Gen.G. C. Marshall,
VMI 1901,
... see link for photo.
Visiting
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI)
is a pilgrimage for my wife Shiaoyu and I, since it is the Alma Mater of
my foster father, the late General Sun Li Jen (Sun, VMI 1927).
We have been wondering how VMI and the vicinity look, what is the
atmosphere, and how is the life here in general.
We expect the condition to be very different from more than 70 years ago,
but walking on ground that the young Sun Li Jen has walked for more than
a year and seeing the field on which he endured the hardship give us an
indescribable feeling. We do expect to see some mementos of him since
VMI recognizes his achievement and considers him one of the distinguished
alumni along with George C. Marshall, George S. Patton and many others.
Besides, many Chinese have graduated from VMI, including three generations of the Wen family, General Wen Ha-Hsiung, his father and his son.
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Gen.G. C. Marshall,
VMI 1901, |
Although he already has earned a Civil Engineering Degree from Purdue University prior to attending VMI, he was treated as a rat for a year. The humiliation built his tolerance in addition to his leadership character. However, his Chinese-classmate, Mr. Ngan Ben Jue advised him to quit. He was proud to have stayed on and earned a Liberal Arts Degree from VMI.
While walking on the Campus, I recalled the following story he told us:
I felt humiliated, not because of what they do to me personally, but the note was an insult to all Chinese or the Chinese People.
At that time, Chinese immigrants either open laundries or restaurants. The note implies that we are incapable of doing anything else. I tolerate it in order to learn military sciences to bring us out of the pit. The note left a deep scar in my soul.
When I visited him in Taichung, I saw several issues of the alumni magazine, VMI Review, in his library. At that time, I read little English. Had I appreciate their significance, I would have find every word in the dictionary to read it.
As I learned more and more about him, I become interested in the schools he attended. For example, I attended a nuclear science program at the graduate school in Tsing Hua University between 1963 and 65 in Taiwan, fourty years after he had spent nine years in Tsing Hua Imperial College (1914-23) in Peiking (Beijing today). I was not thinking of following his foot step, but simply to experience the Tsing Hua culture as most Tsing Hua people (anyone associated with it) consider.
Geneneral G. S. Patton,
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On the pleasant side, he talked about his meetings with Generals George C. Marshall (VMI 1901) and George S. Patton (VMI 1907). He felt at home because they greeted him as alumni of VMI despite their age differences.
During the days when many of us exonerated him, I contacted Purdue and VMI to exchange information. In the mean time, another VMI alumnus, Dr. C. H. Yeh contacted me and told me that his attendance of VMI was recommended by General Sun. He too, has a tremendous respect for General Sun and contributed a lot to exonerate Sun.
As a matter of historical perspective, it may interest you to know that Gen. Sun was the 26th Chinese cadet to enter VMI. The first Chinese cadets --three of them-- were admitted in the fall of 1904, all with the financial support of the central government of China. As you probably know, it was the Boxer Indemnity Fund, established by the United States Congress on May 25, 1908, that a program was established to educate a certain number of qualified Chinese students in the United States each year, beginning in 1909 when the first group of Chinese students were sent to the U.S. The fund also founded Tsing Hua College as a preparatory institution for the Chinese students planning to enter American universities and colleges and established the Chinese Educational Mission in in Washington, D.C., to be in charge of them. Tsing Hua College began to send its students to the United States in 1911 and continued until 1929 when it was reorganized as a national university. The first Chinese cadet to have attended Tsing Jua College before entering VMI was a student from Amohel, China, who was graduated in 1920 after two years at the Institute.
At the time of Gen. Sun's cadetship at VMI, enrollment at the
Institute was approximately 700: 674 in 1925-27. As a matter of record,
Gen. Sun was one of two Chinese cadets graduated in the class of 1927.
. . .
As I understand, in 1926, Sun should have been 26 years old. I inquired about the inconsistency. Mrs. Martin wrote:
The cadet photo of Li Jen Sun shown here was provided by the Mrs. Diane B. Jacob of VMI. It was a thrill for us to see a young photo of our adopted fathe for the first time in VMI.
In addition to some uniforms and personal memorabilia, the display includes a Japanese flag and a sword, both were captured when he defeated Japanese in Burma. He donated these to VMI showing his affection to his Alma Mater, (His correspondence with VMI has such a record).
Over the past several years, I have read several issues of VMI Review,
and am familiar with some of the items such as cadet uniforms, equipage,
firearms etc. Only the cadets are allowed in the Barracks, but I appreciate
seeing a cadet's room on display. This setting would have been much
simplified in 1920s. Sun has been used to this simple life style.
General Sun received three medals from the Government of U.S., and we checked out the significance of these medals from their interactive computer display.
