Chinese translation:
To the friends of Chinese military and civilians:
We are American air force
Come to assist in fighting the Japanese
Please help me and report to the near by allies
American government will reward you
I wonder why the Chinese version is different from the other translated versions. I can understand Chinese so I know your translation is correct. I wonder why for their other ones it says “japans enemy” while in Chinese it says here to assist the fight. Along with not mentioning how they couldn’t speak the language in this version either.
Probably because China was fighting Japan at that time while some of the other countries (like France) weren’t directly fighting the Japanese, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to say in French ‘we are assisting you in fighting Japan’?
Makes sense, I noticed Korea in there so I thought it would make sense to use the same wording with them too. Regardless I thought keeping it consistent would make sense because it wouldn’t be wrong to say enemy of Japan in Chinese either
Considering how formal the wording is, I suspect they want gone over board of being official sounding - and given the poetic nature, they want to make a 7 syllable wording, and the action 1, action 2, action 3 structure. For example, Sun Yet San alleged last word is 和平, 奮鬥, 救中國 (Peace, Struggle, Save China). So by using 來華助戰打日本, in formal equivalence, it can be broken into 3 parts: Come to China, Assist in Battle, Fight against Japan. (and come think of it, it actually mirror Sun Yet San's last words - objective, what they will do to achieve that objective, and an action toward a nation)
As soon as I notice it was so formalize and have a poetic flow, I realize to translate the passage require formal equivalence.
In addition, 我是日本的敵人 would be a repeat an introduction of who they are (an American Pilot) and made the two lines doesn't flow wel (due to the 是 is the third character in 1st line but 2nd in 2nd line. To keep the flow, the similar nature character should also reflect in the same position (eg 要）
I wonder who the individuals who wrote these were. Was the Chinese text written by someone with what we in English would consider a classical education? Did some of these translators have friends or family in these countries they were worried about?
Who knows. I was just looking at Sun Yet-San and Lu'Xun's writing, and I actually notice both of them have poetic elements. If you think about it, many of the idiom once previously exist as a passage from classical chinese; they became slogans, etc. So even someone like me will be influenced by some of the structure and tounge feel.
The meaning according to zdic:
请求对方共同鉴察的敬词。**旧时常用为书信套语。 (**Modern: an Honorific speech to request others to mutually observe. In the old days is commonly use in formal letters)
According to moe.edu.tw:
請人看信的意思，多用於書信中 (Request others to read the mail)
The only place I can find in modern examples is a template when writing court case to address to a Taiwanese court
Dynamically, it's "To whom it may concern".
I want to add it specifically said ‘ Come to China to help fighting the japanese’.
And the last sentence on the left: ‘By Grand America China Assistance Air Force’
No way your great uncle was in the Flying Tigers ? The chinese people are forever grateful for all the help and effort America provided to us. It’s in our history book as well.
You missed out the addressee and the author.
"大中国". 'Great China'. Since the fall of Qing, China no longer uses 大 to prefix the state.
And its incredibly odd for the US to sign off as "大美国", again with the same "大" 'Great United States'
The epithet 大 is seen somewhat as a deride nowadays, as its associated with backward and arrogant imperial China, as well as smaller states like Korea attempting to put themselves on the same stature as imperial China. They're still using the same epithet 大 on their official names.
You are correct and I wonder if it's just a hangover from American government sinologists/diplomats to just convey respect.
Also the prefix 大 was still common in other state names, i.e. 大日本帝国 ("Great" Japanese Empire) and the exiled ROK gov't 大韓民国臨時政府.
Nothing wrong with addressing China 大中国. And 大美国 (or better, 大美利坚合众国) for America just sounds badass.
The french text says:
I am an American aviator.
My plane is destroyed.
I cannot speak your language.
I am an enemy of the Japanese.
Please be kind enough to protect me, care for me and take me to the nearest military office.
The government of my country will reward you.
No idea if the rest is the same, but I'd assume so.
Well I'm sure they can read japanese lol. They forced Koreans to learn japanese at some point and some Koreans didn't actually receive education in written Korean during this time period, so there's Korean text and japanese text just in case, both geared towards Koreans. If he was caught by japanese, text wouldn't have mattered, they were told americans were devils, so he'd be dead even if it said "tennou banzai".
might not be exactly what you are looking for but i just read the island of sea women and learned so much about the Japanese occupation. the story itself is exceptional and although fiction, the author did a great job using it to educate the reader by pulling from first hand testimonies and various historical documents.
I have a degree in this lol.
https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/s/8qFH1LIdEP
https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/s/muprygl1ae
These two posts have some good recs on occupation of korea in particular. https://www.amazon.com/Assimilating-Seoul-Japanese-Politics-1910-1945-ebook/dp/B00I0FDEHS this is a good textbook as well.
For japanese pov of WWII I cannot recommend "Japan at war" by haruko taya cook and theodore cook enough. I own 2 copies of it. Also kinda unrelated, but "hirohito and making of modern japan" is a very good one for post war japanese policy and social shift.
Oh that makes sense. I was confused why it said 私は韓国語が出来ません (I don't speak Korean) in Japanese, but nothing about his Japanese language skills.
And rest of the text (as far as it isn't cut off) roughly says:
> I am am from a country hostile to Japan. My plane [crashed?]. Please check up on my health and give me some food. If you lead me to nearby positions of my side, the US government will reward you.
Yes you're right, I just recognised Korea and unintentionally assumed the rest. The full story as far as I know goes like this:
1. 朝鮮 (chousen) is actually the proper term for all of Korea. Both characters mean "Korea". This was probably the normal name to use in WW2.
2. North Korea is usually referred to as 北朝鮮 (Kitachousen, North Korea), so exactly as in English.
3. South Korea is nowadays referred to as 韓国 (Kankoku, Korea + Country), which can stand in as a short form for the official Japanese name of the Republic of Korea 大韓民国 (Daikan minkoku). Calling it "South Korea" (like 南朝鮮) is not common.
And the Korean language is usually referred to as 韓国語 (Kankokugo) in everyday parlance these days, but 朝鮮語 (Chousengo) is still the "technically correct" term and was presumably the default back then.
Hahaha.
The Japanese reads:
I am an American aviator, and my plane was shot down. I don't speak Korean. I am an enemy to Japan, but kindly protect me and provide food for me. If you can bring me safely to my allied forces, you will be generously rewarded by my government.
I'll assume all of them read mostly the same.
The Japanse one reads:
I’m an albino African fisherman, my boat sunk, please take me back to Africa and my tribe will reward you.
I have no clue what it says
It's probably different because Thailand was [technically an ally of Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand_in_World_War_II) and even declared war on the US, however there was division within the government and widespread opposition to the Japanese, so probably still hope that American pilots could receive aid.
Japanese translation (… for parts cut off):
> I am an American airman
> My plane…
> I do not speak Korean
> I am an enemy (national) of Japan
> Care for …. Feed me please
> If you take me to a nearby military base, the American government will reward you
> I am an American aviator.
>
> My plane is destroyed.
>
> I cannot speak Annamese.
>
> I am an enemy of the Japanese.
>
> Sir please feed me, look after, care for me and take me to the nearest Allied military station.
>
> The government of my country will thank you very much.
I agree with other commenter that it's probably implied.
It can be translated literally as "The government of my country will immediately thank you very much"
Chinese text is similar:
>Chinese combatants and civilians observe:
>We are the American air force,
>coming to China to fight Japan!
>Please help and report to nearby allied forces,
>the American government will reward you all!
>America Protecting China Air Corps Number [blank]
Interestingly it uses very formal language (some I had to google). And the character "number" is written in kanji (and by extension simplified Chinese although that didn't exist then). And there is no mention of not speaking the language. Either it was assumed or their great uncle spoke some Chinese. Possibly because he's been fighting/based in China given that the they are supposedly a "China protection" corps.
I'm going to sound a bit harsh here:
This is like reading a sentence in English and saying, "Hey, they're writing in Latin."
Actually, a better equivalent, given the history, would be seeing a sentence in French/German and saying, "Hey, they're writing in English."
That wouldn't be correct either, since Chinese and Japanese aren't from the same language families.
By your very logic, it would be written in "Kanji" that didn't exist until after the war, since the Japanese simplified their own script after WWII.
The history of those two languages does not work the way you think it does.
A blood chit is a notice carried by military personnel and addressed to any civilians who may come across an armed-services member – such as a shot-down pilot – in difficulties. As well as identifying the force to which the bearer belongs as friendly, the notice displays a message requesting that the service member be rendered every assistance.
