After World War II, father met mother at Yale University where she worked as a professor

"My story is an integral part of my family history," said Richard Lawrence Edwards, professor of earth sciences at the University of Minnesota, who became a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences last year.

"Seventy-three years ago, my father was driving a charcoal-powered truck along the southwestern border of China, to transport medical supplies for the Allied Army during World War II," the 53-year-old said.