 His father had served with the OSS behind the lines during the Japanese invasion and with Chenault's Flying Tigers.His grandfather George Ashmore Fitch, who came to China in 1906 to follow his father as a missionary, was serving as the head of Nanjing YMCA when the Japanese invaded.He joined the Nanking Safety Zone Committee and acted as its Administrative Director during the Rape of Nanking, documenting atrocities and appealing to the Japanese embassy to restore order.