Book Project: Herbert Bingham Mead, My Dad the United States China Marine -& More

 

It's not everyday that a 13-year-old American boy (me) receives on his birthday an authentic World War II-era Imperial Japanese Samurai Sword. But that happened to me. 

It was then that I learned for the first time that my now late-father, Herbert Bingham Mead, served initially as an American Marine in the Fourth Marine Division, followed by being transferred to the First Marine Division after surviving the Battle of Okinawa. 

He and other American Marines were flown to the Chinese coastal city of Tianjin to witness the surrender of Imperial Japan. That was where he retrieved that Samurai sword and other objects. 

From that surrender in September, 1945 until he was shipped back to the USA in April, 1946 Dad experienced one of the most remarkable adventures of his lifetime. He was one of the last of the renowned U.S. China Marines. And what an adventure it was!

As he was telling me stories of his service there -stories that included photos of postwar China- little that I knew then that I would return to China in 2015 to see it all for myself.

Before he died in the final moments of his 86th birthday, he asked me to write a history about his time and duty in China. He told me it was one of the chapters in his life that he was most fond of -even admitting that he and his fellow U.S. China Marine would have liked to have stayed longer.

I started that book project. Yet as what often happens, life and its demands cluttered that path. The souring of relations between China and America did not help. Nor did the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As I am prone to admitting, it's an imperfect world.

I made the decision recently to resume that book project. It's well past time.

But there's more.

After I set up a blog site on all this which anyone can access at MyDadTheUSChinaMarine.blogspot.com, I started receiving messages from other descendants of U.S. China Marines. Their stories and enthusiasm for this extraordinary shared history was riveting. 

I recently came up with the idea of starting a descendants society for those of us descended from the China Marines. That includes as part of its mission fostering and cultivating friendship between Chinese and Americans. 

Wish me luck. Contact me at JeffreyBinghamMead@gmail.com. 

I'm available to visit schools, organizations to be a guest speaker. 

I'd love to hear from you. 

Xie xie!

Podcast: Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons with Jeffrey Bingham Mead

Jeffrey Bingham Mead peering out of the top of the Second Congregational Church's steeple.

 

In addition to my writings on the history of the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut and other subjects, I have been producing and hosting a weekly podcast.

Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons with Jeffrey Bingham Mead started as a half-hour show broadcasted from a local AM-radio station. 

After the station changed ownership, I made the decision to go independent. It was and still is one of the most worthwhile decisions I've ever made. Bear in mind that even when I was on local AM-radio, I performed the vast majority of the research and engineering work.  That still holds true today.

Click the link above to access the site I set up for the show. 

I'm grateful to everyone for your encouragement,  support and interest in preserving the history and historical sites associated with a place we call home. 

I welcome your interest and emails by contacting me anytime at GreenwichATownForAllSeasons@gmail.com.

I'm fortunate to have those in the community who are supporters and sponsors of the podcast. We welcome your support! Please contact me anytime.