Professor Greg Jackson

Sloshing through the mud, he reaches the door.

He knocks.

Nothing.

Jimmy hollers.

This phrase, he was told, means I am an American.

But is this the right dialect?

Is he even saying it correctly or did Jimmy just spout complete gibberish?

Whatever the case, the lights go out as he hears a bolt slide shut.

It's now the next morning.

After a sleepless, frigid night, Jimmy encounters a Chinese officer, a major, who speaks a little English, but the major doesn't buy his story.

So, here's our flyboy, walking under military escort back to the rice paddy, where he swears he can show the major and his men his abandoned parachute.

There's just one problem.

When they get there, there's no parachute.

The soldiers question the nearby farmhouse.

The family insists no one knocked last night.

Nothing happened.

The Major's men tighten their circle around Jimmy, ready to disarm and detain this supposed American.

But just before things turn ugly, a few soldiers return from the farmhouse, holding the parachute the family had tried to hide.

That changes everything.

With Jimmy's story confirmed, the Chinese major smiles, extends a hand in friendship, and officially welcomes Jimmy Doolittle to China.