[Alberta Special Issue on the 70th Anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Victory] Zhang Zhaohong: Even the Wings Broken in the Sky Are Heroes

[Alberta Special Issue on the 70th Anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Victory] Zhang Zhaohong: Even the Wings Broken in the Sky are Heroes Phoenix Zhang Zhaohong During World War II, there were more than 70 Chinese youths in Arizona...

Phoenix City Zhang Zhaohong

During World War II, more than 70 Chinese young people in Arizona served as soldiers. Most of them were sent to the Asia-Pacific theater. However, one Air Force soldier went to the European battlefield and served on a large bomber. He has conducted thirty bombing missions, participated in the Battle of Normandy, bombed German military installations many times, and his fighter planes were hit by artillery fire twice. The last time he parachuted out after being injured, and suffered torture after being captured, but miraculously survived and is still alive today. He is Mr. Deng Yuetian, who is now ninety-three years old. It was also after I interviewed Deng Tongzhen, the Flying Tiger hero of Alberta, that I interviewed another veteran who had experienced the Second World War. Henry Ong joined the army in 1942 and was sent to Missouri, Florida and other places to learn military communications technology. He was then assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, where he served as a radio operator on a B-24 bomber. After his final training at Alamogordo Air Force Base in New Mexico, he was sent to the United Kingdom and assigned to the 837th Bomb Squadron of the 487th Bomb Group, stationed south of London. The B-24 was a heavy bomber of the day and was operated jointly by up to nine Air Force personnel. They often perform missions at night, usually flying for 8 to 10 hours to penetrate deep into the enemy's territory for bombardment. Once, the B-24 was hit by German anti-aircraft fire and lost an engine. Since it was quite a distance to fly back to their base, they originally planned to fly to nearby Switzerland. Switzerland was a neutral country during World War II. Any Allied soldiers who landed in Switzerland would not be handed over to the Germans, but they would have to stay there until the end of the war. They decided not to fly to Switzerland and took the risk of spending more time flying back to England in order to return to the battlefield. Deng Yuedian participated in the famous Battle of Normandy. Later, they sent B-17 large bombers to participate in the battle. On August 6, 1944, Deng Yuedian carried out his 30th mission to bomb the engine factory in Berlin, Germany. After this mission was completed, they could return to the United States for reorganization. However, after the bomb hit the target, the plane was unfortunately hit by anti-aircraft fire. The plane crashed and the crew was ordered to parachute, but all the soldiers were captured by the Germans. Deng Yuedian had many injuries on his body, and his comrade Edward Reicher was the most seriously injured. However, because he was of Jewish descent, Germany refused to treat him, and he died the next day. Deng Yuedian was sent to a prison camp in the east. The hatchback was packed with prisoners of war. They had almost no food and water and were tortured. In February 1945, in order to escape the Soviet offensive, the Germans decided to move the entire prison camp on foot. Deng Yuedian and more than 10,000 prisoners of war began a "death journey" and walked a thousand miles from east to west Germany. Because the war situation was unfavorable to the German army, the entire prisoner camp turned back from the west to the east. They walked for more than a hundred days, and it was winter. Many prisoners of war died of cold, hunger and disease along the way. Although he survived, he suffered a lot. On May 4, 1945, Deng Yuetian was rescued by the British army and regained his freedom. After the war, the U.S. government awarded Deng Yuedian many medals, including the War Vanguard Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, etc. After Deng Yuetian retired, he served the society and served as the commander-in-chief of the American Veterans Prisoners of War in Alberta. Inducted into the Alberta Veterans Hall of Fame in 2005 (there are only three Chinese in the state). In recognition of Deng Yuedian's contribution to World War II, in 2007, Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon designated January 16 as "Deng Yuedian Day." During World War II, the four brothers of Deng Yuedian's family were drafted into the army at the same time to protect their family and country. In the following photo of the famous "Four Elites", it is a portrait of their heroes. The four brothers are Deng Yue Ang, Deng Yue Yin, Deng Yue Tian and Deng Yue Quan. To this day, except for the death of their eldest brother Deng Guangdong, the other three brothers are still alive. In Phoenix, and even across the United States, at this moment commemorating the 70th anniversary of the anti-fascist victory, there are still three veterans alive. This is simply a rare miracle! The brothers witnessed the smoke and flames of World War II, as well as the tragic and heroic past of their youth without regrets. Let us pay our highest respect to them! (This article was approved by Mr. Deng Yuedian)

(from left): Deng Yuequan (Frank), Deng Yuedian (Henry), Deng Yueyin (Fred) and Deng Yuetian (Robert)

took a group photo in front of the large bomber B24 during World War II. The second from the left in the front row is Deng Yuetian (Henry Ong).

93-year-old Mr. Deng Yuetian takes a photo with the author (March 2015)