Peace Beyond the Frontlines

Peace Beyond the Frontlines: American Soldiers Witnessing China in WWII
抗戰時期美軍眼中的中國
By William Tang, Ethan Cheung and Aiden Zhang

A little boy sits beside an American GI on a pile of rubble, both of them smiling. What happened in the moments that photograph captured?

When Japan invaded China in the 1930s, millions fled their homes and an entire nation fought to survive. Thousands of American soldiers arrived as allies, and they found far more than a battlefield. Their photographs show refugees on the move by foot, cart and crowded train, cities overwhelmed by newcomers, and families holding on to everyday life in the middle of war.

Drawing on these rare images and on the history of American aid, from relief charities and Lend-Lease to the fight to reopen China's lifeline through Burma, the three student authors tell the human side of the alliance. They show the bonds formed between American and Chinese soldiers and civilians, and the kindness that crossed the front lines.

A powerful, bilingual look at war through the eyes of the people who lived it, and a reminder that even in the darkest times, peace begins with people.