Henry S. Whittlesey
Encyclopedia
Henry C. Whittlesey was a writer and a member of the Dixie Mission
. His literary work has been collected by his daughter Ruth Schroeder in "Sidelights of the War".
He was also a member of the Dixie mission (1944-5), an American
observation mission to Yan'an
, China
, to investigate and consider establishing official relations with the Chinese Communists.
Born and raised in China, Henry Whittlesey moved back to the United States before going to college. After marrying Jane Bernard, who gave birth to his first child Julia (Feeley) in 1942, he was summoned to help the American government explore means of cooperating more closely with the Communists in China as Roosevelt became increasingly dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's government (Carter, 10-13).
It was during this trip that the burgeoning thirty-year-old diplomat began to reveal his nascent literary talent. While preparing for his mission in India and then engaging in talks with the Communists in Yenan as part of the Dixie mission, Whittlesey began "to mother" his short stories, as he put it. In barracks, caves and trips through the mountains, Whittlesey described the life of a G.I. not involved in military activity, but constantly exposed to war-time danger.
These stories are marked by idiosyncratic bursts of wit (esp. The Irrigating Chinese and China's Independence Day Celebration), fearless exposure of less redeeming character traits to probe psychological depths (Indian Haircuts and G.I. Drivers Abroad) and the creative use of language (creation of words, verbs, well-conceived repetition, etc.).
On February 2, 1945, he was killed while on a reconnaissance trip to the south of Fouping (Memoires of Colonel Peterkin). Though the circumstances surrounding his death remain murky, he and a photographer entered a supposedly safe town to continue the organization of a chain for evacuating downed pilots. (Carter, 60) According to Carter, Japanese snipers were still in the town and shot both Whittlesey and the photographer. Subsequent attempts by the Chinese Communists to retrieve their bodies failed. (Carter, 60-1) According to Colonel Peterkin, Whittlesey and the photographer were captured by the Japanese and executed, but the guerrillas (Communists) managed to recover their bodies after a pitched battle and bury them at Chengtu. (Peterkin, appendices to memoires)
Chinese records show a different date of his death (January 21, 1945) at a small village Puxia, Yushe county, Shanxi province, where he and his Chinese interpreter Shaotang Li were trapped by 200 Japanese soldiers. Li had tried several times to help him cross a wall but failed because he was too heavy for Li. Both of them were captured and executed.
Dixie Mission
The United States Army Observation Group, commonly known as the Dixie Mission, was the first U.S. effort to establish official relations with the Communist Party of China and the People's Liberation Army, then headquartered in the mountainous city of Yan'an...
. His literary work has been collected by his daughter Ruth Schroeder in "Sidelights of the War".
He was also a member of the Dixie mission (1944-5), an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
observation mission to Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, to investigate and consider establishing official relations with the Chinese Communists.
Born and raised in China, Henry Whittlesey moved back to the United States before going to college. After marrying Jane Bernard, who gave birth to his first child Julia (Feeley) in 1942, he was summoned to help the American government explore means of cooperating more closely with the Communists in China as Roosevelt became increasingly dissatisfied with Chiang Kai-shek's government (Carter, 10-13).
It was during this trip that the burgeoning thirty-year-old diplomat began to reveal his nascent literary talent. While preparing for his mission in India and then engaging in talks with the Communists in Yenan as part of the Dixie mission, Whittlesey began "to mother" his short stories, as he put it. In barracks, caves and trips through the mountains, Whittlesey described the life of a G.I. not involved in military activity, but constantly exposed to war-time danger.
These stories are marked by idiosyncratic bursts of wit (esp. The Irrigating Chinese and China's Independence Day Celebration), fearless exposure of less redeeming character traits to probe psychological depths (Indian Haircuts and G.I. Drivers Abroad) and the creative use of language (creation of words, verbs, well-conceived repetition, etc.).
On February 2, 1945, he was killed while on a reconnaissance trip to the south of Fouping (Memoires of Colonel Peterkin). Though the circumstances surrounding his death remain murky, he and a photographer entered a supposedly safe town to continue the organization of a chain for evacuating downed pilots. (Carter, 60) According to Carter, Japanese snipers were still in the town and shot both Whittlesey and the photographer. Subsequent attempts by the Chinese Communists to retrieve their bodies failed. (Carter, 60-1) According to Colonel Peterkin, Whittlesey and the photographer were captured by the Japanese and executed, but the guerrillas (Communists) managed to recover their bodies after a pitched battle and bury them at Chengtu. (Peterkin, appendices to memoires)
Chinese records show a different date of his death (January 21, 1945) at a small village Puxia, Yushe county, Shanxi province, where he and his Chinese interpreter Shaotang Li were trapped by 200 Japanese soldiers. Li had tried several times to help him cross a wall but failed because he was too heavy for Li. Both of them were captured and executed.