二戰老兵傳奇經歷照亮美籍華人圈

戚永曄

2018年的第二天，一次特別的文化交流活動在杭州舉行。來自美國波士頓的文化名流、出版大亨以及華僑代表與杭州出版界的朋友們進行了親密的會談。會上，波士頓市長馬丁·華殊以及波士頓議會主席吳弭向杭州出版社送上了感謝狀，對杭州出版社為中美文化交流所作的貢獻表示感謝。

究竟是什么貢獻，讓美國朋友不遠萬里來到杭州？這一切源自于一本杭州出版社首發出版的名叫《華人之光》的書，而這本書的主人公、美國華人老兵黃君裕的故事，正是這份友誼的緣起。

諾曼底登陸的英雄

1941年，太平洋戰爭爆發后，為了彌補兵源不足，美國政府征召在美華人入伍。其時，抗戰正如火如荼，不少海外華人已經通過各種渠道支持祖國。當聽說美日開戰時，他們毫不猶豫地穿上戎裝應征入伍。據美國征兵總局統計，二戰期間，在美國陸軍服役的華人超過1.3萬人，占美國華人總數的17%，是美國各族裔中參軍人數占比最高的之一，他們中有20%在海外陣亡。

黃君裕，正是他們中的一員。

體檢的時候，黃君裕身體非常好，海陸空三軍都錄取了他。出于對大海和天空的未知，年輕的他選擇了陸軍。沒想到，他參加的第一場戰役，就是人類歷史上最慘烈、也是最光榮的戰役——諾曼底登陸。

黃君裕隸屬的美軍第28步兵師，是登陸諾曼底的先遣部隊。他們所登陸的位置就是著名的“死亡線”——奧馬哈海灘，僅在這個登陸點，盟軍就死了幾千人，德軍也死了一千多人。諾曼底美軍公墓就建立在那里，那是美國設立在歐洲最大的公墓，里面有9000多美國士兵的墓碑，還刻著1500多位失蹤士兵的名字。

在《華人之光》一書中他回憶：“登陸前幾天，我們每天在海上兜一圈就回英國的海岸。6月6日那天則不同，我們沒有再兜回來，而是一直開往法國，我知道要開始戰斗了。戰艇停靠后，我什么都沒想就沖過去，登陸不久德軍就不停掃射，我很幸運地躲過了子彈，在一個草叢中暫時躲避。我看見戰友們一個一個地倒下，滿沙灘都是尸體，頓時腦子一片空白，血淋淋的味道我至今記得。當時全團187人，就剩下我一個人了。”

登陸之后，黃君裕又轉戰法國、德國。他參加了許特根森林戰役，那場戰役從1944年9月19日到1945年2月10日，長達5個月，是二戰中在德國本土進行的時間最長的戰役，也是美軍歷史上時間最長的單一戰役，所以打得非常辛苦，傷亡非常慘重。黃君裕當時是偵察兵，是第一批進入德國本土的美軍戰士之一。

黃君裕說：“那一次在戰場上，一位坦克兵打開坦克蓋，向我的勇敢致敬。這是超過我所有勛章的一生中最難忘的榮譽。”

最高軍隊榮譽勛章

二戰結束后，榮立軍功的黃君裕光榮退伍。在全社會普遍尊重退伍軍人的美國，他也成了波士頓唐人街領袖之一，為唐人街的發展和文化作出很大的貢獻，甚至還打敗了紐約來的黑幫。

后來，黃君裕還做了波士頓安良工商會主席、創辦過英語培訓班、僑聲音樂劇社，擔任過十多個華僑社團的董事或主席。

在美國幾十年的生活，黃君裕還見證了華人在美地位的逐步提高。他經歷過華人在美飽受歧視、大多只能在中餐廳工作的時代;經歷過美國排華立法的時代，甚至作為華人代表前去白宮抗議。“今天，華人華僑通過自己的努力和祖國的強大，已經普遍在美國社會享有平等地位了。”

