WWII Pacific War Memorial Hall in SF Chinatown

By Winny Lin林龍素華

We never know what adventures we will run into in the 24 square blocks that make up San Francisco’s hustling, bustling and, above all, touristy Chinatown!  It is a place that I absolutely adore.

It was pure luck that we discovered the WWII Pacific War Memorial Hall while strolling on Grant Avenue with some friends.  It was even more amazing that we met Florence Fang, the founder of the memorial (see photo #1) and some of the very enthusiastic student volunteers from San Francisco Academy of Arts who help out as docents at the museum. 

The Memorial Hall is a museum devoted to remembering the Chinese experience during World War II and it is the first of its kind outside of China.  Now the exhibit houses hundreds of photos, artifacts, weapons and sculptures, in a 5,000 square ft. facility. The museum opened on August 15, 2015, the 70^th anniversary of Japan’s signing one of the key surrender documents that ended the war in the Pacific.  The founder looks and acts far younger than her 80-plus years and I wonder if I will ever have the energy and determination to take on such a huge task when I get to her age.

The artifacts and exhibits are definitely amazing.  It took Ms. Fang over a year to gather and organize them.  As a whole, the Hall certainly accomplishes her major objectives in creating this museum: Helping the younger generations to understand what happened during the war, to learn its true history, and to realize the importance of maintaining peace.  Two bright red banners announce these objectives to visitors when they first enter the building.  尊重歷史(right)， 珍惜和平 (left)。To show that I understood the lesson, I hit the gong, “I got it!”  (photo #2)

 Ms. Fang’s dedication to this project is personal.  As she said in a recent interview, “Everybody lost their family members, everybody. Three of my brothers went to army and they give up their study in the middle high school, university, they went to join the army to protect their own country, protect their home.” The invasion of China began in 1937 and a total of 35 million lost lives during the war.

Although I did not lose any of my family members during the war, I did hear terrifying tales about it from my elders.  My mother repeatedly told me about fleeing from the Japanese soldiers by hiding in the rice paddy in Guilin and how the leaches sucked her blood along her calves. Yuck!  I also remember growing up with stories of Colonel Claire Chennault and Flying Tigers, a group of American fighter pilots who volunteered to fight with Chinese pilots side by side in WWII.  Mrs. Chennault, a Chinese-American, visited Taiwan and was in the news many times when I was a teenager. Photos and other artifacts of Flying Tigers are prominently featured at the Memorial Hall. 

One tall black cabinet at the entrance really attracted my attention.  Student  volunteer Jiang explained that during WWII, Chinese-Americans saved one bowl of rice daily, 一人一碗饭， and sent the money to the newspaper “Kuo Min Yat Po” 國民日報for them to keep in the safe to donate to China in the fight against Japan’s invasion. (photo #3)

When the Hall was officially opened on August 15, the Chinese consul general in San Francisco was a featured speaker and he addressed a large audience that included young and old, including many WWII veterans.  I am happy that I bumped into this place and met Ms. Fang and the enthusiastic volunteers.  Maybe you would like to visit there too.