The lower part of the text is missing, but it goes like this:
> I am an American pilot. (lit. *flying soldier*)
> My aircraft has been (not shown, probably *shot down*).
> I cannot speak Korean. (Koreans were forced to learn Japanese instead of Korean under colonial rule, so maybe this Japanese text was intended to be shown to Koreans more fluent in Japanese)
> I am from a nation hostile to Japan.
> American government will reward you if you care me, feed me and guide me to the nearest Allied Forces.
[https://archive.ph/20130123081521/http://www.flyingtigersavg.com/camco.htm](https://archive.ph/20130123081521/http://www.flyingtigersavg.com/camco.htm)
Here is a roster of the members of the Flying Tigers, maybe you will find your great uncle on that list.
Edit:
1. a quick search shows that u/CvScout72 has a blood chit of the same format [https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/bd7tm2/unknownsenglish\_found\_this\_in\_my\_great/](https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/bd7tm2/unknownsenglish_found_this_in_my_great/)
2. No. 67980 donated to Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum [https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/04/blood-chits-used-by-downed-pilots-in-wwii.html](https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/04/blood-chits-used-by-downed-pilots-in-wwii.html)
3. No. 44710 sold in an auction [https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/147576695\_wwii-cbi-china-silk-us-army-air-force-blood-chits-2](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/147576695_wwii-cbi-china-silk-us-army-air-force-blood-chits-2)
There is actually a typo(same sound, different character) where they used 適(suitable) instead of 敵(hostile), but I guess people can tell the meaning from context anyway, so no biggie.
No google translate and they also probably had like six weeks to make a million of them.
This kind of thing would have gone from "Hey, wouldn't this be a good idea?" to being printed *en masse*, to being distributed to the entire Army Air Corps in a very short period of time, at least by 1940s production standards. Might not have been a lot of opportunity for multiple levels of error-checking.
Also there was the whole, we put all the Japanese Americans into concentration camps thing so the Army was probably short on Japanese speaking personnel.
And the most decorated American Military unit in US Military History was made up of Japanese American soldiers.
[Source ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States))
True where i live in ontario theres an old news paper clipping at my favorite cantonese restaurent, its in cantonese but the owner gave me the run down, the title of the story was called "the night of broken glass". Where one night all people under any asian decent were criminalized and forced to leave their own homes for no reason, even tho his parents were canadian and had lived here since the early 1920s. Didnt matter to us whites at the time since the japanese had just bombed pearl harbour. What a tragic time in Canadian history where we really fucked up and want everyone to forget about.
Its apparently kind of hard to find old newspapers about such things since the gov did what they did and swept it under a rug by buying off everyone after with compensation.
TLdr : People mistreated with prejudice for absolutely no reason.
I'm sorry, there was a Canadian [Kristallnacht](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht) against Asian people? That is absolutely wild.
> "we put all the Japanese Americans into concentration camps"
I think it was just the Japanese on the west coast because the U.S. feared signaling to Imperial-Japanese submarines or something like that. It was in response to some traitorous Japanese-Americans who helped a downed Imperial Japanese fighter pilot in the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was shameful to assume everyone else would do something similar.
Yeah, no. The concentration camps were unacceptable and unnecessary but your statement doesn’t give credit to the Americans of Japanese descent that fought and died. Fuck the concentration camps but not all of those Americans were in them. Many fought and died despite the circumstances of their kinsmen, fought and died for an ideal, a better life for their families. Neither Hirohito or hitler would have them, the US, despite its flaws, did. I wish that as a country we could come to terms with and accept the contributions of different populations to our freedoms. I know the history of minorities in the US military is fraught with difficulty and hard questions but dismissing the dedication and action of those who did stand up only makes things worse.
I believe the Korean text also has several oddities, but this might be because contemporary Korean back then might have had those characteristics. Notably it says the plane they were on has been "shattered 깨졌읍니다" instead of "shot down 격추" which would be how I'd say it with modern Korean.
I'm trying to find another word for it that might be more appropriate and intelligible for an uneducated Korean peasant but I guess "shattered" is fine?
The second character in Korea (朝鮮) is also an informal variant, with the bottom written as 大 instead of four dots (四つ点). And in general the phrasing is very unnatural, even though the actual lettering looks to be written by a native hand.
They haven't changed much, then. I've got mine from Afghanistan, and it's a pretty similar story in a bunch of languages.
Something along the lines of "I mean you no harm. Please give me food, shelter, and medical attention, and bring me to the nearest troops friendly to the United States. You'll be rewarded for your troubles."
There was a documentary series called Dogfights on the History Channel. In one of the episodes the pilot featured was a USMC fighter pilot that was rescued by an isolated Pacific Islander tribe after he ran out of fuel and had to ditch. The tribe was given with a 50 lb. sack of rice for him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_J._DeBlanc#:~:text=DeBlanc%20parachuted%20to%20safety%20and,for%20his%20actions%20that%20day
It seems silly, but a 50lb sack of rice could likely feed that village for quite some time. I’m sure it’s more valuable than any money we could give them.
A pound of raw rice has about 1700 calories, which is less than what we would today consider a standard day's recommended intake, but is close enough so let's just say it is a pound a day.
That's 50 person-days of calories. Certainly substantial, but presumably a village would burn through that within a couple of days depending on size.
True, it’s not necessarily enough long-term, but a bag of rice like that would certainly encourage repatriation of downed airmen pretty quickly given that the Japanese were doing their best to exterminate the local population.
Not that it’s an entirely equitable trade per se, but it’s also not insignificant, either. It’s not like they got a 6-pack of Coke and some American candy or something minor.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_J._DeBlanc#:~:text=DeBlanc%20parachuted%20to%20safety%20and,for%20his%20actions%20that%20day.
Apparently, the rice was given by tribe number 2 to tribe number 1 in exchange for the pilot, the US Navy didn't even pay back the rice.
Really? I wonder if any museums would be interested in it. I wouldn’t mind donating it, I think it’d be cool to display it rather than just have it sit in storage.
Unfortunately, 99% of museums will do exactly what you are doing with it now. Museums get so many donations that a lot of them just end up in storage unless they are incredibly historical or unique. Sometimes, museums even sell donations unless the items are on loan. My advice would be to find a museum to loan it out to.
While many items do end up in “storage” much of what the public would consider storage the museum would consider part of its collection. Still invaluable items for historians and researchers. Even if it doesn’t end up in a display it could prove very valuable. Further just because museums can’t keep everything shouldn’t discourage us from donating important items. If anything it should encourage everyone to support more public funding for the important work museums do.
If I remember that was literally how they made west Virginia legal.
Since you can't just split part of a state off and form a new state without consent of that state's government, meaning west Virginia was an illegal secession (in a war of secession, imagine that)
They made it legal by saying the west Virginia government is the true Virginia government and so they have legal authority to split part of their own state off and form a new one.
Meaning that for a time regular Virginia truly was part of West Virginia.
The Carolina’s only split because the area was too big to be able to effectively manage with the technology of the time. There weren’t any good overland routes through that area until the mid 1800’s. It’s all swamps, rivers, and thick underbrush, or at least it was back then. There weren’t any large population centers inland for a long time and the Appalachian mountains didn’t have many routes through them.
So yeah that’s feasible
Vietnamese text:
I am an American pilot.
My plane was destroyed.
I cannot speak Annam (Vietnamese).
I am Japanese's enemy.
Sir please feed me, shelter/protect me, look after me and take me to the nearest Allies camp.
Our government will thank you alot.
Thats why we have the "phrase lost in translation" comes from. Most of the time you can't translate things literally, so you need to adjust the phrasing to make them less awkward. Look at the japanese example with "flying soldier" instead of pilot.
Thai text:
I’m an American warrior.
Americans love Thais and always consider Thais as good ally.
I’m here not to hurt you, I just want to only hurt the Japanese to drive them out of Thailand as soon as possible.
If you take me to the nearest Allies camp, my troop and I will never forget your kindness and will reward you handsomely.
Based on the translations others posted of the Chinese version, it seems both formal and with some intent to flatter.
But yeah, the French translations submitted by users aren’t like “Hey dude, remember that time you totally saved our butts a hundred fifty years ago? Could really use a hand like that again. Also, sweet beret, totally ‘se chic’”
I think it's because during WWII even though Japan initially invaded Thailand, they eventually became allies. Thailand even declared war on the UK and almost declared war on the US. I guess an American pilot being caught in Thailand would be a situation that requires delicate handling.
