Chuanjian, a heroic pilot who successfully made an emergency landing after the cockpit window broke mid-flight while carrying over 100 passengers, and the chief test flight crew members of China's domestically developed aircraft, including the ARJ21, C919 and AG600.

The university has also trained over 1,000 civil aviation professionals such as pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers, air traffic controllers, airport managers, dispatchers, and flight attendants for the Belt and Road Initiative partner countries, providing talent support and intellectual contributions to their civil aviation development.

"After learning about the glorious history of Xinjin airfield, we realize that in today's world, only by remembering history and cherishing peace can we truly advance global prosperity and development", said Yan Bowen, a student at CAFUC.

Scattered around the runway and fields, the massive concrete rollers stand as silent witnesses to history. Nearby, an aging fuel depot's weathered walls whisper tales of time's relentless passage.

As dusk descends upon Xinjin airfield, the runway lights flicker to life, their glow casting long shadows across the tarmac. For a fleeting moment, victory of defeating fascism together seems to breathe again-the thunder of B-29 engines, the shouts of mechanics, the tension of wartime preparations all but audible in the evening air. ■