There’s an interesting 16-min documentary that has just been released by the Hainan International Media Center (HIMC), highlighting a little-known chapter of WW2 history: a daring rescue of Allied Prisoners of War (POWs) on China’s Hainan Island in 1945.

Unlocking Pigeon Mission, released in time to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War (as has just been celebrated with a military parade in Beijing), sheds light on a mission to liberate Allied POWs on Hainan island in occupied China in the immediate aftermath of the Japanese surrender.

“Pigeon Mission” was carried out on August 27, 1945, twelve days after Japan’s unconditional surrender. A nine-member Sino-American team parachuted into Basuo in western Hainan’s Dongfang City, to liberate over 200 Allied POWs who had survived nearly three years of brutal captivity and forced labour. Of the more than 500 POWs initially sent to the camp, including members of Australia’s “Gull Force,” less than half survived the ordeal.

The documentary follows Australian researcher Brendan John Worrell as he revisits Hainan to piece together this fragmented history. His journey uncovers a story far deeper than a military operation, revealing the profound courage and compassion of the local Chinese people.

Through interviews with witnesses, including 100-year-old former labourer Zhang Renchang, the film reveals how local Chinese workers and guerrilla fighters risked their lives to secretly provide food and aid to the Allied POWs. This quiet, steadfast assistance was a critical lifeline for the prisoners.

You can watch ‘Unlocking Pigeon Mission’ here.