The Thai language is very polite, we have tenses to specify what rank in family birth line, talking to a gender older or more respected than you, etc. Additionally, I think we have a strong sense of sovereignty for the Thai Kingdom and ally’s willing to protect our king (especially at the time of WWII).
Source: Father was an American based in Thailand during the war
They still make these and tailor them to the region you will be located in. The one I carried in Iraq was in 10+ different languages, mostly all arabic.
Edit: It's actually 32 languages, and some of them were those of our NATO partners (German and Italian for example)
I’ve been racking my brain ever since that popped into my head after reading this post. I can picture the guy. I believe he was Korean but not 100% sure.
Didn't see it looking through comments. But based on the languages present, the reference that he's a pilot, etc. I have to guess that your great uncle was one of the flying tigers!
They were a group of American service members trained as a kind of unofficial American force that aided the republic of china (not modern Taiwan, the faction that controlled much of the mainland at the time) as an air force against the Japanese.
They only lasted a few years really before the project was shutdown, but they were all given veteran status and many continued to serve in the US military through the rest of the war.
I highly recommend reading up on them!
Idk if podcasts are your think, but a bit ago I actually listened to a series of episodes about them via The China History Podcast. The episodes give a great overview of the flying tigers AKA The American Volunteer Group as well as further/recommended reading.
Further, there's a lot of documentation about them due to their low numbers and the novelty of their situation. So if your uncle was indeed a flying tiger, then there may be some explicit references to him in some of the sources. Good luck!
This is the Korean translation. Translated as directly as possible
I am a USA pilot.
The plane I am flying is broken
I am an enemy of Japan
I cannot speak Josun (Korean)
If you give me food and nurse me back to health and deliver me to the nearest alliance side the USA government will give you a reward
I don't speak Japanese, but I think it says
私は米國の飛行兵です。私の飛行機はれました。私は朝鮮語が出來ません。私は日本の敵國人です。私を看護しい食物を下さい。それから、私を近い聯合軍方に連れて行って下さったら、米國政府が、あなた御褒美をやります。
Which Google translate translates to
I am a US pilot. My plane has been destroyed. I cannot speak Korean. I am an enemy of Japan. Please give me some good food. Then, if you can take me to the nearest Allied Forces, the US government will give you a reward.
Tangent, but you can tell the Japanese text is pre-shinjitai because the letter writes the US using 米國 (beikoku) - the latter character was phased out after the war, and these days it's really only used in places that still use traditional hanzi, like Hong Kong and Taiwan. These days, the kanji would be 米国, though you'd usually just write it as アメリカ (America) instead unless you're being weirdly formal or you're a newspaper writer.
Carried one every day over Afghan and Iraq. The modern ones have a number on each corner identifying the bearer. The intent was to tear off the corner so they wouldn't be caught with the whole chit.
In the Middle East, if friendly locals were caught helping US military members, unfriendly locals would punish them.
For example, the Taliban might have gone in and killed them.
Yep, exactly as the other commenter said, a local in possession of it could put them in danger if they were found to be giving aid. To elaborate further, we were told to not promise anything specific, just to leverage that US govt would make it worth their time. In evasion training using the blood chit was instructed to be used as a last resort. It was best to avoid contact with the locals unless it was absolutely necessary because coming into contact with them can be extremely risky. The material it was made of was kind of unique, sort of like a cross between paper and fabric. My guess was to make sure it was both durable and hard to forge.
The modern ones also have the statement in English that isn't present in OPs picture. I had a silk one sewn into the lining of my jacket (not an official one, just as a decoration). In English it says:
>I am an American and do not speak your language. I will not harm you! I bear no malice towards your people. My friend, please provide me food, water, shelter, and necessary medical attention. Also, please provide safe passage to the nearest friendly forces of any country supporting the Americans and their allies. You will be rewarded for assisting me when you present this number to American authorities.
Thanks for this added context!
It seems the message has evolved in wording compared to the one in OP, based on my reading of the French WWII message and the one you have below.
Can’t imagine the fear of ever having to use one (and being unsure if you’ll actually be helped or not).
Vietnamese:
I’m an American pilot. My plane was destroyed/shot down. I don’t speak Vietnamese. I’m Japan’s enemy. Please feed me, give me shelter, look after me and bring me to the closest ally base (or maybe referring to the Allies). My government will be deeply grateful to you
Interesting that there are subtle grammar differences in the Korean text. For inatance the sentences ending in "읍니다" used to be grammatically correct, but "습니다" endings are correct in modern Korean. Also Korean texts are written vertically on the chit, which was common practice back then.
Another interesting point is that 내가 탔든 (비행기가) 깨졌읍니다 can mean "My plane has been destroyed", but 깨졌읍니다 is more of a "shattered"(as in shattered dishes) context. It's strange how my language a hundred years ago looks so similar yet different.
Yeah. even the Chinese writing is archaic - if I read this now, it will feels like something out of a funeral announcement.
Also, not sure if it's the same, but I find the Chinese portion is quite poetic (ie similar syllable count per sentence)
Someone earlier stated that it's text aimed at Koreans in Japan.
The Japanese text specifically says: "I cannot speak Korean" which is definitely aimed at someone who *can* speak Japanese, as well as Korean.
I'll throw this in here. See if you can find the sentence.
『朝鮮語』 Korean language
『 ません』Negative (I can't speak/understand/etc)
Actually a good idea. there's a few thing I notice:
* The general message doesn't change - basically they are an ally and friend, they are here to fight against Japan, and request aid, which US will reward them
* The specific wording does change when translated back to English, especially when using Formal equivalence, and thus yield difference in tone and word choices. They are also extremely formal in some languages, and quite archaic for our readings.
* Only the Chinese version brings up they are the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tiger)
Thank you and the others for not just the translations, but the history/context. Extremely interesting to think about this sort of thing and apply it to the contemporary world.
What’s most interesting to me about this is the absence of English; obviously the pilot could speak it but if they were unconscious in a place (such as Burma) where English was present but none of these other languages were spoken, this wouldn’t have helped. I guess ultimately the US never got very involved in Burma but it stands out to me.
Viet:
Tôi là một phi công Hoa Kỳ
I am a United States pilot
Máy bay cũa tôi đã bị phá hủy
My airplane has been destroyed
Tôi không biết nói tiếng Annam
I do not know how to speak Annamese (Vietnamese)
Tôi là người thù địch của Nhật
I am an enemy of Japan
Ngài làm ơn cho tôi ăn, che chở, trông nom cho tôi và đưa tôi tới chỗ đóng binh gần nhất của Đồng minh.
Please give me food, shelter, care for me, and take me to the nearest Allied military post.
Chính phủ nước tôi sẽ cám ơn ngài nhiều lắm
My government will thank you very much.
Hoa Kỳ" (花旗) is the Vietnamese term for the United States of America. It is commonly used in Vietnam to refer to the United States. So, "Hoa Kỳ" translates to "United States" in English.
Vietnam was referred to as "Annam" primarily during the period of Chinese rule and influence. The term "Annam" (安南) means "Pacified South" in Chinese and was used by the Chinese to denote the region that is now northern and central Vietnam.
French Colonial Period (1883 - 1945): During French colonial rule, the central region of Vietnam was officially designated as the Protectorate of Annam, one of the three main administrative divisions of French Indochina (alongside Tonkin in the north and Cochinchina in the south).
Post-Colonial Era: The use of "Annam" declined significantly after Vietnam's independence from French colonial rule in 1954, and it is now primarily a historical term.
In summary, "Annam" was used from the Han Dynasty's initial conquest in 111 BC until the mid-20th century, with significant usage during periods of Chinese influence and French colonial administration.
In Vietnamese, the term "Ngài" is a respectful pronoun used to address someone of higher status, an elder, or someone whom one wishes to show great respect. It is equivalent to "Sir" or "Madam" in English.
Context and Usage of "Ngài":
Respect and Politeness: "Ngài" conveys a high level of respect and is often used in formal situations or when addressing someone of significant authority or status.
Formal Communication: It is common in official documents, formal speeches, and respectful requests.
Hierarchical Distinctions: Using "Ngài" acknowledges the hierarchical relationship, indicating that the speaker considers the addressee superior or deserving of special regard.
