Ｃｏｍｍｅｍｏｒａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ １１０ｔｈ Ａｎｎｉｖｅｒｓａｒｙ ｏｆ Ｂｉｒｔｈ ｏｆ Ｅｖａｎｓ． Ｆ． Ｃａｒｌｓｏｎ Ｈｅｌｄ ｉｎ ｔｈｅ Ｕ． Ｓ．

On the occasion of the 110th anniversary of the birth of American Brigadier General Evans F. Carlson， an old friend of the Chinese people， at the invitation of Furman University in Greenville， S. C. ， University of South Carolina， Columbia， and family members of Evans Carlson， a delegation of the Chinese Society for People’s Friendship Studies went to the U.S. to attend the commemorative activities and visited the above two universities from October 23 to 24， 2006.

In Furman University， Acting President Dr. Tom Kazee held a banquet in honour of the delegation. Mei Ping， head of the delegation， gave a speech on Sino-US relations. The delegation had a meeting with the teachers and students of the Institute of Asian Studies， briefing them about China’s situation， the Chinese women today， etc.， and attended the family dinner hosted by Carlson’s granddaughter Jeanne Carlson.

Amanda Zhou Yangzhi and Peter Wang Yun， granddaughter and grandson of Zhou Libo and Wang Yang who accompanied Carlson to inspect the base area established behind the enemy lines in 1937， and Lu ke， grandson of General Lu Zhengcao， also participated in the commemorative activities. Venerable Dr. Charles F. Grossman， president of Evans F. Carlson’s Friends of the People’s Republic of China， specially came from Portland， Oregon to participate in the commemorative meeting.

At the meeting jointly sponsored by Thomas Cooper Library of University of South Carolina， the Centre of Asian Studies and Carlson’s family members， Mei Ping said， the Chinese people have never forgotten this old friend. In 1996 a meeting in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Evans Carlson was held in Beijing. The Chinese newspapers and magazines have published many articles to commemorate him. Mei Ping recalled the contributions to the promotion of Sino-US friendship made by Evans Carlson during the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression， praising his uprightness， sacrifice of personal interests， persistence in truth and dedication to the cause of justice. Mei said， we commemorate this great man， for he occupied a special place in the history of China-US friendship. He particularly mentioned that several descendants of Carlson’s Chinese friends also took part in the commemorative activities， showing that there was no lack of successors to carry on our cause. Zhou Yongming， counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in the United States， read out the letter of congratulations sent by the Chinese Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong. Professor Patrick Maney with the Centre of Asian Studies of the University of South Carolina briefed about Evans Carlson’s special relations with President Roosevelt， saying that President Roosevelt and Carlson had many traits in common， “Perhaps one of the most important traits was genuine interest in long history and rich culture of China and respect for the Chinese people”. She said， Carlson covered more than 2，000 miles and made inspections in the base area established behind the enemy lines where the Chinese Eighth Route Army-led guerrilla forces fought against the Japanese aggressors. He learned China’s guerrilla warfare tactical strategy and during World War II by employing China’s guerrilla warfare tactics， he successfully organized the US Marine Raider and dealt severe blows to the Japanese aggressors in the South Pacific. Colonel Robert Lanham， commanding officer of the Marine Corps Air Station at Beaufort， South Carolina， said at the meeting， “The military imprint that Carlson left on tactical strategy is still used today. He provided an example of uncompromising integrity. It proved effective in the field and continues to influence Marine Corps thinking today.” At the meeting， Carlson’s granddaughter Karen Loving also spoke about her grandfather’s deeds， saying that she would carry on her grandfather’s cause and make contributions to the friendship between the American and Chinese people.

In coordination with the commemorative activities， Thomas Cooper Library of the University of South Carolina held an exhibition of Carlson’s relics， at which on display were a lot of photos provided by Carlson’s family， including photos of Carlson’s visit to China in those years， many photos of the Chinese military and political leaders during China’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression， a photo given to Carlson by Chairman Mao with Mao’s personal inscriptions and letters written to Carlson by Chairman Mao， as well as many unpublished letters， manuscripts and documents， articles of daily use and cultural relics left over by Carlson.