We also took this opportunity to donate the book Father of Little Soldiers to the museum. In deed, he treated all his subordinates as his own sons and daughters. He does not want to sacrifice any of them. General Stilwell considered him a great Gneral, but often criticized him for his reluctance to obey orders. Since he always wanted to defeat his enemies with the minimum sacrifice, he constantly come up with strategies different from his superiors for wars.
When he was freed from political bandage of Chiang Kai Shek and Chiang
Ching Kuo, I persuaded him to take a tour in North America.
Unfortunately, he was too frail to travel. I really hoped to arrange and
accompany him to visit his Alma Marters (Purdue and VMI). I realized then
that a lot of change has taken place. However, VMI and Lexington have
given me the impression that they have preserved many buildings and
traditions. He would have been very happy had he seen the Barracks
(see photo on the right) again.
... he embarked upon the seas of the Liberal Artists, to delve into the history and literature of the world. We soon found out, however, that his main goal was military training. He will return to the place from whence he came to become a commander in one of the several Chinese armies.
As to his character, he has many good qualities. He says little but he is kind and gentle, respectful to his superiors, and sincere and friendly to all. He is an excellent basketball player, and although he failed to make the varsity, he was a mainstay on his company team.
The making of a soldier is no bed of roses. Forced marches across hot sands and standing guard on a bitter cold night are not romantic dreams. Li (Jen) has shouldered his responsibilities like a man and we do not doubt that he will make an excellent soldier. We only hope that he will not use his military knowledge to stir up any more revolutions in his native land.
He leaves behind him a host of friends who wish him continued success in his military career.
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Feb. 20, 1929
Dear Sir,
I am an alumnus of the Class of 1927. I wish to have a copy of the School Regulations. I am sure it will give me a great help for my present work at here. Will you kindly send me a copy of it? Your kind attention will be highly appreciated. Thanks.
Li Jen Sun
However, he did not stay in the Party School for long.
On the other hand, Sun did not import everything from the US system into the Chinese Army. He considered China very different from the United States. Thus, he modified what he learned and then applied to Chinese forces. However, having a copy of the regulations must be a good start.
Being a chemist, I looked into the Chemistry Department of VMI, and found its Head, Professor Henry D. Schreiber sharing some common interest with me regarding chemical education. I mailed him indicating that I would visit him if I come to VMI. He graciously replied and made me feel welcome. Thus, my wife and I visited him in his office.
Professor Schreiber showed us the general, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry laboratories as well as research facilities. During the summer, some students are carrying out research work led by professors. They are not in uniforms and they look like any university student.
Professor Schreiber indicated to us that a very high percentage of the graduates develop their civilian careers as scientists, engineers, and business persons. They are not limited to careers in military.
Shiaoyu regreted that we had not visited VMI when our sons were young. Had we done so, we probably would have encouraged them to attend VMI.
"A year ago, the first female graduate from VMI is from Taiwan. She wanted to follow General Sun's step in pursuing an education, and I want to introduce you to her", explained Professor Riethmiller between his deep breath.
Col. S. Riethmiller, Chih-Yuan Ho and her parents Mr. and Mrs. Bang-Lee and Teresa (Wang) Ho standing on both sides. Photo provided by Col. Riethmiller and image scanned by Mrs. D. B. Jacob. |
He invited us to his office, and began writing an e-mail to Miss Chih-Yuan Ho.
Hope you are well and ready to return to the USA. Believe or not in my office as we speak is Gen Sun's adopted son and he would like to send you a note. He is a chemist at U. Waterloo in Canada. Hope to see you next month.
Steve
Chih-Yuan Ho's reply to me said: "Gen. Sun is my role model since I was young." My reply was
Thanks to Col. Riethmiller that we have made a connection. I was and still is thrilled to know you. I respect you for your hard work and determination in pursuit of your career. The late Gen. Sun had an influence on many people in a positive way. He certainly would be very proud of you had he had the chance to know you.
Via the e-mail, you already have got my e-mail address. I know you are very busy with your study, for the moment of flying lessons. Take your time. When you have some moments, you may look into the web site I am constructing in memory of the late Gen. Sun. I hope some day, I will be able to have more about him in this web site. I will try to have the material available for a long time to come. Because of his great reputation, I am sure there will be institutions willing to host the web site even when I am no longer around. But I need to construct it first, and I am using the space available to me for the moment.
If you think it's appropriate, I would like to include some relevant information on the web site. For example, your role model has such a positive influence on you that you choose to attend VMI. Your respect of him represent his influence on a generation that should have never heard of him because information regarding him has been suppressed in Taiwan for more than 35 years. I would also like to extract some relavent information from your e-mail in the future to be placed in the web site if you agree. When I do so, you certainly will have a chance to read it before it is finalized.
I certainly will be glad to talk to you or see you. Special trips are hard to make, but if you are in this area or when I am in your area, my wife and I will be glad if we can meet you in person.
