The LAST RESORT
was the American Red Cross Center in Yangkai, China, from 1943 through 1945. The recreation center at Yangkai was envisioned and operated, for most of its existence, by Barbara 'Boots' Vatter. 'Boots' enlisted the help of Chinese coolies and American GIs to get the structure built, the interior finished, and the tennis court constructed. Then she motivated all of the servie men with whom she came in contact to participate in the activities which she coordinated. In addition, she utilized her formal training as a nurse to provide the physical health of the men, as well as their mental attitude.
Shortly after completion of the facility, 'Boots' held somewhat of a contest to choose a name. According to her, "All of the names submitted were unrelated or inappropriate. In exasperation I told them that they had to do better, and asked them to submit their ideas one more time. 'This', I said, ' is the last resort!' And, with them picked up on my words, the center had a name!"
'The Last Resort' became gathering place for many American soldiers, sailors and airmen stationed in the area of Yangkai Air Base. It offered a respite from the day-to-day grind of the war, provided a tie with "home" in the forms of friendly faces, a few favorite tunes, and an occasional troupe of USO entertainers.
- The Canteen contains pictures of the facility and the people who made it a place for the American men to escape the war for a little while and enjoy themselves.
- The Scrap Book Images of activities at the LAST RESORT, including Ben Blue's USO tour group, with Ann Sheridan, which entertained at Yangkai in 1944.
- The Music Room resounds with Grandpa Van Housen's 'Wurlitzer' spinning out Music, Music, Music! Among these many tunes, chosen from the era, perhaps you will find one of your favorites!
Hack'
Richard Hacking was known to most people by his self-adopted nickname, Hack'. Hack'contributed suggestions and encouragement to our initial devleopment efforts of "Web Home of the 341st Bomb Group" in 1997, and more directly to The Last Resort, in 1998, by creating the beautiful logo seen at the top of this page.
In addition to inspiring the rest of us to share all the CBI information we can, he created one of the finest web sites we had ever visited at the time. Dad's CBI Page ( http://cbipage.tripod.com )
Richard Hacking passed away in 1998, shortly after completing Dad's CBI Page.... In 2001, his father and inspiration, Charles E. Hacking also passed away.
Ruth Ann Hacking continues to maintain 'Dad's CBI Page' in memory of her father and grandfather.
We also continue to remember and to honor...
TSAI CHEN, Hack'. May you always rest in peace!
|
The Last Resort
website by Tony Strotman
© 1998 thru 2009. All Rights Reserved.
|
|
This web site is provided as a public service. It is intended to provide factual, historical information to the public, to commemorate the contributions and to preserve the memory of the sacrifices of our World War II veterans serving with U.S. Army Air Forces in the China-Burma-India theater.
Unless otherwise indicated, all information on this site may be considered public information.
HTML coding/formatting, graphic images, and most of the photo images are Copyright ©
All Rights Reserved.
Permission is required for any commercial use or mass distribution purposes of the copyrighted material.
|
|
