| Sisters of Charity, from left to right, Sisters Rosalie, Adele, Celina M. Seghers [(November 5, 1891 – September 1958)], Julia, and Mary D. Ingram [(March 4, 1884 – July 20, 1971)], evacuate Yukiang Catholic Mission as Imperial Japanese Army forces advance on the town in April 1942. Eventually they discarded their religious habits because they were afraid it attached the attention of Japanese aircraft. Original report, The Montreal Gazette, May 26, 1943: “American sisters of charity were photographed as they left the Yukiang Mission Church to flee to the hills when they received word that a revenge bound army of Japanese was approaching. These Japs were out to slay, burn and loot in reprisal for the aid given American fliers by Chinese in Kiangsi province when the aviators landed there after bombing Tokyo and other Japanese cities in April.” Father George Yager [(August 22, 1909 – August 1986)] of the China Mission of the Vincentian Order was in the Chinese territory in which some of the United States airmen who raided Tokyo in April, 1942, landed. He witnessed the devastation left by the Japanese in their search for the and persons who sheltered them. Father Yager has returned to the United States, and his account is the 1st to come from inside the area. Saint-Lôuis, Missouri, May 25 – Torture, murder and other forms of savagery were inflicted by the Japanese on Chinese civilians in the area of northeastern Kiangsi province in which American fliers landed after bombing Tokyo April 18, 1942, an American missionary priest who was working there at the time said today. The account of the ruthless methods of the Japanese expedition which invaded the area searching for Major General James H. Doolittle [(December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993)] and his men was given by Father George Yager of the China Mission of the Vincentian Order. He, 2 other priests and 5 American Sisters of Charity reached the Western Hemisphere after a 5-months journey. They brought out with them photographs of the widespread destruction. Describing Japanese raids on 26 towns in their search for the American fliers, Father Yager said “murder and destruction were the general rule throughout the occupied section.” “Yukiang was burned, its hospital with it,” he said, although the Japanese had their choice of two objectives, the airfield and two hundred miles of railroad. The general conduct of the raid was punitive,” he declared. “The bestiality of the action cannot be imagined by civilized people.” Savagely Tortured. “Poor country people who stayed on, hoping to be allowed to continue working their fields, had been savagely tortured and put to death. From some of them who escaped we heard stories too brutal and savage to relate. “Just one charge was not heard – cannibalism.” Bishop Charles Quinn [(December 16, 1905 – March 12, 1960)] of Los Angeles and his 18 American, 5 European and 33 Chinese Vincentian priests and 5 American Sisters of Charity were scattered over the area. Doolittle and his men landed near Shang-yoo. The 2nd crew jumped near Inwang, where Fathers Wendelin Dunker [(1906 – August 17, 1991)] and Leo V. Moore [(March 2, 1892 – February 21, 1977)] were stationed. They remained for several days with Father Dunker at his mission until Lieutenant Harold F. Watson [(April 3, 1916 – September 14, 1991)], who was injured, had recovered sufficiently to travel. Another crew bailed out near Poyang, where the Dutch father and Sisters of Charity fed Lieutenant (now Captain) Edgar E. McElroy [(March 24, 1912 – April 4, 2003)] and his crew. Lieutenant McElroy and his companions were entertained at Ying-tan by Father William Glynn [(November 18, 1911 – May 31, 1984)] of Chicago until they could get a train to the north. At Ying-tan, they learned 1 crew had been captured at Nanchang, a fate they themselves escaped by landing 50 miles further away. Japanese observation planes had been making daily patrols, Father Yager said, and bombed the Sisters’ compound only 3 days after the fliers left. Doolittle’s group was met at Nanchang by Father Dunker, who with the aid of Chinese had brought Watson and his crew 40 miles across mountains to Dr. Otto Homberger [(1894 – 1971)], who the was working in the hospital for the for Irish fathers. Father Yager said that only about 2 weeks after the last Americans left Ying-tan Japanese forces appeared from the west. Bishop Quinn, 8 American priests and 5 sisters retreated into the hills with about 300 villagers, but Father Humbert Verdini [(October 22, 1884 – July 14, 1942)], an Italian Vincentian priest, received a promise of protection from the Chinese magistrate and remained at work in Yukiang. Chinese forces were quickly cut down, Father Yager said, and the Japanese occupied 26 mission towns. After the Japanese withdrawal, Father Yager said, Bishop Quinn “found nothing but destruction and desolation. The whole countryside reeked of death in every form.” Father Verdini was never found. Searchers found his sun helmet and muddy jacket near a pond in the rear of a compound lined with human bones. Father Michael Poizat [(January 24, 1878 – October 5, 1942)], a French priest, was found beaten and stabbed and later died. A Chinese priest, Father Joseph Kwei [(???? – July 4, 1942)], had been beheaded. Churches and homes of the mission were destroyed. Mission property destroyed was valued at more than $1,000,000 in the 1 area, and homes and possessions of the Chinese in towns and villages of the area were destroyed, Father Yager said. During the occupation the Japanese questioned the Chinese closely for information of the American Fliers and the priests who befriended them, and Father Dunker the injured flier were particularly sought. Dr. Homberger had received rough treatment, although he carried a German passport. After the war, the Christian missionaries returned to China, but were expelled when the Communists won the Civil War in 1949. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2243.jpg |
| Image Size | 648.64 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2936 x 2200 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 1, 1942 |
| Location | Yukiang |
| City | Yingtan |
| State or Province | Jiangxi |
| Country | China |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | NLR-PHOCO-A-65386(42) |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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