December 15th, 1937

The smell of cannon fodder and death grow at the dawn of each morning day. Today marks the third day of Japan’s heinous slaughter of my countrymen. I cannot see an end to the imperialist reign of our land. Nanjing has fallen victim to Japanese rule. Unruly civil war has left us unable; unable to defend the homeland from murderous scum who now control our streets and kill our sons.
The imperialists have burned our home, luckily we have found sanctuary in a hidden cellar at the home of my sisters husband. We lay at rest, hiding, waiting for the chance escape the  Japanese. At night I leave the cellar to observe from the shadows of the night, the imperialists actions. Bloodied mangled heaps of forgotten flesh rid the streets of their serenity. I witnessed atrocities the worst of nightmares do not posses. Soldiers are bayoneting men, women and children in the streets, disposing of them in the most unimaginable ways. The wives, raped and massacred in front of their families. Bodies of men lie in the streets in perfect lines; the result of being forced to beg for their lives on their knees. We have no defense to these intolerable acts of oppression against the Chinese people.  
My daughter, Liang Nong Dong Chong was attacked today. Oppression induced poverty has stricken the people, causing people to resort to desperate acts of injustice. They robbed her when there was nothing to rob, when she was found penniless they beat her. She was saved by my brother, who in his selfless act, was noticed by the Japanese oppressors. I now mourn for loss of my brother.
Air raids and artillery fire is starting now. The shelling at night and imperialists massacre of innocents by day have made it impossible to try to sneak my family out of the city. Nanjing is hopeless, famine and mass slaughter fill the streets, the Chinese resistance is in shambles and fear has taken to my mind. This land is no longer safe for my family. I have devised a way to escape. My wife, daughter and I have agreed, we shall run the risk of imminent death for a small chance of survival. When the Japanese are asleep, under artillery and aerial bombardment, we shall try to escape via the sewer. My sister and her husband refuse to leave, they have instilled a false trust in the Japanese oppressors, hoping that they will stop the killings. We leave tomorrow, I will not be able write for awhile. If I do not write again, it is because I have fallen victim to a katana or we are running. Running from a fate of most certain death, we are content with our decision to escape.
Nothing falls short of the tyranny in today's world. War is breaking out all over. Axis powers are on the offensive. Germany is zeroing in on the Jews, mass extermination seems to be a favorite of world powers. World war is on the minds of all major political powers. I hope it all ends soon. I just wish for well being of my family and I.

-Wong Tong Chong