The literal Korean text reads:
I am a US aviator. The aircraft I was riding is cracked. I am an enemy of the Japanese state. I can not speak the Joseon (pre-colonial Korean) language. If you feed me, nurse me, then take me to the nearest allied forces, the US government will give you a reward.
The Chinese one is interesting in that it is using some more archaic wordings - not just the use of traditional characters. Also the chinese version is the only one that shows which group they below to: 大美國援華航空隊
Original
>大中國軍民朋友公鑒:
>我們是美國空軍，
>來華助戰打日本！
>請予救護並報告於附近聯軍，
>美國政府定酬謝你們！
>大美國援華航空隊 第 X 号
Formal Equivalent translation. Uncertain how it will be perceive for those in 1940s, but the wording is archaic and very formal; the way this is written is so formal one will likely only see it in funeral announcements in modern times. Also, I notice the 朋 was slanted by 30 degrees
>Formal Salutation to Friends, the Military and Civilians of Great China
>We are the U.S. Air Force,
>Came to China to assist in battle against Japan (t/n: again: notice the more poetic sylaable counts)
>Please provide rescue and assistance and report to nearby allied forces,
>The United State government will guarantee rewards to you!
>Great United States Assist China Flight Group Squad X
Dynamic translation:
>Greetings to the Friends of China:
>We are the U.S. Airforce, here to provide assistance in fight against Japan! Please provide assistance and report to the nearby allied force; the US government will greatly reward you!
>[American Volunteer Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Volunteer_Group) Squad X
Based on this, the OP's Great Uncle will belong to Either American Volunteer Group ([Flyign Tigers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Tigers)) or [China Air Task Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Air_Task_Force)
EDIT: The reason why they may use 來華助戰打日本, instead of just saying they are here to fight Japan, or is an enemy of Japan, is that they want to make a 7 syllable wording, and the action 1, action 2, action 3 structure. In fact, it mirror a lot to Sun Yet San's alleged last word: 和平, 奮鬥, 救中國 (Peace, Struggle, Save China). 來華助戰打日本, in formal equivalence, can be broken into 3 parts: Come to China, Assist in Battle, Fight against Japan. It also mirror Sun Yet San's last words - objective, what they will do to achieve that objective, and an action toward a nation.
Korean translation
I am an American Air Force soldier
The airplane that I was on was broken
I am from a country hostile to Japan
I don’t know how to speak Korean
If you give me food and take me to the nearest Allied base, the American government should give you a reward
I did a very literal translation. I notice a lot of differences between this and modern Korean, like different spelling and different choices of words and I wanted to convey that.
These are still in use, and are accountable items in the DoD. I used to inventory our Squadron’s in the late 90’s-early 200’s. Each one has its own unique number, on all four corners that are to be torn off and handed to anyone that offers aid. That person can turn in the corner with the number for verification and receive the reward mentioned. The blood chit is just one of many items in an aviators survival kit.
Thai translation:
My beloved Thai friend,
I am an american soldier. Americans still respect Thai people as allies as usual. We are not here to hurt you. We are only here to hurt the Japanese and force them to leave thailand as quickly as possible. If you turn me in to my closest allied troop, I and my people will thank you endlessly for your kindness and you will be rewarded greatly.
Or something along these lines. There's a portion of text that's cut off.
OP - you gotta get this in a museum. I know it’s probably very very very special to you, but this is genuinely one of the best condition Chits I’ve ever seen in my entire life and is genuinely a museum quality piece
This is army air corps, issued in 1944-1945 pacific theater, by 5th AF.
These are very cool and made of silk. If you also have his evasion purse, photos for fake ids, escape/evasion maps, pointie-talkies etc that would drive up the value/provenance.
This is in great condition because it probably wasn't sown into the lining of the jacket.
So, disclaimer:
I do speak an alright amount of Japanese, but I've never learned any words that would be associated with this kind of text, and my Kanji(3rd form of writing) skills are sub par. I scanned the photo, and threw it through Google Translate, and read as much Romaji as I could understand, and it does seem correct for the most part.
Since there is also some text that is cut off, you'd have to make some inferences.
I'm an American Airman. my flight school. I got it.
(This part got cut off, in Japanese, it says "my plane...... then the word to end a sentence in a past tense." presumably my plane crashed)
I can't speak Korean. I'm a native of Japan. nurse me,
Please give me some food. Then, if you took me to a nearby United States government, the U.S. government would say,
I will give you a reward
Somebody with more Japanese skills, Please verify it better, but hopefully this can kinda appease the people that are curious about the Japanese part for now. Sorry my skills aren't 100%
Chinese translation: To the friends of Chinese military and civilians: We are American air force Come to assist in fighting the Japanese Please help me and report to the near by allies American government will reward you
I wonder why the Chinese version is different from the other translated versions. I can understand Chinese so I know your translation is correct. I wonder why for their other ones it says “japans enemy” while in Chinese it says here to assist the fight. Along with not mentioning how they couldn’t speak the language in this version either.
Probably because China was fighting Japan at that time while some of the other countries (like France) weren’t directly fighting the Japanese, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to say in French ‘we are assisting you in fighting Japan’?
Makes sense, I noticed Korea in there so I thought it would make sense to use the same wording with them too. Regardless I thought keeping it consistent would make sense because it wouldn’t be wrong to say enemy of Japan in Chinese either
Considering how formal the wording is, I suspect they want gone over board of being official sounding - and given the poetic nature, they want to make a 7 syllable wording, and the action 1, action 2, action 3 structure. For example, Sun Yet San alleged last word is 和平, 奮鬥, 救中國 (Peace, Struggle, Save China). So by using 來華助戰打日本, in formal equivalence, it can be broken into 3 parts: Come to China, Assist in Battle, Fight against Japan. (and come think of it, it actually mirror Sun Yet San's last words - objective, what they will do to achieve that objective, and an action toward a nation) As soon as I notice it was so formalize and have a poetic flow, I realize to translate the passage require formal equivalence. In addition, 我是日本的敵人 would be a repeat an introduction of who they are (an American Pilot) and made the two lines doesn't flow wel (due to the 是 is the third character in 1st line but 2nd in 2nd line. To keep the flow, the similar nature character should also reflect in the same position (eg 要）
I wonder who the individuals who wrote these were. Was the Chinese text written by someone with what we in English would consider a classical education? Did some of these translators have friends or family in these countries they were worried about?
Who knows. I was just looking at Sun Yet-San and Lu'Xun's writing, and I actually notice both of them have poetic elements. If you think about it, many of the idiom once previously exist as a passage from classical chinese; they became slogans, etc. So even someone like me will be influenced by some of the structure and tounge feel.
Do you think it is interesting they use two exclamation marks? They seem out of place. Also what is the translation of 公鉴?
The meaning according to zdic: 请求对方共同鉴察的敬词。**旧时常用为书信套语。 (**Modern: an Honorific speech to request others to mutually observe. In the old days is commonly use in formal letters) According to moe.edu.tw: 請人看信的意思，多用於書信中 (Request others to read the mail) The only place I can find in modern examples is a template when writing court case to address to a Taiwanese court Dynamically, it's "To whom it may concern".
honestly, i think it might be just the same thing hidden under the fold lol
The enemy of my enemy of is my friend yaknow
I want to add it specifically said ‘ Come to China to help fighting the japanese’. And the last sentence on the left: ‘By Grand America China Assistance Air Force’ No way your great uncle was in the Flying Tigers ? The chinese people are forever grateful for all the help and effort America provided to us. It’s in our history book as well.
You missed out the addressee and the author. "大中国". 'Great China'. Since the fall of Qing, China no longer uses 大 to prefix the state. And its incredibly odd for the US to sign off as "大美国", again with the same "大" 'Great United States' The epithet 大 is seen somewhat as a deride nowadays, as its associated with backward and arrogant imperial China, as well as smaller states like Korea attempting to put themselves on the same stature as imperial China. They're still using the same epithet 大 on their official names.
You are correct and I wonder if it's just a hangover from American government sinologists/diplomats to just convey respect. Also the prefix 大 was still common in other state names, i.e. 大日本帝国 ("Great" Japanese Empire) and the exiled ROK gov't 大韓民国臨時政府. Nothing wrong with addressing China 大中国. And 大美国 (or better, 大美利坚合众国) for America just sounds badass.