退休后的黃君裕被波士頓市政府安置在一套小公寓中，公寓號碼是606號，巧合的是，諾曼底登陸是在1944年6月6日。雖然他自己已經不求名利，但晚輩們覺得，作為榮立軍功的二戰老兵，在排華時代中他的經歷因為各種原因被忽視，今天不應該繼續被埋沒。他的小兒子和女婿給美國聯邦參議員約翰·克里寫信，敘述了黃君裕勇敢作戰的故事。這位參議員收到信后，認真地調取了檔案，并深深地被黃老的故事震撼。2009年，他給黃君裕回信：“美國陸軍黃君裕：今天，我驕傲地宣布，你獲得了國家的最高軍隊榮譽勛章：紫心勛章、銅星勛章。請接受我最真誠的感謝。感謝你對國家作出的奉獻，以及你表現出來的勇敢和忠誠。作為一位退伍軍人，你的獻身精神是大多數人所不能了解的……”

黃君裕將隨信一起寄來的九枚勛章和克里來信的照片，與他剛去世不久的妻子的照片一起掛在墻上。

2012年，波士頓雙語網主編、當地著名出版人李強結識了黃君裕。老人家傳奇的經歷和為正義作戰的精神深深感動了他。“為黃老出一本傳記。”李強當即這樣決定。

與20世紀初的絕大多數中國移民一樣，黃君裕來自廣東臺山。他只能說廣東話，即便說英語，也帶著濃重的臺山口音。為此，李強請來一位廣東話翻譯進行訪談。即便如此，對談依然比較困難。但李強孜孜不倦，前后采訪黃君裕30多次。李強對老人的經歷了解得非常清楚，他在采訪中做了許多補充說明。

“黃老給我印象最深的，是他要為中國人爭光的決心和不怕死的精神。此外，在戰場上，敵人通常都不會在他們看到第一個人的時候開火，而是等到盟軍的部隊出現才開火，這個潛規則讓沖在最前面的黃君裕反而死里逃生了。”李強說。

美籍華人圈的驕傲

2014年底，黃君裕傳記的書稿完成。本來準備在美國出版此書的李強，因為特殊的機緣，與杭州畫家葛云相識。葛云是書畫大師諸樂三先生的外甥，當時正在美國舉辦畫展，并捐贈給當地福利機構。當葛云聽說黃君裕傳的情節梗概，并閱讀了書稿，給了李強一個特殊的建議：“作為華人的光榮，這本書如果在國內首先出版，會不會更有影響力呢？”endprint

這一建議為李強打開了大門，《華人之光》的書名也開始醞釀成形。當時，杭州出版社為迎接抗日戰爭勝利70周年正準備出版一套抗戰及反法西斯戰爭的書籍。雖然已經搜集了很多中國戰場的故事，但還未有其他戰場的華人故事。黃君裕的故事讓編輯們眼睛一亮，在葛云的推薦下，《華人之光》很快提上了出版日程。

2015年，《華人之光：登陸諾曼底的二戰老兵黃君裕》，由杭州出版社出版，并于當年入選紀念中國人民抗日戰爭暨世界反法西斯戰爭勝利70周年重點出版物。2016年，該書英文版由波士頓美亞出版社出版。

該書介紹了黃君裕浴血奮戰的歷程，以及僑民漂洋過海開拓生存之地的奮斗史，折射了炎黃子孫自強不息、勇敢拼搏的精神，在美籍華人圈引起了廣泛反響。“已逝去的無情歲月，留下硝煙彌漫的感人肺腑的史詩。”北美藝術家協會董事長黃鏡明認為，黃君裕的英雄事跡，在美國獨立戰爭的發源地波士頓地區值得永遠銘記。

有讀者在閱讀后寫信給出版社：“感謝你們撰寫《華人之光》所收集的大量第一手資料，讓我對《排華法案》時期美國華人移民的艱辛生活，以及二戰期間華人戰士的歷史貢獻有了全新的了解。像黃君裕這樣的老英雄是所有華人同胞的驕傲！”

On January 2， 2018， a ceremony was held in Hangzhou to mark the publication of the Chinese and English versions of ， a book that portrays the legendary experiences of Arthur Wong （Huang Junyu）， a World War Two soldier who was at Normandy Beach on D-Day.

