G, O
G: Probably my mom, over the phone.
O: Lots of places, but one place in particular I want to got at least once before I die is a small town in China. During WWII, I had a great uncle who died in defense of that small town as a member of the Flying Tigers, a group of American fighter pilots who fought against Imperial Japan. The town in question hadn’t been under attack so much as caught in the middle, as my Uncle chased a squadron of fighters and bombers that had just tried to destroy the base he was from. He took down several of the fighters before they shot him down. Now, at this point he was still alive, but his plane was crashing towards the town, so he used valuable time to make sure it crashed on the outskirts, and only then did he parachute out. Unfortunately he sustained a major head injury after colliding with a tombstone of all things, and died later that night.
Anyway, afterwards the people of that town made a memorial in honor of his sacrifice, and every April 4th there’s a ceremony on a holiday where the monument is honored by the locals alongside their ancestors. I’d like to participate in that ceremony at least once.
There’s an article on him posted on the US Chinese Embassy website that is mostly accurate, save that he wasn’t given medical aid immediately. The local doctor who tried to save his life was initially not permitted in the area, and wasn’t able to treat him for several hours, until my great uncle was brought to him. I know this because of the letters he exchanged with my family.
http://chengdu.usembassy-china.org.cn/kunming/shared-history/mooneys.html
