China Marines

September 30, 1945, found many World War II servicemen and women lining up for their honorable discharges.  For Marines comprising the 3^rd Marine Amphibious Corps, it was another day at the office.  They were among 30,000 battle-hardened Marines and a few young replacements  who landed along the coast of China, tasked to force the surrender of 326,000 armed and undefeated Japanese troops.

Given that World War II had ended in the minds of most, these “China Marines” still had work to do.  While the Normandy Invasion, Battle of the Bulge, and Guadalcanal operations have been widely acclaimed, the surrender and occupation of Japanese forces in China is often over-looked – but not in the memories of Don Sexton and his “China Marines.” 

DON SEXTON -- 2015

High Point native and Greensboro resident, Don Sexton quit school.  With his father’s signature, he joined the Marine Corps in January, 1946.  In less than six months, Sexton was in China as a member of Love Company, 3^rd Battalion, 4^th Marines, 1^st Marine Division.

“What I will never forget as a “China Marine” was the day we sailed away from the docks of Tsingtao.  All of us in Love Company felt terrible.  Reneging on a promise gave us a feeling almost as bad as leaving a wounded Marine or a prisoner of war behind,” recalls Sexton.

The centerpiece of this chagrin was Tsui Chi Hsii.  He wasn’t wounded.  Although this statement is sure to bring blowback from Love Company, he wasn’t a real Marine.  (In 2000, the Commandant of the Marine Corps made Hsii an Honorary Marine – one of only 18 at the time.) 

Nor was Hsii a prisoner of war.  (Later, he would be imprisoned for seven years by the Communist Government as a spy, based upon his affiliation with Love Company Marines.) 

  

Tsui Chi Hsii wasn’t the name Marines of Love Company used.  They called him – then, now and forever -- Charlie Two Shoes.  It probably wasn’t lost on the Marines that Charlie had been born on Pearl Harbor Day, 1934.

 

But the broken promise lingered, “We promised Charlie we would take him to America when we left – and we didn’t do it,” laments Sexton, who owned and operated Sexton Auto Service for over 50 years.

Books have been written about Charlie.  His story was reported by all major news media.  A condensed version -- with the consent of his father, nine-year old Charlie had been adopted by Love Company Marines.  “He lived with us, slept with us, ate with us, spit-shined his shoes, stood inspections, and went on liberty with us,” per Sexton.

During Sexton’s 17 months in China, Charlie went to school and learned to speak English.  He also accepted Christ as his Savior, “That was, and still is, the greatest decision I ever made – God has been so good to answer my prayers,” maintains Charlie.

Charlie fell on hard times after the Marines pulled out. For a while, his parents hid him in a hole in their backyard when authorities came searching.  Eventually, he was captured and imprisoned.

 

HSII FAMILY ARRIVES IN GREENSBORO

Communications efforts between Charlie and his Marine friends were unsuccessful for many years.  Finally, Charlie remembered a Marine who lived in Autryville, NC.  Contact was made in 1980 and in 1983 the promise to bring Charlie to America was fulfilled.

Love Company Marines from across the country raised funds for Charlie, bought him a used car, and arranged living and work arrangements – first, in Ohio, and later in Greensboro.  It isn’t surprising that he worked for Monnett Carpet Company in Greensboro.  First Lieutenant Charles Monnett, now deceased, was a China Marine.  He has been written about in these pages.

CHARLIE & DON SEXTON VISITED TSINGTAO

Charlie Two Shoes built a successful business career, culminating with Charlie’s Chinese Restaurant in in Chapel Hill.  Among the toughest battles the China Marines fought may have been with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.  Eventually, Charlie’s family was allowed to join him, and in 2000, the Hsii family became American citizens.

A Google search will provide volumes of information, including the book, “Charlie Two Shoes and the Marines of Love Company.”  Written in 1998 by Michael Peterson and David Perlmutt, the book is the basis for an upcoming documentary movie.

(Speaking of Google and exclusive of the Charlie Two Shoes story, true crime enthusiasts will find challenge in researching the life of Michael Peterson.)

LOVE COMPANY MARINES GAVE COLUMNIST
MUCH AUTOGRAPHED COPY

The civil war between Chinese Nationalists and Communists escalated to the point that the U.S. government ordered all Marines and American civilians out of harm’s way.  Most were afloat by February 1, 1949.  

From the small world perspective, my brother, now deceased, was a “China Marine” and R4D crew chief attached to VMR-153.  Flight records indicate he flew from Tsingtao on January 31, 1949.   (For the record – Tsingtao has been changed to Quingdao.)  

Ol'Harry