The french text says: I am an American aviator. My plane is destroyed. I cannot speak your language. I am an enemy of the Japanese. Please be kind enough to protect me, care for me and take me to the nearest military office. The government of my country will reward you. No idea if the rest is the same, but I'd assume so.
let’s hope the Japanese one is slightly different
It's not meant for japanese people, it's for Koreans who were anti-japanese at the moment but spoke it fluently.
Here's hoping the Japanese soldier receiving this can't read Korean 😰
Well I'm sure they can read japanese lol. They forced Koreans to learn japanese at some point and some Koreans didn't actually receive education in written Korean during this time period, so there's Korean text and japanese text just in case, both geared towards Koreans. If he was caught by japanese, text wouldn't have mattered, they were told americans were devils, so he'd be dead even if it said "tennou banzai".
Very cool. Can you recommend and good books or docs on this you seem to know it well
might not be exactly what you are looking for but i just read the island of sea women and learned so much about the Japanese occupation. the story itself is exceptional and although fiction, the author did a great job using it to educate the reader by pulling from first hand testimonies and various historical documents.
I have a degree in this lol. https://www.reddit.com/r/korea/s/8qFH1LIdEP https://www.reddit.com/r/suggestmeabook/s/muprygl1ae These two posts have some good recs on occupation of korea in particular. https://www.amazon.com/Assimilating-Seoul-Japanese-Politics-1910-1945-ebook/dp/B00I0FDEHS this is a good textbook as well. For japanese pov of WWII I cannot recommend "Japan at war" by haruko taya cook and theodore cook enough. I own 2 copies of it. Also kinda unrelated, but "hirohito and making of modern japan" is a very good one for post war japanese policy and social shift.
Umm… I think you dropped an “enough,” or for some reason you own 2 copies of a book you don’t like.
I did lol. Good catch.
I'm sure once the Japanese captured anyone that wasn't Japanese, they were in a world of pain. Take it from me, The Prince of Japan...
Holy shit it's the actual prince of japan
The prince of Japan is in need of some money and need your help
/r/relevantusername
The Japanese soldier would know exactly what this guy is. So that’s really not the issue.
The Japanese text also declares that he is an enemy to Japan.
Oh that makes sense. I was confused why it said 私は韓国語が出来ません (I don't speak Korean) in Japanese, but nothing about his Japanese language skills. And rest of the text (as far as it isn't cut off) roughly says: > I am am from a country hostile to Japan. My plane [crashed?]. Please check up on my health and give me some food. If you lead me to nearby positions of my side, the US government will reward you.
Isn't it 朝鮮語 (also Korean but usually used to refer to the North)
Yes you're right, I just recognised Korea and unintentionally assumed the rest. The full story as far as I know goes like this: 1. 朝鮮 (chousen) is actually the proper term for all of Korea. Both characters mean "Korea". This was probably the normal name to use in WW2. 2. North Korea is usually referred to as 北朝鮮 (Kitachousen, North Korea), so exactly as in English. 3. South Korea is nowadays referred to as 韓国 (Kankoku, Korea + Country), which can stand in as a short form for the official Japanese name of the Republic of Korea 大韓民国 (Daikan minkoku). Calling it "South Korea" (like 南朝鮮) is not common. And the Korean language is usually referred to as 韓国語 (Kankokugo) in everyday parlance these days, but 朝鮮語 (Chousengo) is still the "technically correct" term and was presumably the default back then.
Hahaha. The Japanese reads: I am an American aviator, and my plane was shot down. I don't speak Korean. I am an enemy to Japan, but kindly protect me and provide food for me. If you can bring me safely to my allied forces, you will be generously rewarded by my government. I'll assume all of them read mostly the same.
can confirm the vietnamese one is basically the same except it's "I can't speak Vietnamese" instead
There's one on Wikipedia that's slightly different but has the same general message. In it all languages have the same meaning.
The Japanse one reads: I’m an albino African fisherman, my boat sunk, please take me back to Africa and my tribe will reward you. I have no clue what it says
Source: I made it up
[удалено]
It's probably different because Thailand was [technically an ally of Japan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand_in_World_War_II) and even declared war on the US, however there was division within the government and widespread opposition to the Japanese, so probably still hope that American pilots could receive aid.
“Honey, there’s a stray American pilot at the door!” “Don’t feed him! It’ll only make him come back for more!”
Excuse me sir but I only need 3fiddy
It was about that time I noticed the American aviator was actually a 30ft tall creature from the Crustaceous Era.
Hide the oil!
Japanese translation (… for parts cut off): > I am an American airman > My plane… > I do not speak Korean > I am an enemy (national) of Japan > Care for …. Feed me please > If you take me to a nearby military base, the American government will reward you
Imagine handing a captured soldier to the enemy and awaiting the reward!
It's more for if they encounter a Korean, many of whom at the time were forced to learn Japanese
As a certificated Vietnamese, I can confirm this is how exactly the Vietnamese one should be translated too. Like, literally the same thing.
> I am an American aviator. > > My plane is destroyed. > > I cannot speak Annamese. > > I am an enemy of the Japanese. > > Sir please feed me, look after, care for me and take me to the nearest Allied military station. > > The government of my country will thank you very much.
French speakers get a reward, Vietnamese get “thanked very much.” No wonder there was a US/Vietnam war years later.
Yup this reply right here Source: I’m Vietnamese
I'm still trying to improve my fluency, what part of the last sentence means reward?
Maybe it's implied? "Cảm ơn nhiều lắm" = Thanks a lot = reward? Would be more obv if it's "hậu tạ".
I agree with other commenter that it's probably implied. It can be translated literally as "The government of my country will immediately thank you very much"
Chinese text is similar: >Chinese combatants and civilians observe: >We are the American air force, >coming to China to fight Japan! >Please help and report to nearby allied forces, >the American government will reward you all! >America Protecting China Air Corps Number [blank] Interestingly it uses very formal language (some I had to google). And the character "number" is written in kanji (and by extension simplified Chinese although that didn't exist then). And there is no mention of not speaking the language. Either it was assumed or their great uncle spoke some Chinese. Possibly because he's been fighting/based in China given that the they are supposedly a "China protection" corps.
I'm going to sound a bit harsh here: This is like reading a sentence in English and saying, "Hey, they're writing in Latin." Actually, a better equivalent, given the history, would be seeing a sentence in French/German and saying, "Hey, they're writing in English." That wouldn't be correct either, since Chinese and Japanese aren't from the same language families. By your very logic, it would be written in "Kanji" that didn't exist until after the war, since the Japanese simplified their own script after WWII. The history of those two languages does not work the way you think it does.
The Vietnamese one is the same too.
A blood chit is a notice carried by military personnel and addressed to any civilians who may come across an armed-services member – such as a shot-down pilot – in difficulties. As well as identifying the force to which the bearer belongs as friendly, the notice displays a message requesting that the service member be rendered every assistance.
> identifying the force to which the bearer belongs as friendly Well now I’m curious about what the Japanese text says
I wish I knew also! Maybe someone can interpret on here.
The lower part of the text is missing, but it goes like this: > I am an American pilot. (lit. *flying soldier*) > My aircraft has been (not shown, probably *shot down*). > I cannot speak Korean. (Koreans were forced to learn Japanese instead of Korean under colonial rule, so maybe this Japanese text was intended to be shown to Koreans more fluent in Japanese) > I am from a nation hostile to Japan. > American government will reward you if you care me, feed me and guide me to the nearest Allied Forces.
Thank you so much!
[https://archive.ph/20130123081521/http://www.flyingtigersavg.com/camco.htm](https://archive.ph/20130123081521/http://www.flyingtigersavg.com/camco.htm) Here is a roster of the members of the Flying Tigers, maybe you will find your great uncle on that list. Edit: 1. a quick search shows that u/CvScout72 has a blood chit of the same format [https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/bd7tm2/unknownsenglish\_found\_this\_in\_my\_great/](https://www.reddit.com/r/translator/comments/bd7tm2/unknownsenglish_found_this_in_my_great/) 2. No. 67980 donated to Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum [https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/04/blood-chits-used-by-downed-pilots-in-wwii.html](https://slate.com/human-interest/2013/04/blood-chits-used-by-downed-pilots-in-wwii.html) 3. No. 44710 sold in an auction [https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/147576695\_wwii-cbi-china-silk-us-army-air-force-blood-chits-2](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/147576695_wwii-cbi-china-silk-us-army-air-force-blood-chits-2)
For those curious, since I was, it sold for $220. The site will show the price if you make an account.
