1948 - Alik Berg, Esther Nordlund, & Martha Anderson

January 7, 1948

Wuhan, Hubei

Missionaries often found themselves in the way of danger as the Red threat advanced across China. Americans were especially hated because of the open U.S. support of the Nationalists in their war against the Communists. In December 1947 the Evangelical Covenant Church missionaries at Wuhan in Hubei Province became concerned for their colleagues stationed at Jingzhou (now Jiangling), approximately 130 miles (211 km) away. Jinzghou was rumoured to have fallen to the Communists. The Christmas and New Year celebrations were particularly subdued among the missionary community at Wuhan, as they awaited news of their co-workers’ fate. Finally, on January 7, 1948, they decided they could wait no more. Dr. Alik Berg, Esther Nordlund, and Martha Anderson boarded a transport truck towards Jingzhou. Some of the other passengers, fearful of being attacked by bandits, hired an armed guard to protect them on the journey.

A gun shot suddenly ran out at about two o’clock in the afternoon as they were travelling through a mountainous area. The truck driver stopped, and the armed guard fired a warning shot into the bushes in a bid to scare off the attackers. All of a sudden, a group of about 60 armed men appeared. The guard abandoned the bus and fled into the surrounding forest. The bandits approached the occupants of the truck and ordered them to hand over their valuables. Berg asked if he might keep his passport. In response, “one bandit cursed and slapped his face. The doctor handed the passport over. A passing bicyclist was stopped. When he hesitated to give anything up, the bandits shot him dead.”[1] The worst of the situation looked like it had passed until the bandit chief asked Berg, “Are you Americans?” One source says that

“When Dr. Berg did not reply, the bandit snarled, ‘Americans are the worst of all. They have done China much harm.’ Then he shot Dr. Berg through the head. When the shot was fired, Miss Anderson burst into sobs. The bandit leader responded, ‘She must be a relative of his,’ and immediately shot her also. By this time some of the passengers were kneeling, pleading with the bandits to stop killing. The four consulted briefly among themselves, then turned towards Miss Nordlund. ‘Yes, you may kill me, too,’ she said. Then she was shot. None of the other passengers were killed.”[2]

The frightened Chinese passengers urged the driver to continue, and the bodies of the three slain missionaries were left on the side of the road. They were later recovered and taken to Jingzhou, where, ironically, the missionaries who had been the reason for the journey in the first place were safe and well. The bodies of the three martyrs were taken back to Wuhan for burial in the International Cemetery.

1. Hefley, By Their Blood, 68.
2. Hefley, By Their Blood, 68.