Translator’s Note: General Joseph Stilwell is remembered with a great affection within Mainland China. This is what one article states about him:
‘In 1942, General Stilwell entered China. He led the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – specifically the 1880 Engineer Battalion – which was stationed on the Qinglong section of the Yunnan-Guizhou Highway. After the war, the place was renamed ‘Stilwell Town’ to commemorate the outstanding contributions made by the American Allied Forces to China’s War of Resistance – a process which also reflects the deep friendship between China and the United States during World War II. In the current Stilwell Town, the smoke of igniting gunpowder has dissipated, and the haze of the war has gradually faded away. What is presented in front of us is a paradise, a picture of nature.‘
Of course, Stilwell would pass away in 1946 and never lived to see the US betray the USSR or China in the post-1945 era. Although Stilwell is accredited with training a sizable portion of the ‘Nationalist’ Army (which his US pay-masters preferred over their ‘Communist’ counterparts) he did make a point of communicating and cooperating with the PLA and the Communist leaders. Stilwell was from the time of President Roosevelt – a disabled-man whom many considered to be ‘soft’ on Communism. Certainly after Roosevelt’s death in 1945 – the US embarked upon its own intensified path of race-hate (fuelled by religiosity and anti-intellectualism) from which it has still not fully recovered from today. As a consequence, the presence of Stilwell reminds the world of a more enlightened time in US foreign policy. The ‘Stilwell Museum’ is situated in ‘Chongqing’ – whilst ‘Stilwell Town’ is to be found at the Qinglong section of the Yunnan-Guizhou Highway. Chongqing was formerly part of South-East Sichuan province until 1997 (when it became an ‘Independent Municipality’) – whilst Qinglong county is located in the South-West of Guizhou province. Therefore, the ‘Stilwell Museum’ and ‘Stilwell Town’ are situated around 422 miles apart and should not be confused. Remember, so stubborn and difficult to defeat was the Kwantung Army of Imperial Japan – that the US requested that the Soviet Red Army should intercede and enter North-East China during late 1945 – which it did to great military success! By 1950, the US was rewarding this Soviet sacrifice by broadcasting propaganda lies stating the Red Army had committed endless ‘atrocities’! The Chinese people, of course, have the utmost respect for the USSR and its defeat of Imperial Japan – as once again it was the Soviets that saved the world from fascism! ACW (10.8.2023)
Commemorations for the 140th birth anniversary of General Stilwell were held at Chongqing Stilwell Museum in southwest China’s Chongqing on Tuesday. U.S. General Joseph Stilwell, a hero fondly remembered for fighting against the Japanese invasion side by side with the Chinese people, visited China five times between 1911 and 1944 and lived in China for 12 years.
During his stay in China, General Stilwell formed a deep friendship with Chinese People’s Liberation Army Commander Zhu De, and their descendants remained in close contact for decades after that. In the commemorations, the descendants of U.S. General Joseph Stilwell and Chinese People’s Liberation Army Commander Zhu De planted an evergreen tree together and exchanged gifts with each other, indicating this friendship across time and space.
“I would love to come back years from now and see that tree just blossom in addition to the friendship we have with the Chinese people,” said Susan Mai Easterbrook Cole, the great-granddaughter of General Stilwell.
Chinese Language Reference (Auto-Translated):
Stillwell Highway Museum (Different to the Above Two Examples)
I think the ‘Stilwell Highway Museum’ is dedicated to recording the ‘road, railway and bridge-building’ capacity of the US Engineers (this probably includes waterways and various types of boats) – and includes all forms of vehicle and every type of engineering and (radio) communication equipment!
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 