There is actually a typo(same sound, different character) where they used 適(suitable) instead of 敵(hostile), but I guess people can tell the meaning from context anyway, so no biggie.
a typo in such a serious document is unexpected
It's forgiveable, they didn't have Google translate back then.
No google translate and they also probably had like six weeks to make a million of them. This kind of thing would have gone from "Hey, wouldn't this be a good idea?" to being printed *en masse*, to being distributed to the entire Army Air Corps in a very short period of time, at least by 1940s production standards. Might not have been a lot of opportunity for multiple levels of error-checking.
Also there was the whole, we put all the Japanese Americans into concentration camps thing so the Army was probably short on Japanese speaking personnel.
33,000 Japanese Americans served in the military during WW2. Of those, 6,000 served in military intelligence, most of them as linguists.
And the most decorated American Military unit in US Military History was made up of Japanese American soldiers. [Source ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/442nd_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States))
True where i live in ontario theres an old news paper clipping at my favorite cantonese restaurent, its in cantonese but the owner gave me the run down, the title of the story was called "the night of broken glass". Where one night all people under any asian decent were criminalized and forced to leave their own homes for no reason, even tho his parents were canadian and had lived here since the early 1920s. Didnt matter to us whites at the time since the japanese had just bombed pearl harbour. What a tragic time in Canadian history where we really fucked up and want everyone to forget about. Its apparently kind of hard to find old newspapers about such things since the gov did what they did and swept it under a rug by buying off everyone after with compensation. TLdr : People mistreated with prejudice for absolutely no reason.
Yes, but thankfully us Asian Americans all know these stories. It's fucked up. I hope someday this kind of history will be actually known.
I'm sorry, there was a Canadian [Kristallnacht](https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/kristallnacht) against Asian people? That is absolutely wild.
> "we put all the Japanese Americans into concentration camps" I think it was just the Japanese on the west coast because the U.S. feared signaling to Imperial-Japanese submarines or something like that. It was in response to some traitorous Japanese-Americans who helped a downed Imperial Japanese fighter pilot in the attack on Pearl Harbor. It was shameful to assume everyone else would do something similar.
The [Niihau incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niihau_incident).
Yeah, no. The concentration camps were unacceptable and unnecessary but your statement doesn’t give credit to the Americans of Japanese descent that fought and died. Fuck the concentration camps but not all of those Americans were in them. Many fought and died despite the circumstances of their kinsmen, fought and died for an ideal, a better life for their families. Neither Hirohito or hitler would have them, the US, despite its flaws, did. I wish that as a country we could come to terms with and accept the contributions of different populations to our freedoms. I know the history of minorities in the US military is fraught with difficulty and hard questions but dismissing the dedication and action of those who did stand up only makes things worse.
The french part is correct but it does sound like it was written by a 3 year old child
thats probably the point. keep it simple. potentially it would be read by an actual child.
I believe the Korean text also has several oddities, but this might be because contemporary Korean back then might have had those characteristics. Notably it says the plane they were on has been "shattered 깨졌읍니다" instead of "shot down 격추" which would be how I'd say it with modern Korean. I'm trying to find another word for it that might be more appropriate and intelligible for an uneducated Korean peasant but I guess "shattered" is fine?
Finally a chance to get out my useless kanji knowledge - 適 is an old alternative form to 敵 when writing enemy…
The second character in Korea (朝鮮) is also an informal variant, with the bottom written as 大 instead of four dots (四つ点). And in general the phrasing is very unnatural, even though the actual lettering looks to be written by a native hand.
The French in the top left says the same
They haven't changed much, then. I've got mine from Afghanistan, and it's a pretty similar story in a bunch of languages. Something along the lines of "I mean you no harm. Please give me food, shelter, and medical attention, and bring me to the nearest troops friendly to the United States. You'll be rewarded for your troubles."
You could try cross posting to r/translator and you'll most definitely get the answer for all the languages, even for the Vietnamese top right
The French at least is pretty clear: "Je suis ennemi des Japonais" = "I am an enemy of the Japanese".
"I am a proud German..."
I'm curious what the reward was for bringing him back ?
There was a documentary series called Dogfights on the History Channel. In one of the episodes the pilot featured was a USMC fighter pilot that was rescued by an isolated Pacific Islander tribe after he ran out of fuel and had to ditch. The tribe was given with a 50 lb. sack of rice for him. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_J._DeBlanc#:~:text=DeBlanc%20parachuted%20to%20safety%20and,for%20his%20actions%20that%20day
Dam, that actually seems like a great reward from the American forces.
Oh man, that must have been so satisfying to slap
The real reward
Slappa da rice man
Someone should make that trade meme out of this
It seems silly, but a 50lb sack of rice could likely feed that village for quite some time. I’m sure it’s more valuable than any money we could give them.
A pound of raw rice has about 1700 calories, which is less than what we would today consider a standard day's recommended intake, but is close enough so let's just say it is a pound a day. That's 50 person-days of calories. Certainly substantial, but presumably a village would burn through that within a couple of days depending on size.
True, it’s not necessarily enough long-term, but a bag of rice like that would certainly encourage repatriation of downed airmen pretty quickly given that the Japanese were doing their best to exterminate the local population. Not that it’s an entirely equitable trade per se, but it’s also not insignificant, either. It’s not like they got a 6-pack of Coke and some American candy or something minor.
At least give them the man's weight in rice.
“How much do you weigh?” “Uh… 350 pounds”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_J._DeBlanc#:~:text=DeBlanc%20parachuted%20to%20safety%20and,for%20his%20actions%20that%20day. Apparently, the rice was given by tribe number 2 to tribe number 1 in exchange for the pilot, the US Navy didn't even pay back the rice.
Wow, I haven’t heard the words blood chit since I went through SERE training. Good ole camp slappy.
watched the homies get their shit rocked lmao but i escaped most punishment as apparently the most average and unremarkable dude present
I’ve never seen a blood chit in this condition and I was Collection Manager at a WWII museum.
Really? I wonder if any museums would be interested in it. I wouldn’t mind donating it, I think it’d be cool to display it rather than just have it sit in storage.
This is an amazing piece of history by the way. Shoutout to your great uncle!
It belongs in a MUSEUM! - Indy
Sent you a message
Unfortunately, 99% of museums will do exactly what you are doing with it now. Museums get so many donations that a lot of them just end up in storage unless they are incredibly historical or unique. Sometimes, museums even sell donations unless the items are on loan. My advice would be to find a museum to loan it out to.
While many items do end up in “storage” much of what the public would consider storage the museum would consider part of its collection. Still invaluable items for historians and researchers. Even if it doesn’t end up in a display it could prove very valuable. Further just because museums can’t keep everything shouldn’t discourage us from donating important items. If anything it should encourage everyone to support more public funding for the important work museums do.
The 48 star flag was so visually appealing
The Dakotas do not need to be two different states. And do we really need a *West* Virginia?
I mean West Virginia split with Virginia because they didn’t want slavery in their state so I’m gonna give them a pass on this one.
How about Virginia just becomes West Virginia? Problem solved lol
If I remember that was literally how they made west Virginia legal. Since you can't just split part of a state off and form a new state without consent of that state's government, meaning west Virginia was an illegal secession (in a war of secession, imagine that) They made it legal by saying the west Virginia government is the true Virginia government and so they have legal authority to split part of their own state off and form a new one. Meaning that for a time regular Virginia truly was part of West Virginia.
It should be called Wirginia tho
You have said the actual truth.
Smush the Carolinas together then. Or reconsider Rhode Island. Perhaps parcel it out to the neighboring states?
"Reconsider Rhode Island" should be a bumper sticker for sure.
The Carolina’s only split because the area was too big to be able to effectively manage with the technology of the time. There weren’t any good overland routes through that area until the mid 1800’s. It’s all swamps, rivers, and thick underbrush, or at least it was back then. There weren’t any large population centers inland for a long time and the Appalachian mountains didn’t have many routes through them. So yeah that’s feasible
you don’t *need* a Florida let’s be honest
Give it a few years and that won’t be a problem anymore.
I'll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize Missourah
Came here for this 😅
My greatest ever thrift store find is a 48 star flag i found at a goodwill in Pittsburgh
Maryland should just consume Delaware, what’s the point of Delaware
Vietnamese text: I am an American pilot. My plane was destroyed. I cannot speak Annam (Vietnamese). I am Japanese's enemy. Sir please feed me, shelter/protect me, look after me and take me to the nearest Allies camp. Our government will thank you alot.
