Late on a June morning in 1942, a message was received by a
Chinese military outpost on a road leading north from
It was World War II. The protection of the Burma Road was as
critical to the Chinese as it was to the advancing Japanese determined to
complete a pincer movement on
As important as this post was to
"Japanese troops rapidly advancing. Estimated distance from your location thirty kilometers. Order immediate withdrawal."
C.H. Chiang, enjoying a pre-luncheon bridge game with fellow officers, swore under his breath. Not that the Japanese were coming, but he'd have to abandon a seven spade lay-down he'd just been dealt. And that was not all. In such haste, he'd have to leave behind a precious case of Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch whisky.
As C.H., later to be a business associate of mine, said, "This is my most devastating memory of World War II."