Sincerely,
Chung
Over the past few days, I have learned a little more about you from articles in the magazines. From Professor Riethmiller, I already knew that you are a determined, hardworking, and intelligent person. From the article, I learned that you finished your degree from Fu-Jen University in 3 years. Thus you are able to receive a degree from VMI in 2 years.
What I am really saying is that I am proud of and respect you for your determination. In the reply you gave Professor Riethmiller, I also understood how hard you work. Thus, I am sending you this e-mail to let you know that my wife Shiaoyu and I are really glad to at least know your name both in Chinese and it's English form, especially the VMI connection.
... Would you please give me the permission to have the photo on this page? ...
When Chih-Yuan has more time, she wrote again
Well, here is the long story. I dreamed of going a military school and being a career solider since I was young. I sometimes get depressed. One of my teachers told me "if you really want to do something, go for it." Therefore, I graduated from Fu Jen in 3 years so that I can spend at least one year in VMI, following Gen. Sun's excellent example. Fortunate for me, VMI accepted females that year.
I decided to earn another degree from VMI in 2 years, as Gen. Sun did. I always kept Gen. Sun's photo in my cover (hat) to remind and push myself. Also, I showed it to my brother rats, upperclassmen, professors as they asked for my reason of coming to VMI.
One day I went to VMI Museum with a Guard, and I pointed out Gen. Sun to him. He was so proud that VMI has such a distinguished foreign graduated.
If I remember correctly, the Cadet Newspaper and VMI report had the above story when I graduated. I left all the papers in Republic of China. I will tell my sister to send a copy to you when I have the time.
...
Many people have been inspired by General Sun, but my shoulder felt a weight if my telling of his story has something to do with it. Thus, I crafted a few paragraphs in view of that responsibility.
I felt that politicians often create "hero" for their people to follow. Thus, do not referr to Gen. Sun as a "hero". Thus, I avoid using the term, but simply telling the story as I know it. In other words, I am not suggesting any person to pursue a military career, because such a suggestion bears a rather heavy responsibility.
Here is my little story. In 1955, I was a grade 8 student. This was the year the Chiangs bandaged Gen. Sun because his reputation was very good, and he was a very able man. After having seen the development, I stayed away as far as I can from military and political career paths. I want to be a scientist in pursuit of truth. Soon after, C.Y. Young and C.T. Lee won the Nobel Prize for physics. I always liked physics and chemistry. I made up my mind to be either a physicist or a chemist.
Gen. Sun has achieved much more than military victories over Japanese. He is a cared manager and leader of his army. He deeply loved his family, his home, his country, his people, and most importantly his subordinates and soldiers. He does everything for the survivor of the subjects he loves. He not only trained his soldiers, he educated them for their future. He emphasized physical training and endurance so that they survive from the brutal killing of war. Therefore all those that have had any contact with him love and respect him. He chose military science not for a career, but he thought that was the only way to bring China back to her feet at that time. He wanted to make Chinese a respectable people again. Unfortunately, he fell victim of his ability, reputation, and intention.
Today, the world is very different. Chinese are now making marks along economics, technology, information, industry, management, legal, commerce and other fronts in addition to military.
The impression my wife and I got from visiting VMI is that she educates people to be leaders of the world. I hope you a success whatever your career choice is. Had Gen. Sun been alive, he certainly will be very proud of you for what you already have achieved for yourself.
From the photograph, your parents are certainly very proud of you. My wife and I wish to share their joy for you.
It's a pity that Gen. Sun had not made a trip back to VMI. Things do change, but we try our best to keep the tradition. During alumni reunion weekends in each semester, I am always touched when I saw all the alumni in the old barracks, shouting the VMI "old yell". I have seen alumni of classes 24, 25, 26, 27 etc. in wheel chairs. The sense always reminds me of Gen. Sun.
I agree with your last email about politicians creating heroes. I consider Gen. Sun my role model. I prefer a military career for it's heavy responsibility and the excitement. It's a great pleasure to be with these honorable and dedicated young men and women.
You are right that VMI educated leaders in any field, actually now only 12% graduates join the armed force as commissioned officers right after graduation. The VMI mission is to create citizen soldiers. I wrote an article about education of VMI recently. My mother has already sent it to you.
VMI spirit
The well known Ever Victorious General is considered one of the distinguished alumini in VMI history. When he passed away, VMI honored him in several ways. Here are some of the photographs for these events.
| Dr. Chan H. Yeh and General Wen Ha-Hsiung placed the VMI flags on Gen. Sun's casket during the funeral |
| Dr. Chan H. Yeh presents one of the flags that was placed on Gen. Sun's casket to Sun An Ping, eldest son of the General. |
| VMI Superintendent (1989-1995) Major General John W. Knapp paying respect in front of the General Sun's tomb. | 
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I have been looking for an article in Times magazine published in the 1950s. Since I cannot be sure of the date, I had difficulty finding the article. A copy is kept in the VMI Archives. Mrs. Jacob produced these images from the copy of Life and Time articles.
This page is under construction!!!
