US youth visit Doolittle Raid Memorial Hall
A group of young people from the United States visited the Doolittle Raid Memorial Hall in Quzhou, Zhejiang province on June 15.
The visit coincided with their participation in the International Youth Street Dance Competition held in the city.
The Memorial Hall, which opened to the public in 2018, features a remarkable collection of over 200 historical photographs. It commemorates the Doolittle Raid, a daring assault on Japan that took place on April 18, 1942, involving 16 B-25 bombers.
Due to various challenges, Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle and his fellow pilots were forced to bail out or crash-land in China during their return journey, where they received selfless assistance from the people of Quzhou.
Since the opening of the memorial, the descendants of the rescued US servicemen have frequently visited to pay their respects to the brave people of Quzhou who helped their forebears.
"My grandfather was a Navy serviceman who participated in missions related to the Doolittle Raid. When I was young, I often heard his stories. Although the information I learned in the US was far less detailed than what is showcased in the memorial, these stories have been a part of my upbringing," noted Tias Ken Lopez, a member of the group.
"After returning to the US, I will definitely revisit everything I saw and learned at the memorial today," said Unico Clement. Although he did not fully understand everything before, he is now very interested in the details of the Doolittle Raid. He hopes that the US and China can build more bridges of communication so that more US youth can learn about the Doolittle Raid.