Michael Alderton (essarem) notes: This is a November 1945 London newspaper image of Maj.Gen. Morris A. “Two-Gun” Cohen holding up a padded silk jacket, which had been given to him on the Kai Tak tarmac by Chinese Finance Minister, Dr H.H. Kung (孔祥熙), when the latter had boarded one of the last planes escaping the December 1941 Japanese invasion of Hong Kong. General Cohen, half-jokingly, told his London audience how he planned to return the jacket to its owner when he got to the Chinese capital. On 21 January 1946, General Cohen left Southampton on the British Troopship HMT Canton bound for Bombay. He was listed on the ship’s manifest as a “British Passenger” and “General in Chinese Army” travelling “Grade ‘A’ Class”. From Bombay he resumed the journey that would eventually take him over “the Hump” on an Air Transport Command Curtiss C-46 to Chungking. After spending four days in Chungking and three days in Canton, General Cohen arrived in Hong Kong on February 21st in company with his long-time friend and colleague Sun Fo (孫科), son of Dr Sun Yat-sen and President of the Legislative Yuan.
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Maj. Gen. M.A. "Two-Gun" Cohen
Extracts from London and Hong Kong newspapers selected by Michael Alderton (essarem):
London, November 1945. Photo. The Coat That Saved His Life. Gen. Cohen Returning to China. General Morris Abraham Cohen, who has been for the past twenty years financial adviser and one of the most powerful figures in China before being captured by the Japanese, has come to England from Canada on his way back to China, which he declares is his home. He has with him a coat of padded silk, lent to him by Dr H.H. Kung, China’s Finance Minister. General Cohen was interned for 21 months in a Japanese concentration camp, and he wore the coat under his clothing to deaden the blows from the beatings he received at the hands of the Japanese. He is certain that the coat saved his life. “I wore the coat under my ordinary clothing when interrogated by the Japanese after they captured me. I received the usual beatings during the interrogation, but the coat probably saved my life,” said the General. General Cohen was born in East London, and emigrated to Canada at an early age. There he first met Sun Yat-sen who was trying to raise funds in Canada for his coming bid for power in China.
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes: Following his 21st February 1946 arrival in Hong Kong, General Cohen checked up on the wellbeing of Dr Sun Yat-sen’s relatives living in Macau, before going on to visit Madame Sun Yat-sen (宋庆龄) in Shanghai. The General returned to North America on 27th of May 1946.
Passenger Record Index for non-U.S. Citizens Arriving in the U.S.A.
Name – Cohen, Morris Abraham
Place of birth – London, England
Occupation – Importer/Exporter
Race – English
Citizenship – Canadian
Purpose in coming – Business, 29 days
Arrival airport – Fairfield-Suisun Army Airfield, California
Arrived by – U.S. Army Plane
Michael Alderton (essarem) notes: From the United States, General Cohen travelled over the border into Canada. The Canadian press reported on his arrival there: “20 June 1946. General Cohen Back in Canada. Arrived in Calgary Last Night. The stocky, tanned general, who was formerly a real estate dealer in Edmonton, will stay in Canada for three or four months before returning to the Orient. In this time he will purchase urgently required goods for China. ‘There is a great market for Canadian products in China,’ the colorful, London-born Chinese general said, ‘I think Canada should do what she can to create a market in China.’”