THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 13, 1994 TAG: 9412130250
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Column
SOURCE: Marc Tibbs
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines
Just as President Roosevelt declared, Dec. 7, 1941 - the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor - still lives in infamy.
But for some Asian Americans, today, Dec. 13, is the infamous day they'll never forget. On this day 57 years ago, the Japanese invaded the Chinese city of Nanking.
Some 300,000 civilians were killed - mostly, women, children and babies.
Joseph Chan's father was a brigadier general in the Chinese Army who was away fighting on another front. Joseph Chan's mother worked for the government at the time of the invasion.
Chan, a Navy civil/structural engineer from Virginia Beach, wasn't born yet on that day in 1937, but he remembers well the stories his mother told about the Japanese invasion.
``Whenever the Japanese bombed a city, it was always around dinner time,'' recalled Chan, 51. ``They really tried to mess up the civilians.''
During the many bombing runs, Chan's older sister would be cradled under his mother's arm, and his older brother would be dragged alongside - making a beeline to the air raid shelter.
``There were so many people who were stomped to death,'' Chan recalls. He lost an uncle and several other relatives in the massacre. Each time his mother tells the story, the family sheds tears anew.
Chan, now an American citizen, came to the United States in 1967. He won't do anything special to commemorate the anniversary of that sad day in his family's history. He's been working year-round - along with other Asian Americans - to make Dec. 13 a day much like Pearl Harbor Day.
Chan is a member of the Alliance for Preserving History of World War II in Asia. This weekend, about 15 members of the Hampton Roads chapter made the trek to Washington to hold a silent protest in memory of Nanking.
About 500 people braved a constant rain Saturday to show their solidarity with the victims ofNanking. Clad in black T-shirts to symbolize their mourning, they prayed together and made speeches decrying the current Japanese regime.
``The Japanese government has changed history,'' Chan says. ``Their high school history books have been totally rewritten. They say they invaded during the Asian War because of a peace mission.''
The Nanking invasion came after Japan had captured China's northern region of Manchuria five years earlier. By 1938 Japan established the New Order for East Asia, in which it would become the chief economic power.
For many Asians, this marked the official beginning of World War II.
Chan and his group won't stop until they've received a formal apology from the Japanese government and a full acknowledgment of that country's wartime atrocities.
``We feel they should correct the history books and officially apologize to those victims' families,'' said Chan.
Peter Chang, a retired professor of sociology at Norfolk State University, didn't make the trip to the nation's capital Saturday, but his heart went along with the others.
``The Japanese want to be a world leader, but if they don't recognize their faults, they won't realize their leadership,'' Chang said. ``We're not enemies of the Japanese, but to be a good friend, the friendship must be built on honesty.''
Next Aug. 15 marks the 50th anniversary of the Japanese surrender - a day that also lives on for the two men. ILLUSTRATION: Staff map
by CNB