Arthur Wong is a man of legend. He immigrated to Boston in 1938 from Taishan， Guangdong Province in southern China. After the outbreak of the Pacific Ocean War， the American Government called for Chinese Americans to sign up with American military forces. According to statistics of American authorities， over 13，000 Chinese served in the American army during World War Two. Twenty percent of them died in action overseas. Wongs health was okay and the navy， the air force and the army all wanted him. He chose the army as he thought he knew little about the seas and the sky.

Arthur Wong was among the first groups of American soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach on June 6， 1944. Of the 187 soldiers and officers in his unit， he was the only survivor on Omaha Beach. While interviewed for the book so many decades later， he said he still remembered the smell of blood in the air on the beach.

He fought in France and Germany as American military pushed deeper into Europe continent. He was in the Battle of Hürtgen Forest， the longest battle on German ground during World War Two. Wong was a scout. The biggest honor he received during the battle occurred when an American tank soldier opened the lid of the tank and saluted him for his bravery. In one of the first-hand interviews for the book， Wong declared it was the most unforgettable honor he ever received， even better than the nine medals that didnt come until 65 years later in 2009. He was seriously injured in November 1944 when the Allied Forces advanced into Germany.

After he came back to the civilian life， Wong made many contributions to the Chinese community in Boston and to the city itself. He has served in over ten community organizations. He has witnessed the huge changes in the Chinese community as well as in the American society over the decades.endprint

Wong does not want any fame or fortune. He lives in a one-bedroom apartment assigned to him by the Boston City Government. Feeling that his military deeds shouldnt remain unrecognized， his youngest son and a son-in-law wrote to Senator John Kerry about Wongs heroic deeds in World War Two. The senator looked into the archives and wrote back in 2009. In 2010， Arthur Wong finally received nine US military medals， including Purple Heart， Bronze Star with the help from Senator John Kerry. Wong put all the nine medals on the wall， beside a photo of his wife who had passed away not a long time ago.

The book was written by David Li （Li Qiang）， a publisher with Boston Bilingual Media & Publishing Inc. He met Wong in 2012. Touched by Wongs legendary life， he decided to write a book about the veteran. Like most Chinese immigrants to USA， Wong did not speak the mandarin. He speaks a dialect of Guangdong province and his English is heavily accented. To make interviews go smoothly， David Li engaged an interpreter. Altogether， Li conducted over 30 interviews with Wong. Toward the end of 2014， Li finished the book. He first thought to publish it in the US. He changed his mind after meeting with Ge Yun， an artist from Hangzhou who was holding an art exhibition in Boston. After reading the manuscript， Ge suggested that it be first published in Chinese in China， for it could reach out to more readers.

In 2015， the editors with Hangzhou Press were planning to publish a series of books to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of Chinas War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 2017. The schedule included books about the best known battles during World War Two in China. With Ge Yuns recommendation， the manuscript came to Hangzhou Press. In 2015， the Chinese version of the book was published in Hangzhou. It was put into a list of key publications to honor the victory of Chinas War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the victory of the worlds anti-fascist war. In 2016， the English version was published in Boston.

As expected， the book became quite influential in China. Readers wrote to the publisher expressing their appreciation of the book. A reader said he now had a better understanding of the hardship the Chinese communities across the US experienced during the Chinese Exclusion Act years and of the heroic contributions Chinese soldiers made in US military forces during World War Two. A reader said we Chinese were proud of Wong.endprint