1942年10月，正值第二次世界大戰如火如荼，日本在亞洲戰場大肆擴張。一艘載有1816名英軍戰俘的日本運輸船「里斯本丸」（Lisbon Maru），在航行至中國浙江舟山群島附近時，被美國潛艇「鱸魚號」（USS Grouper）誤認為日軍軍艦而發射魚雷擊中。在這場突如其來的海上災難中，舟山當地的漁民不顧自身安危，駕著小木船勇敢出海，最終救起384名英國戰俘，書寫一段感人至深的跨國人道主義傳奇。

事情的起因始於1941年日軍攻佔香港，並俘虜大量英軍士兵。到1942年9月，日方決定將1816名戰俘強行押送至日本本土，作為勞工充當苦力，將他們擠進一艘毫無人道條件的貨船「里斯本丸」。船艙狹窄陰暗，缺乏足夠的食物和飲水，甚至讓人無法站立，整個運送過程堪稱煉獄。

1942年10月1日，「里斯本丸」行至舟山群島東極島附近海域。美國潛艇「鱸魚號」發現這艘船，因未見任何戰俘標識（違反日方應依國際法懸掛的規定），誤判為敵艦而發射魚雷攻擊。船隻中彈受損，開始傾斜下沉。

面對船難，日軍一面優先撤離己方士兵，一面用木板釘死艙門，禁止英軍戰俘逃生。許多戰俘因此被困艙中，活活溺斃。只有部分戰俘憑藉自身力量砸開艙門，跳入海中求生。但他們並未獲得任何救援設備，只能漂浮於海面，在脫水、鯊魚與低溫威脅下艱難求生。

此時，東極島、青浜島等地的舟山漁民聽聞爆炸聲後出海打漁，發現海面上有大量陌生面孔的人在呼救。雖然當時舟山仍在日軍控制之下，漁民們仍毅然決定冒險救人。他們駕著小木船，在日軍巡邏艦眼皮底下展開搶救，無懼軍事風險，只憑直覺與人道良知，用手勢向英軍戰俘示意上船，並帶回村中安置。

經過艱辛努力，共有384名英軍被成功救起。雖然其中三人傷勢過重不幸身亡，其餘人員在渔民的庇護下被藏匿起來。面對日軍上島搜捕與威脅，漁民們謊稱戰俘早已轉移至其他島嶼，同時還偷偷提供食物與衣物，協助他們繼續躲藏。最終，381名英軍戰俘得以倖存，後由盟軍接手護送至重慶，再返回英國。

這場勇敢的救援行動後續也引發跨越時代的回響。獲救的英軍戰俘將舟山漁民稱作「東極島恩人」，其中不少人在戰後仍與救命恩人保持聯繫。2005年，最後一位幸存者曾專程訪華，向漁民後代致謝。2009年，英國政府正式頒發「中國人民抗日戰爭勝利紀念章」予舟山漁民，表彰其無私壯舉。2017年，舟山東極島建立「里斯本丸沉船事件紀念館」，成為中英友誼與人道精神的歷史見證。

這起事件同時也提供世人對戰爭與人性的深刻反思。日軍作為戰俘的監管方，不僅未盡保護義務，反而封閉逃生通道，違反國際法，暴露其殘忍與漠視生命的本質。相對而言，中國漁民儘管處於戰亂與貧困之中，仍願意冒著生命危險營救陌生的外國人，展現出人性中最純粹的善良與勇氣。

83年過去，這段歷史逐漸為人遺忘，但舟山漁民以血肉之軀劃破戰火陰霾的故事，仍是第二次世界大戰中最動人心魄的跨國救援行動之一。在戰爭的殘酷面前，是他們證明了人性可以超越國界，善意可以對抗黑暗。東極島的海風依舊輕拂，但那場海上生死營救的回音，至今仍在歷史深處低語，提醒著我們：和平彌足珍貴，而真正的英雄，可能不穿軍裝，只是手握船槳的凡人。

