Hey, everyone. Welcome back to the China History podcast. Lazzla Montgomery here with another

CHP episode. The topic for today, when I was first told about it, made me think,

hmm, this would make a heck of a movie. And as I began to dig deeper into the story, I thought,

well, it wouldn't be a bad CHP episode either. It kind of runs counter to the

popular historical narrative about China's participation in World War II, or perhaps we could

say it, compliments the narrative, the victim of Japanese aggression, the KMT-CCP contention

playing out in the background, and the Pacific War in general.

July 7, 1937, the war began in China.

786 days later, Germany invaded Poland, and 828 excruciating days after that, Japan bomb Pearl Harbor.

So, according to my calculations, 786, we'll say 28, that equals

1,614 days. China had to carry the weight of this terrible war in the Pacific on its back.

That and all that that meant is usually China's World War II story.

But the World War II story we're looking at today took place in Europe.

And this whole slice of Second World War history only recently came to light.

And it was presented in an exhibition that, beginning in 2024, to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, has run in Asia,

North America, and Europe, and it concerns China's involvement in the war against Germany

on the European continent, specifically off the coast of Normandy Beach on the 6th of June,

1944, and two months later later off the coast of southern France.

The man at the center of this tale was Mr. Lampingyu, and Mandarin, Lin Ping Yao.

We're going to look at his life today in all the history he personally got to witness and be a part of.

And in looking at the life of Mr. Lum,

we can broaden our perspective about the extent of China's involvement in this global conflict.

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