最近看 Hannah Pakula 写的《宋美龄传》（The Last Empress）在第388页，有如下一段文字，是1965年宋美龄对一个美国记者讲述她和蒋介石于1942年陪Stilwell将军到缅甸前线视察回来，在飞机上所经历的一段惊险故事： 当我们打算飞回来的时候，没有护航的飞机，那也得飞。可专机刚刚起飞，就被告知后面尾随有37架日本飞机。当时飞机上只有五把降落伞，机组人员给了总统一把，我一把，其余三把给了高级将领们。这时候我的女佣人就哭了，我就告诉她甭害怕。我说降落伞可以承重250磅，我俩加一起也没有那么重。所以如果必须跳伞的话，我俩就抱紧了一起跳，用一个降落伞。她就不哭了，说“夫人，我死了不打紧，可是人民需要您，我哪能为了自己逃生，让您遭遇危险呢”。说完，我们的飞机就钻入云层，摆脱了敌机，可是我一直都不能忘却这件事。这个女佣，还仍然在伺候我，都上年岁，手脚不灵便了，可是我从来也不嫌弃她，就是因为我常常忆起在缅甸发生的感人的故事和她对我多年的忠心 服 伺。 （When we were ready to take off, there was no escort, so we had to fly back without. Just as we were airborne, we received the message "thirty-seven Japanese planes on your tail." There were only five parachutes, so the crew gave one to the president, one to me and the other three to high ranking generals. My maid began to cry and I told her not to worry. I said parachutes were made to carry 250 pounds and the two of us together didn't weigh that much. If we had to jump, I said, we would put our arms around each other and both float down with the same chute. She stopped crying and said, "Madame, if I die, I won't be missed, but you are needed by our people. I would not think of risking your life to save mine." We were able to fly into some clouds and elude the enemy planes, but I have never forgotten that. The maid...is with me still. She is getting on in years and is some times crochety, but I am never cross with her as I am always mindful of that day in Burma and her many years of faithful service to me. ） 这件故事，原文被记载在1965年3月19日美国记者Walter Judd对宋美龄的采访报道中，在胡佛图书馆宋美龄的档案里（第175箱第2档）。作者认为，其中有夸大的成飞，例如当时日本尾随的飞机是18架，而不是 37架。当日可能有云，也可能没有云，不过被史料确定的是，当时很快就有15架中美战机从昆明飞过来，给蒋介石的专机保驾护航。 可笑的是，类似的故事，记得被收录在大陆的小学语文课本中，不过主人公换成了周恩来，女佣人变成了叶扬眉，缅甸换成了延安。
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