“One of our mules died today. …[W]e rigged up a block and tackle with a sling around her middle and tried to hoist her up to a standing position but her legs were too weak to hold her up. Then Father said we may as well give up because he noticed that part of her insides was protruding from her rear end. He said that when this happens there is no hope… So we lowered her back to the ground and let her die in peace, which she did in a few hours.”Virgil John Tangborn July 10, 1941
“After such a close brush with mortality I feel that I have an obligation to destiny and want to do something with my life that will benefit mankind. I am not a writer but think the best thing I can do is try to report on and understand what is happening in the world.”Virgil John Tangborn October 1, 1938
“…[T]he day that the Japanese captured Nanking. As many as 300,000 civilians were killed.I would like to understand how such things can happen in a civilized society. It is as though a mantle of evil is periodically draped over the world.”Virgil John Tangborn October 1, 1938