Meritorious Service Record

On November 28, 1918, George Ashmore Fitch attended a welcome reception in Shanghai for Charles Richard Crane, who was soon to be appointed U.S. Ambassador to China. He introduced Lyuh Woon-hyung (呂運亨) of the Korean Patriotic Youth Corps (Shinhan Youth Party) to meet with Crane.
Following the April 1932 bombing carried out by Yun Bong-gil at Hongkou Park in Shanghai, Kim Gu, Eom Hang-seop (嚴恒燮), Ahn Gong-geun (安恭根, younger brother of An Jung-geun), and Kim Cheol (金喆) sought refuge at Fitch’s home. Fitch and his wife, Geraldine Townsend Fitch, sheltered them for a month. They then helped disguise Kim Gu and his group as Chinese nationals and assisted in their escape from Shanghai.
In September 1936, Fitch left Shanghai and assumed the position of General Secretary of the YMCA in Nanjing. In December 1937, during the Nanjing Massacre, he worked alongside John Rabe (Siemens’ Nanjing branch manager) and Miner Searle Bates (a professor at Nanjing University) to form the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone, exposing the atrocities committed by the Japanese military and helping to protect Chinese civilians.
In 1939, he was transferred to Chongqing as General Secretary of the YMCA. During World War II, he worked as a military advisor for U.S. operations in China, serving as a Chinese language interpreter. Meanwhile, his wife, Geraldine Fitch, actively participated in the Korean Association in the United States, advocating for the U.S. government’s recognition of the Korean Provisional Government.
In June 1944, Fitch submitted a report to the U.S. State Department, detailing the structure of the Korean Provisional Government and outlining the roles its leaders should assume in Korea after Japan’s defeat.
George Ashmore Fitch passed away on January 20, 1979, at his home in Claremont, California, United States.
In 1968, the South Korean government awarded George Ashmore Fitch the Order of Merit for National Foundation (Independence Medal) in recognition of his contributions to Korea’s independence.