Beijing: Though the ink has faded and the paper is creased and yellowing at the edges, the longing in a letter penned by one U.S. pilot stationed in China during World War II remains evident. "Darling, it is understood that no place could really be home without you..." Major D. J. Campbell wrote to his wife in Cincinnati.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the letter dated 1945 was never meant for the public eye. Today, it rests at Renmin University of China's museum of family letters, tucked away in the heart of Beijing. Campbell was a member of the Flying Tigers -- officially known as the American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force -- formed in 1941 by U.S. General Claire Lee Chennault to help China in its fight against invading Japanese forces.
His letter is just one among more than 80,000 preserved in the museum's growing archive of handwritten messages between husbands and wives, parents and children, as well as soldiers and their loved ones. Many were written during the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, revealing stories of separation, sacrifice, and the endurance of love amid one of history's darkest chapters.
One letter was from Zhao Yiman, a revered figure in the resistance movement in northeast China. Captured in 1935 and executed the following year at just 31, she withstood brutal torture without betraying her comrades. In her final words to her young son, she expressed regret for not being able to fulfill her duties as a mother, hoping he would remember her sacrifice for the country.
Another letter bears the heartbreak of Zuo Quan, a general of the army led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), who was killed in a battle in 1942. He expressed his longing for his wife and daughter, torn from him by the war, lamenting the difficulty of their separation and yearning for their reunion.
The Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, fought from 1931 to 1945, was the first major conflict and the longest-running campaign in the World Anti-Fascist War, resulting in over 35 million Chinese military and civilian casualties. Zhang Ding, the museum's deputy director, emphasized how each wartime letter represents an individual's memory, collectively forming the memory of that era.
Tian Yanfei, a lecturer at the Hunan Academy of Governance, highlighted the sacrifices and contributions of China to the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, noting that these letters serve as reminders of the wounds of war and the importance of safeguarding peace.
This year, China will host cultural events to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, including a themed exhibition at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing. Similar exhibitions have opened in other parts of China, showcasing the personal narratives behind the war.
Renmin University of China began collecting private wartime letters in 2005, continually expanding its archive. Feng Zhouyue, a university sophomore, found the letters deeply moving, turning the war from a distant historic event into something personal and real, inspiring him to become a better person.