Fireproof Moth:.. Taiwan's White Terror

Fireproof Moth: A Missionary In Taiwan's White Terror,
by Milo Thornberry


Several years ago I met this missionary fellow and his family, nice gentleman named Milo Thornberry. He had returned from Taiwan and was settling in to his restricted life. Due to what he'd been involved in, he wasn't allowed to travel outside the U.S. for a while.

Back then I didn't give it all much thought, I was young (20ish) and unaware of much that happened in the U.S. much less what was happening thousands of miles away. Besides which the biggie in the U.S. then was usually Vietnam and how awful Nixon was as was anyone in power. That said, Milo Thornberry grabbed my interest and I had a peculiar curiosity about what he'd been doing in Taiwan. Youth and life interfered and I placed him and his tale to the side; but, never fully forgot and always had plans to find out more.

Recently I was recalling past events and writing them out (part of therapy learnng to communicate clearly) and Milo Thornberry came to mind and I did a little digging. Turns out he penned a book about his time in Taiwan and what happened including aiding the escape of a rights leader there by the name of Peng Ming-min when the life of the latter was in danger (Thornberry's as well I'm sure).

The book tells what Thornberry and his then wife dealt with, his emotional struggle, personal sacrifice. He takes the reader throught those days in a captivating manner conveying the brutality and paranoia which are often associated with life in a despots regime.

An excellent read through Sunbury Press and available on Kindle as well.