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A Visit With a Chinese Army Unit

By VVAW

In August, 1974, a member of VVAW from New York City traveled to the Peoples Republic of China. In Nanking she visited the 179th Division of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) where the original idea of "Gung Ho" came from. Among her observations:

• There are only two ranks in the PLA--commander and soldier. The Army comes from the people, relies on the people, and serves the people. The PLA is known as a fighting force, a productive work force, and a political work force.
• When it came time to leave I presented the Division Commander with a VVAW button--unless something was lost in translation, the 179th Division is the first VVAW chapter in the Peoples Republic of China.