專訪史迪威將軍外曾孫女蘇珊和南希 20年后再赴“重慶之約”見證中美人民友誼延續(xù)

楊艷

On August 8， the media interviewed Susan Cole and Nancy Millward， great-granddaughters of General Stilwell， who came to Chongqing for the Commemorating Events of the 140th Birth Anniversary of General Stilwell. After 20 years， Susan and Nancy returned with their families to the mountain city of Chongqing， where General Stilwell once worked and fought for peace， to witness the lasting friendship between the Chinese and American people.

On this trip， Susan and Nancy were very much touched when they visited the “A Great Friend – Photo Exhibition on General Stilwells Life”. As the guide told Stilwells stories， the precious photos brought his extraordinary years in China to life.

Susan believes that many of the stories presented in the photo exhibition show the gentle side of her maternal great-grandfather. “So， when he [Stilwell] was training them， and when he went to the front line and he was really with the Chinese Soldier.” To Nancy， thats the most touching. “I really appreciate that he thought of the wounded soldiers and vocations they would need when they returned home after the war and made sure they could be taken care of as well.”

Looking Forward to Growing Friendship with the Chinese People

General Stilwells family has carried on the friendship between the people of China and the United States and has been committed to friendly exchanges. General Stilwells daughter started the Stilwell Scholarship in the 1980s， a program that has funded more than 50 Chinese students to study in the United States.

Nancy said her family helped prepare the “National Memories” photo exhibition. The exhibition was staged in China and the United States to give the public a deeper understanding of the national memory of China and the United States， which crossed the ocean and fought side by side in the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II. “…we are at the ready to continue to do what we can in order to foster the relationship. I think， especially these days， its extra important to have good relations between the U.S. and China. We are absolutely delighted to be here to be the stewards of the legacy of General Stilwell and grow these friendships.”

People-to-people exchanges can promote mutual understanding. Susan and Nancy believe， “…being able to introduce our children to the city and to the people has been very meaningful for us. When youre in America and you teach them about your family， history and legacy， its very different because youre in America and youre very far away， but being here， where General Stilwell worked and lived， it just brings a whole new perspective to it for our children.”

At the Stilwell Museum in Chongqing， the offspring of General Stilwell and Comrade Zhu De planted a “friendship tree” that represents the lasting friendship between the Chinese and American peoples. “I think I can speak for my sister and myself that we have a lot of pride in our family， especially our great-grandfather General Stilwell. Being back here in Chongqing， where he spent time during the war， to see where he lived and where his headquarters was， as many times as weve been here， it is always very emotional for us to come here and to continue the legacy that he started all those years ago to continue to build a friendship with the Chinese people.” Nancy said， “we feel a lot of gratitude and appreciation for being able to be here and continue the friendship with the Chinese people.”

One Thing Unchanged： The Warmth of the Chongqing People

Susan and Nancy have been to China many times before. Their first visit to Chongqing in 1987 with their grandmother and a group of 15 members of the Stilwell family opened a door for them to understand the people of China and the United States and recognized the importance of maintaining good relations between these two countries.

In 2003， Susan and Nancy came to Chongqing to attend the 120th birth anniversary of General Stilwell. Twenty years later， they were in Chongqing again， visiting the traditional scenery area of “18 Steps”， seeing the giant pandas at the Chongqing Zoo， and experiencing the Yangtze-Jialing rivers tour... “The city has changed a lot. I feel like there are more treasures to discover in the city. And weve enjoyed it very much.”

They were amazed by how much Chongqing had changed and used the word “incredible”. In Susans eyes， although Chongqing has undergone great changes， many high-rise buildings have been built， and transportation is also developing rapidly， one thing has not changed， that is， the warmth of the people of Chongqing is still the same. “Its so coherent in the upkeep of the Museum. Its been very emotional for us. The warmth of the Chinese people remains. It has been amazing to be greeted and welcomed.”

Translation/Gao Xiang

8月8日，來渝參加史迪威將軍誕辰140周年紀(jì)念活動的史迪威將軍外曾孫女蘇珊·科爾和南?！っ谞栁值陆邮芰嗣襟w的集中采訪。這是蘇珊和南希闊別20年后，攜家人再次來到史迪威將軍曾經(jīng)工作和戰(zhàn)斗過的地方——山城重慶，見證中美友誼延續(xù)。

此行，蘇珊和南希參觀了“偉大的朋友——史迪威將軍生平圖片展”。伴隨講解員生動的講解，一張張珍貴老照片再現(xiàn)了史迪威將軍在中國的不凡歲月，姐妹倆感觸良多。

蘇珊認(rèn)為，圖片展呈現(xiàn)的不少故事，展現(xiàn)了外曾祖父溫柔的一面。南希最喜歡的照片之一便是史迪威將軍與中國軍人在一起的照片，“無論是在訓(xùn)練場上，還是在前線并肩作戰(zhàn)，史迪威將軍與中國士兵真正站在一起。他總是為受傷的士兵和他們的未來發(fā)展著想。戰(zhàn)爭結(jié)束后，他會牽掛士兵退伍后的生計問題?！?/p>