In October 1942, during the height of World War II and Japan’s aggressive expansion across Asia, a Japanese transport ship named the Lisbon Maru, carrying 1,816 British prisoners of war (POWs), was torpedoed off the coast of the Zhoushan Archipelago in Zhejiang, China, by the U.S. submarine USS Grouper. Mistaking the ship for a Japanese military vessel—due to the lack of any POW markings required under international law—the submarine launched its attack, unaware that the ship was full of unarmed Allied captives. Amid this unexpected maritime disaster, local Zhoushan fishermen, risking their own lives, bravely sailed out in small wooden boats and ultimately rescued 384 British POWs, forging an enduring cross-national humanitarian legacy.

The incident began in 1941, when Japanese forces captured Hong Kong and took many British soldiers as prisoners. By September 1942, the Japanese decided to transfer 1,816 of these POWs to mainland Japan as forced laborers. They were crammed into the Lisbon Maru, a cargo ship with inhumane conditions—cramped, dark, with barely enough food or water, and so little space that many could not even stand upright. The transport was essentially a floating prison.

On October 1, 1942, as the Lisbon Maru neared Dongji Island in the Zhoushan Archipelago, it was spotted by the USS Grouper. Deceived by the absence of any POW insignia, the American submarine launched torpedoes, damaging the ship, which then began to tilt and sink. In response, Japanese guards evacuated their own personnel first and deliberately nailed shut the hatches containing the British POWs, preventing them from escaping. Many drowned in the holds. Only a portion of the prisoners managed to break out and jump into the sea, but with no life-saving equipment, they were left to fend for themselves against dehydration, cold waters, and lurking sharks.

At that moment, fishermen from Dongji and Qingbang islands were out at sea when they heard the explosion and spotted unfamiliar faces struggling in the water. Although the area was still under Japanese occupation, the fishermen made a collective and courageous decision: to rescue the foreigners. With no weapons, only instinct and a sense of compassion, they rowed their small boats past Japanese patrols, using hand gestures to signal the stranded POWs to climb aboard, and took them back to their villages for shelter.

Through tremendous effort, 384 British POWs were rescued. Sadly, three later died due to their injuries, but the remaining survivors were hidden by the villagers, who provided them with food, clothing, and protection. When Japanese troops arrived to search for the escaped POWs, the villagers lied, claiming the prisoners had fled to other islands. Eventually, 381 British soldiers were safely handed over to Allied forces in Chongqing and later repatriated to the United Kingdom.

This act of bravery left a lasting legacy. The rescued British soldiers referred to the Zhoushan fishermen as their “saviors from Dongji Island,” and many remained in contact with them or their descendants long after the war. In 2005, the last surviving POW made a special trip to China to personally thank the descendants of those who had rescued him. In 2009, the British government awarded the “Medal of Victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression” to the fishermen in recognition of their heroism. In 2017, the Lisbon Maru Shipwreck Memorial Hall was established on Dongji Island as a testament to this extraordinary moment of Sino-British solidarity and humanitarian spirit.

The incident remains a powerful reflection on the contrast between wartime cruelty and human compassion. While the Japanese military violated international law by locking POWs in sinking compartments, displaying brutality and a blatant disregard for life, Chinese fishermen—despite living in poverty and under the threat of occupation—chose to save strangers, exemplifying the noblest aspects of humanity: selflessness, courage, and kindness.

More than 80 years later, the story of the Lisbon Maru may be fading from public memory, but the heroism of the Zhoushan fishermen, who defied death with nothing more than wooden oars and moral conviction, stands as one of the most moving cross-national rescue efforts of World War II. Amidst the darkness of war, they proved that compassion knows no borders, and that true heroism often comes not from soldiers in uniform, but from ordinary people willing to do what is right. The sea breeze still whispers through Dongji Island, carrying the echoes of that day—reminding us all of the enduring value of peace, and the quiet greatness of those who hold the oar, not the sword.