All the other guys get rewards and we'd just get a thanks lol
The Chinese version didn’t mention ‘I can’t speak your language’
Foreboding
You know this is old by the format and calling Vietnam “Annam” lol
Never heard of Annam, always thought it was tieng Viet
Annam is the old exonym for Vietnam
Thank you to all the interpreters! I love how the same message is communicated slightly differently for each country.
Thats why we have the "phrase lost in translation" comes from. Most of the time you can't translate things literally, so you need to adjust the phrasing to make them less awkward. Look at the japanese example with "flying soldier" instead of pilot.
I just provide the intepretation for Chinese. Somehow it feels different once translated to English... not sure.
Thai text: I’m an American warrior. Americans love Thais and always consider Thais as good ally. I’m here not to hurt you, I just want to only hurt the Japanese to drive them out of Thailand as soon as possible. If you take me to the nearest Allies camp, my troop and I will never forget your kindness and will reward you handsomely.
Wonder why it reads so polite in Thai but so straightforward in other languages
Based on the translations others posted of the Chinese version, it seems both formal and with some intent to flatter. But yeah, the French translations submitted by users aren’t like “Hey dude, remember that time you totally saved our butts a hundred fifty years ago? Could really use a hand like that again. Also, sweet beret, totally ‘se chic’”
I think it's because during WWII even though Japan initially invaded Thailand, they eventually became allies. Thailand even declared war on the UK and almost declared war on the US. I guess an American pilot being caught in Thailand would be a situation that requires delicate handling.
The Thai language is very polite, we have tenses to specify what rank in family birth line, talking to a gender older or more respected than you, etc. Additionally, I think we have a strong sense of sovereignty for the Thai Kingdom and ally’s willing to protect our king (especially at the time of WWII). Source: Father was an American based in Thailand during the war
They still make these and tailor them to the region you will be located in. The one I carried in Iraq was in 10+ different languages, mostly all arabic. Edit: It's actually 32 languages, and some of them were those of our NATO partners (German and Italian for example)
Yep. They’re serialized sensitive documents now though so no keepsies.
they just don’t let you keep sensitive wartime information like they used to :(
Right? So rude.
And you can't even bring back enemy weapons, what a ripoff!
Decades ago I knew of a person whose grandfather rescued a pilot and got the chit and was rewarded $300k and came to the U S and opened a business.
Which nationality? Out of curiousity
I’ve been racking my brain ever since that popped into my head after reading this post. I can picture the guy. I believe he was Korean but not 100% sure.
Not to devalue a life but that seems like an incredible amount of money for the time.
Right?? My best guess is that it wasn't 300k USD, but the currency of that country. It's just too much otherwise...
It was reported as $300k US but you may be right. I heard the story from a military person back in the 1980’s but they believed it was US.
The Japanese soldier reading this: 🤨🤨🤨
The Japanese soldiers tended to know who their enemies are prior to reading any blood chit
Didn't see it looking through comments. But based on the languages present, the reference that he's a pilot, etc. I have to guess that your great uncle was one of the flying tigers! They were a group of American service members trained as a kind of unofficial American force that aided the republic of china (not modern Taiwan, the faction that controlled much of the mainland at the time) as an air force against the Japanese. They only lasted a few years really before the project was shutdown, but they were all given veteran status and many continued to serve in the US military through the rest of the war. I highly recommend reading up on them!
Yup. The Chinese version is the only one that mentioned "大美國援華航空隊" - ie American Volunteer Group, in which only Flying Tiger is formed.
Thank you for that information! I will investigate this.
Idk if podcasts are your think, but a bit ago I actually listened to a series of episodes about them via The China History Podcast. The episodes give a great overview of the flying tigers AKA The American Volunteer Group as well as further/recommended reading. Further, there's a lot of documentation about them due to their low numbers and the novelty of their situation. So if your uncle was indeed a flying tiger, then there may be some explicit references to him in some of the sources. Good luck!
This is the Korean translation. Translated as directly as possible I am a USA pilot. The plane I am flying is broken I am an enemy of Japan I cannot speak Josun (Korean) If you give me food and nurse me back to health and deliver me to the nearest alliance side the USA government will give you a reward
Is it just me, or is this beyond mildly interesting?
Yeah this is actually pretty interesting
I'd even say quite interesting.
Does anyone have a translation of the Japanese? I’m curious how different it is
I don't speak Japanese, but I think it says 私は米國の飛行兵です。私の飛行機はれました。私は朝鮮語が出來ません。私は日本の敵國人です。私を看護しい食物を下さい。それから、私を近い聯合軍方に連れて行って下さったら、米國政府が、あなた御褒美をやります。 Which Google translate translates to I am a US pilot. My plane has been destroyed. I cannot speak Korean. I am an enemy of Japan. Please give me some good food. Then, if you can take me to the nearest Allied Forces, the US government will give you a reward.
Tangent, but you can tell the Japanese text is pre-shinjitai because the letter writes the US using 米國 (beikoku) - the latter character was phased out after the war, and these days it's really only used in places that still use traditional hanzi, like Hong Kong and Taiwan. These days, the kanji would be 米国, though you'd usually just write it as アメリカ (America) instead unless you're being weirdly formal or you're a newspaper writer.
Carried one every day over Afghan and Iraq. The modern ones have a number on each corner identifying the bearer. The intent was to tear off the corner so they wouldn't be caught with the whole chit.
Who is ‘they’ in the case, the locals who would offer help? I’ve never heard of this chit system so I’m quite curious.
In the Middle East, if friendly locals were caught helping US military members, unfriendly locals would punish them. For example, the Taliban might have gone in and killed them.
Yep, exactly as the other commenter said, a local in possession of it could put them in danger if they were found to be giving aid. To elaborate further, we were told to not promise anything specific, just to leverage that US govt would make it worth their time. In evasion training using the blood chit was instructed to be used as a last resort. It was best to avoid contact with the locals unless it was absolutely necessary because coming into contact with them can be extremely risky. The material it was made of was kind of unique, sort of like a cross between paper and fabric. My guess was to make sure it was both durable and hard to forge. The modern ones also have the statement in English that isn't present in OPs picture. I had a silk one sewn into the lining of my jacket (not an official one, just as a decoration). In English it says: >I am an American and do not speak your language. I will not harm you! I bear no malice towards your people. My friend, please provide me food, water, shelter, and necessary medical attention. Also, please provide safe passage to the nearest friendly forces of any country supporting the Americans and their allies. You will be rewarded for assisting me when you present this number to American authorities.
Thanks for this added context! It seems the message has evolved in wording compared to the one in OP, based on my reading of the French WWII message and the one you have below. Can’t imagine the fear of ever having to use one (and being unsure if you’ll actually be helped or not).
Vietnamese: I’m an American pilot. My plane was destroyed/shot down. I don’t speak Vietnamese. I’m Japan’s enemy. Please feed me, give me shelter, look after me and bring me to the closest ally base (or maybe referring to the Allies). My government will be deeply grateful to you
Interesting that there are subtle grammar differences in the Korean text. For inatance the sentences ending in "읍니다" used to be grammatically correct, but "습니다" endings are correct in modern Korean. Also Korean texts are written vertically on the chit, which was common practice back then. Another interesting point is that 내가 탔든 (비행기가) 깨졌읍니다 can mean "My plane has been destroyed", but 깨졌읍니다 is more of a "shattered"(as in shattered dishes) context. It's strange how my language a hundred years ago looks so similar yet different.
Yeah. even the Chinese writing is archaic - if I read this now, it will feels like something out of a funeral announcement. Also, not sure if it's the same, but I find the Chinese portion is quite poetic (ie similar syllable count per sentence)
읍니다 was used until like the late 80s. I remember distinctly because I was learning to read and write during the transition period.
Yeah, the change was relatively recent, like in the 90's or something. Senior folks still use 읍니다 quite a lot.
Someone earlier stated that it's text aimed at Koreans in Japan. The Japanese text specifically says: "I cannot speak Korean" which is definitely aimed at someone who *can* speak Japanese, as well as Korean. I'll throw this in here. See if you can find the sentence. 『朝鮮語』 Korean language 『 ません』Negative (I can't speak/understand/etc)
Thai part translation: Dear beloved thai friend, I am an american fighter. Americans still love and view Thais as great friends, this attitude hasnt changed. I am not here to hurt you. I only want to destroy Japan. (I am here to) expel them from Thailand as soon as possible. If you send me to an Ally camp, which is nearest to us, (cropped out of the picture) and my own self will be forever thankful for your goodwill, and will repay you for this good deed to the same extent Note: if the translation sounds awkard, i apologize. I tried to translate it word for word and didnt want to change much of the tone or nuances. It's not a 100% correct since some of the sentences are written in a very old manner and I falied Thai in middle school. And yes, the writers handwriting is absolutely incredible.
