US filmmaker explores forgotten chapter of WWII

Work revisits history of Chinese civilians who risked lives to rescue downed airmen

Inside an abandoned building in a town in Jiangxi province, George Retelas felt something before anyone told him what had happened there.

His hosts guided him inside and told him: two US airmen had sheltered here in 1942, cared for by local villagers until someone who spoke some English could be found to help them escape. When Japanese soldiers swept through, they executed 14 people on the spot and burned the building to the ground.