Trask family

Biographical / Historical Notes

In 1943 twenty-one Chinese engineers from their national Air Force were sent to San Diego to study at Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corp (known as Convair). They comprised the single largest group at any single American aircraft plant, though there were about 62 such engineers scattered around the United States studying at 15 factories. In the U.S. by special arrangement between the Chinese and American governments, their job was to learn the practical and theoretical side of bomber production, since China had only a limited number of airplane factories that could only build fighter planes made from bamboo and plywood. China was totally dependent on other nations for its bomber-type aircraft. Though on a stipend from the Chinese government they were also considered regular employees at Convair and were paid regular salaries for their services. The head of the industrial education department was impressed by the engineers’ excellent work ethic and politeness.

The Second World War was somewhat of a watershed for the Chinese in San Diego when there was enough work for everyone and the Japanese became the ‘enemy.’ Reportedly, the air force personnel studying here during that time were well-received by the local community and from their own perspective their experiences in San Diego and elsewhere were warm and positive, evidenced in how quickly they picked up the language, nuances and all, and were eager to take American culture home to their own families.

During the population boom in San Diego during the war, housing units were hastily built to house all the war workers from Convair and Boeing, and military personnel. Two such areas, at Congress Street and ‘Highway 8’ and at Midway Drive, were named “Riverlawn” and “Frontier” respectively. The owner and manager of the cafeteria at “Riverlawn” was Mr. Grover C. Trask, a local civic leader and president of the Progress & Prosperity Club of East San Diego. Trask was a central figure in the purchase of Camp Kearney for the army, was involved in real estate with O.W. Cotton, and worked for the Office of Price Administration during the war. Trask and his wife Pauline had two children, Willard W. Trask and Webster E. Trask. Mr. Trask and his family lived at the “Frontier” housing project but ate most of their meals at the “Riverlawn” cafeteria where they, particularly his wife Pauline, befriended some of the Chinese Air Force personnel working and studying at Convair. These friendships carried on for many years; they exchanged letters and gifts and some of the Chinese airmen made several visits to see the Trasks and San Diego once they were stationed elsewhere. Their correspondence, though mostly of a personal nature often touched upon important political events happening at the time, as well as the differences and similarities between American and Chinese culture.

Pauline Trask died in 1958. It appears that the family’s correspondence with the Chinese engineers had ended a year earlier in 1957. However, in 1998, Willard and Joyce Trask recorded their memories of the period, recalling the Frontier and Riverlawn residences and the Chinese Air Force personnel whom their family had befriended.

From the guide to the Trask family Chinese Correspondence Collection, 1946-1998, (San Diego History Center Document Collection)