期待與中國朋友繼往開來

史迪威將軍家族接力延續(xù)中美人民友誼，長期致力于中美民間友好交流。史迪威將軍的女兒在20世紀(jì)80年代啟動了史迪威獎學(xué)金，該項目資助了50多名中國學(xué)生在美國學(xué)習(xí)。

南希介紹，她的家族曾協(xié)助籌備“國家記憶”圖片展。展覽在中國和美國展出，讓大眾更加深刻地了解二戰(zhàn)期間中美兩國跨越大洋，攜手并肩，浴血奮戰(zhàn)在中緬印戰(zhàn)場的國家記憶。“我們將繼續(xù)竭盡所能。尤其是現(xiàn)在，良好的中美關(guān)系尤為重要。我們非常高興能傳承史迪威將軍友好交流、團(tuán)結(jié)合作的優(yōu)良傳統(tǒng)，也很高興能夠見證中美人民友誼延續(xù)?！?/p>

人文交流能促進(jìn)相互理解。蘇珊和南希認(rèn)為，“這一次，我們帶著孩子來到重慶，讓他們用全新的視角追古撫今，身臨其境地感受戰(zhàn)時重慶對外曾祖父的重大意義，了解史迪威將軍當(dāng)時的生活和工作，體會史迪威家族的光輝歷史和優(yōu)良傳統(tǒng)，這是我們在美國沒法實現(xiàn)的?！?/p>

在重慶史迪威博物館，史迪威將軍后代和朱德同志后代一起種下代表著中美兩國人民友誼延續(xù)的友誼樹?！胺浅s幸來到重慶，這次旅行讓我們深受震撼。史迪威將軍為家族帶來了無上的榮耀，我們倍感自豪。每次回到重慶，來到他曾經(jīng)生活工作過的地方，我們都感慨萬千。”南希說，希望能夠與中國朋友繼往開來，共同傳承友誼。

唯一不變的是重慶人民的熱情

蘇珊和南希來過中國很多次。1987年第一次來重慶，隨祖母及15人的史迪威家族成員團(tuán)訪問中國，也為她們了解中美兩國人民打開了一扇門，認(rèn)識到保持中美良好關(guān)系的重要性。

2003年，蘇珊和南希來重慶參加史迪威將軍誕辰120周年紀(jì)念活動。20年后再赴“重慶之約”，參觀了十八梯傳統(tǒng)風(fēng)貌區(qū)，到重慶動物園看了大熊貓，體驗了兩江游……“相比我們20年前看到的重慶，這座城市簡直今非昔比。重慶有很多等待我們?nèi)グl(fā)現(xiàn)的寶藏。我們非常喜歡重慶。”

她們感嘆重慶變化之大，用了“難以置信”這個詞。在蘇珊眼中，重慶雖然發(fā)生了巨變，建起了許多高樓大廈，交通也在迅速發(fā)展，但有一件事始終沒有改變，那就是重慶人民熱情依舊?！坝绕涫强吹街貞c一直以來精心管理史迪威博物館，我們非常感動，感受到重慶人民待人真誠的態(tài)度?！?/p>

史迪威研究中心

史迪威研究中心和重慶史迪威博物館，作為中美民間交往的重要平臺，在中美兩國交往與合作中發(fā)揮著橋梁作用。近年來，先后舉辦了“紀(jì)念史迪威將軍誕辰120周年暨重慶史迪威博物館開館儀式”“紀(jì)念約瑟夫·史迪威將軍來華70周年暨中緬印戰(zhàn)區(qū)珍貴圖片展”“紀(jì)念中美建交40周年暨史迪威將軍與中國研討會”等活動。2021年，史迪威研究中心專家委員會成立。

重慶史迪威博物館先后接待過美國前國防部長佩里、前國務(wù)卿基辛格、參眾兩院高級官員、多任駐華大使等。在中美兩國政府、軍界和民間交流與合作中，發(fā)揮著獨(dú)特作用。

一直以來，史迪威研究中心堅守“開展史迪威和中美關(guān)系研究工作，為交流合作提供服務(wù)，抓好重慶史迪威博物館管理”的職責(zé)，多次主辦大型活動和學(xué)術(shù)會議，為中美雙方的文化交流構(gòu)建多元渠道。接下來，中心會加大與美國相關(guān)機(jī)構(gòu)、人員的交流合作力度，加大相關(guān)檔案、文獻(xiàn)和文物的搜集、整理和研究力度，深入挖掘相關(guān)歷史文化資源，宣傳和弘揚(yáng)史迪威將軍對中國人民的情誼、對中華文化的熱愛，以及為促進(jìn)中美民間交往的歷史貢獻(xiàn)，為中美兩國人民友誼的世代傳承搭建橋梁。