Dedicated to preserving the bonds forged between Doolittle Raid pilots and the Chinese people who helped them during the Second World War in the 1940s, the Children of the Doolittle Raiders Association, founded by surviving pilots and now made up mainly of their descendants, sent five members to Quzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, on October 13 to visit several WWII memorial sites.
At Faktor's grave, visitors laid flowers and watered the China-U.S. Friendship Grove. Corporal Leland Faktor, a mechanic of crew 3, died while parachuting to safety after the April 18, 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan.
Local villagers risked their lives to bury him. At the Former Site of the 13th General Station, staff recounted how Chinese soldiers and civilians rescued 64 Doolittle Raiders, 51 of whom were brought there.
"My journey to come here was to walk my father's footsteps, and your people allowed me to do that. So my goal is to help educate the younger people, then both nations with our friendship growing stronger," said Beverly Daigle, a member of the Children of the Doolittle Raiders Association.
The members also visited the Memorial Hall to the Doolittle Raid in Quzhou, where photographs and historical records brought the past back to life. Along the journey, members of the Quzhou Society for the History of the Doolittle Raid presented the visitors with fragments of the B-25 bomber.
"We very much appreciate all of the good work that the people associated with the Doolittle rescuers are doing to tell that larger story. And perhaps when we go back to the States, we can do more research to tell the story, add more detail to that aspect of the story," said John Thomas Johnson, another member of the Children of the Doolittle Raiders Association.
The Doolittle Raid, planned and led by U.S. Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle on April 18, 1942, was a U.S. air raid on seven Japanese cities, including the capital Tokyo, during World War II in retaliation for Japan's attack on the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
After running out of fuel on their return, 64 of the 80 U.S. Air Force personnel who took part in the Doolittle Raid were successfully rescued by Chinese civilians and troops off the Chinese coast, and 51 of them were placed in Wangcun Village of Quzhou City before being transferred to Chongqing and other places.
Doolittle Raiders' descendants visit China's Quzhou to honor WWII rescue bonds
Chinese manufacturers presented machinery, components and complete production-line solutions to overseas buyers seeking factory upgrades as the Canton Fair's first phase closed in the provincial capital of Guangdong in south China on Monday.
The first phase of the 140th China Import and Export Fair, known as the Canton Fair, focused on advanced manufacturing.
In one exhibition hall, companies demonstrated large computer numerical control (CNC) machine tools, robotic arms and industrial 3D printers arranged around different manufacturing processes.
At a booth run by GSK CNC Equipment, an ultrafine metal sample made on a precision machine drew the attention of overseas buyers.
"Each needle is just 0.05 millimeters in diameter, and there are 127 needles in total. It is the algorithms of our CNC system and the high performance of our servo motors that allowed us to make them precisely on a machine tool, just like turning an iron rod into a needle. We don't just sell products, but also offer complete solutions, including how to weld the components and design the entire system," said Qiu Xiaohua, deputy general manager of GSK CNC Equipment.
Among those inspecting the equipment was Armenian buyer Liliya Grigoryan, whose company operates a large factory.
"[It's] innovative, [with a] better system. And even in the future, we're planning to change all our machines into this kind of machines, hopefully [with help] from you to help our workers," Grigoryan said.
The exhibits gave buyers a chance to explore components, machinery and production-line solutions in one place, reflecting the strength of China's manufacturing supply chain. Polish buyer Jan Smith said his long-standing relationships with Chinese suppliers had evolved as their businesses grew.
"My supplier since 30 years, they become to be from a small, simple company, they become to be a huge company with R and D, with every system, with design, with automated production. So we are talking, like, together how to improve, and this really works," Smith said.
For some exhibitors, overseas business now extends beyond equipment sales to investment in factories and cooperation on technology. Nearly 20 percent of the more than 32,000 companies exhibiting at this year's fair have invested abroad, creating more than 200,000 jobs in host countries, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
The fair's second phase, focused on home products, is scheduled for Oct. 23 to 27.
Chinese manufacturing solutions attract Canton Fair buyers