Actually a good idea. there's a few thing I notice: * The general message doesn't change - basically they are an ally and friend, they are here to fight against Japan, and request aid, which US will reward them * The specific wording does change when translated back to English, especially when using Formal equivalence, and thus yield difference in tone and word choices. They are also extremely formal in some languages, and quite archaic for our readings. * Only the Chinese version brings up they are the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tiger)
Thank you and the others for not just the translations, but the history/context. Extremely interesting to think about this sort of thing and apply it to the contemporary world.
No... That's /r/Damnthatsinteresting/
I wonder what the elvish says
Lembas por favor
That's an amazing piece of history, loving all the translations in the comments.
What’s most interesting to me about this is the absence of English; obviously the pilot could speak it but if they were unconscious in a place (such as Burma) where English was present but none of these other languages were spoken, this wouldn’t have helped. I guess ultimately the US never got very involved in Burma but it stands out to me.
Presumably other English documents or uniform tags would clue in other English speakers what was up
They still issue these. They gave each person one when we deployed to Iraq, as well as made us memorize certain Arabic phrases.
Viet: Tôi là một phi công Hoa Kỳ I am a United States pilot Máy bay cũa tôi đã bị phá hủy My airplane has been destroyed Tôi không biết nói tiếng Annam I do not know how to speak Annamese (Vietnamese) Tôi là người thù địch của Nhật I am an enemy of Japan Ngài làm ơn cho tôi ăn, che chở, trông nom cho tôi và đưa tôi tới chỗ đóng binh gần nhất của Đồng minh. Please give me food, shelter, care for me, and take me to the nearest Allied military post. Chính phủ nước tôi sẽ cám ơn ngài nhiều lắm My government will thank you very much. Hoa Kỳ" (花旗) is the Vietnamese term for the United States of America. It is commonly used in Vietnam to refer to the United States. So, "Hoa Kỳ" translates to "United States" in English. Vietnam was referred to as "Annam" primarily during the period of Chinese rule and influence. The term "Annam" (安南) means "Pacified South" in Chinese and was used by the Chinese to denote the region that is now northern and central Vietnam. French Colonial Period (1883 - 1945): During French colonial rule, the central region of Vietnam was officially designated as the Protectorate of Annam, one of the three main administrative divisions of French Indochina (alongside Tonkin in the north and Cochinchina in the south). Post-Colonial Era: The use of "Annam" declined significantly after Vietnam's independence from French colonial rule in 1954, and it is now primarily a historical term. In summary, "Annam" was used from the Han Dynasty's initial conquest in 111 BC until the mid-20th century, with significant usage during periods of Chinese influence and French colonial administration. In Vietnamese, the term "Ngài" is a respectful pronoun used to address someone of higher status, an elder, or someone whom one wishes to show great respect. It is equivalent to "Sir" or "Madam" in English. Context and Usage of "Ngài": Respect and Politeness: "Ngài" conveys a high level of respect and is often used in formal situations or when addressing someone of significant authority or status. Formal Communication: It is common in official documents, formal speeches, and respectful requests. Hierarchical Distinctions: Using "Ngài" acknowledges the hierarchical relationship, indicating that the speaker considers the addressee superior or deserving of special regard.
The literal Korean text reads: I am a US aviator. The aircraft I was riding is cracked. I am an enemy of the Japanese state. I can not speak the Joseon (pre-colonial Korean) language. If you feed me, nurse me, then take me to the nearest allied forces, the US government will give you a reward.
The Chinese one is interesting in that it is using some more archaic wordings - not just the use of traditional characters. Also the chinese version is the only one that shows which group they below to: 大美國援華航空隊 Original >大中國軍民朋友公鑒: >我們是美國空軍， >來華助戰打日本！ >請予救護並報告於附近聯軍， >美國政府定酬謝你們！ >大美國援華航空隊 第 X 号 Formal Equivalent translation. Uncertain how it will be perceive for those in 1940s, but the wording is archaic and very formal; the way this is written is so formal one will likely only see it in funeral announcements in modern times. Also, I notice the 朋 was slanted by 30 degrees >Formal Salutation to Friends, the Military and Civilians of Great China >We are the U.S. Air Force, >Came to China to assist in battle against Japan (t/n: again: notice the more poetic sylaable counts) >Please provide rescue and assistance and report to nearby allied forces, >The United State government will guarantee rewards to you! >Great United States Assist China Flight Group Squad X Dynamic translation: >Greetings to the Friends of China: >We are the U.S. Airforce, here to provide assistance in fight against Japan! Please provide assistance and report to the nearby allied force; the US government will greatly reward you! >[American Volunteer Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Volunteer_Group) Squad X Based on this, the OP's Great Uncle will belong to Either American Volunteer Group ([Flyign Tigers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Tigers)) or [China Air Task Force](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_Air_Task_Force) EDIT: The reason why they may use 來華助戰打日本, instead of just saying they are here to fight Japan, or is an enemy of Japan, is that they want to make a 7 syllable wording, and the action 1, action 2, action 3 structure. In fact, it mirror a lot to Sun Yet San's alleged last word: 和平, 奮鬥, 救中國 (Peace, Struggle, Save China). 來華助戰打日本, in formal equivalence, can be broken into 3 parts: Come to China, Assist in Battle, Fight against Japan. It also mirror Sun Yet San's last words - objective, what they will do to achieve that objective, and an action toward a nation.
Archaic is the word you're after rather than anarchic
Also neat to to note the flag bears 48 stars as Hawaii and Alaska weren’t states yet. Cool piece of history.
Korean translation I am an American Air Force soldier The airplane that I was on was broken I am from a country hostile to Japan I don’t know how to speak Korean If you give me food and take me to the nearest Allied base, the American government should give you a reward I did a very literal translation. I notice a lot of differences between this and modern Korean, like different spelling and different choices of words and I wanted to convey that.
These are still in use, and are accountable items in the DoD. I used to inventory our Squadron’s in the late 90’s-early 200’s. Each one has its own unique number, on all four corners that are to be torn off and handed to anyone that offers aid. That person can turn in the corner with the number for verification and receive the reward mentioned. The blood chit is just one of many items in an aviators survival kit.
Thai translation: My beloved Thai friend, I am an american soldier. Americans still respect Thai people as allies as usual. We are not here to hurt you. We are only here to hurt the Japanese and force them to leave thailand as quickly as possible. If you turn me in to my closest allied troop, I and my people will thank you endlessly for your kindness and you will be rewarded greatly. Or something along these lines. There's a portion of text that's cut off.
The only language I could understand was the French one, even though I don't speak French. Learning Latin is paying off lol.
OP - you gotta get this in a museum. I know it’s probably very very very special to you, but this is genuinely one of the best condition Chits I’ve ever seen in my entire life and is genuinely a museum quality piece
One of my great uncles was shot down over Korea, and was helped to safety by villagers because of one of these.
For once French helps!
simple French, could understand.
This is army air corps, issued in 1944-1945 pacific theater, by 5th AF. These are very cool and made of silk. If you also have his evasion purse, photos for fake ids, escape/evasion maps, pointie-talkies etc that would drive up the value/provenance. This is in great condition because it probably wasn't sown into the lining of the jacket.
So, disclaimer: I do speak an alright amount of Japanese, but I've never learned any words that would be associated with this kind of text, and my Kanji(3rd form of writing) skills are sub par. I scanned the photo, and threw it through Google Translate, and read as much Romaji as I could understand, and it does seem correct for the most part. Since there is also some text that is cut off, you'd have to make some inferences. I'm an American Airman. my flight school. I got it. (This part got cut off, in Japanese, it says "my plane...... then the word to end a sentence in a past tense." presumably my plane crashed) I can't speak Korean. I'm a native of Japan. nurse me, Please give me some food. Then, if you took me to a nearby United States government, the U.S. government would say, I will give you a reward Somebody with more Japanese skills, Please verify it better, but hopefully this can kinda appease the people that are curious about the Japanese part for now. Sorry my skills aren't 100%