Guests visit the site where the U.S. airmen of the Doolittle Raid were rescued by locals in Quzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)by Xinhua writer Peng SonghanHANGZHOU, April 21 (Xinhua) -- Growing up in China as part of Gen-Z, we are no strangers to stories of Americans and Chinese fighting side-by-side during World War II. They were etched into our textbooks, echoed through museum exhibitions, and, for me, brought vividly to life through my grandpa's bedtime stories.Last week, also 83 years on from one daring mission that brought the peoples of America and China together, I was in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, east China. I stood there in the spring rain with friends from across the Pacific to commemorate the Chinese people's heroic rescue of Americans after the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Japan.We mourned in silence and laid flowers on the gravestone of Leland Faktor, a U.S. engineer and gunner who participated in the raid and evacuated from the Japanese coast, but died when his aircraft crashed in China.In that critical moment, the airman -- who was just 21 -- could never have imagined that his sacrifice would be memorialized over eight decades later. His tombstone, inscribed in both Chinese and English, honors him as an "anti-Fascist hero," and his death, along with the daring rescue that followed the raid, has become a lasting symbol of friendship between the two countries.Faktor was on a mission on April 18, 1942, when 16 U.S. bombers, led by Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle, took off from the USS Hornet and air-raided Japan in retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the raid, 15 planes heading for an airport in Quzhou ran out of fuel and crashed in various localities in east China.Among the 75 airmen aboard the planes, 64 were rescued by Chinese villagers, who courageously risked their lives evading searches and reprisal bombings by the Japanese.Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, said the event is a story of both love and fidelity, which is a remarkable touchstone that unites Americans and Chinese.Greene, in a faded olive flight jacket, and I, joined a group of Chinese high school students in planting trees not far away from the gravestone. We picked up shovels and planted American red maples and ginkgo trees native to China side by side.I felt a sense of solemnity as I helped put up trees to salute the heroic deeds of the two nations fighting shoulder to shoulder during World War II and an evergreen bond between their people.Guests and students pose for a group photo after planting trees in Quzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, April 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)During the tree-planting activities, several students were eager to learn more details about the event from their American friends, including people from organizations such as the Children of the Doolittle Raiders and the USS Hornet Museum.The students approached George Retelas, a representative of the museum. Under their gaze, he began to recount a personal story.When Retelas' grandfather, a veteran of World War II, and his fellows were stationed in Alameda, California, they had loaded bombs onto the aircraft carrier USS Hornet ahead of the Doolittle Raid. Today, that very carrier is turned into the USS Hornet Museum, and becomes a place for Retelas to honor his grandpa and the history.He said he hoped these Chinese students could also visit the museum, watch the torn metal pieces of aircraft, learn about the friendship between China and the United States as well as their people's sacrifice during World War II, and pass down the friendship and story to future generations."We come together in shared respect to honor the enduring bonds of humanity forged during one of the most difficult times in our world's history," he said.One elderly man caught my eye during the homage, and I made sure to speak to him afterward. Just shy of 90 years old, Wang Wenyang was one of the few villagers alive today who had buried Faktor. "I was a child at that time and quite scared. Many people participated in his funeral and adults told me he was a hero," he added.I was touched by words from both Retelas and Wang. They evoked a feeling that genuine courage and friendship are long-lasting and transcend borders.These airmen displayed remarkable courage, willingly placing themselves in harm's way. Knowing that they were Americans fighting the Japanese after they drew the flag of the United States, Chinese villagers sheltered these pilots. Despite language barriers, the villagers showed extraordinary kindness by caring for these "strange-looking foreigners," and helping them to leave.After the raid, the airport in Quzhou was subjected to intense bombing by Japanese forces. Japan also waged biological warfare in Zhejiang, resulting in massive civilian deaths.This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.Commemorating a historical event is not only for remembrance, but also about tapping into its strength. Beneath the sky once pierced by "fearless wings," I see the vitality of people-to-people exchanges between China and the United States, which injects stability into a world of uncertainties.