While we were in Chongqing, we had the privilege of visiting the Flying Tiger Museum. Chinese people have a special place in their hearts for this group of volunteers from the US during World War II. It was also special for me because my uncle, Shih Tze Pu, was a young Chinese Air Force pilot from Yunnan Province in Southwestern China, fighting the Japanese with the aid of Flying Tigers during this time.
American Volunteer Group - the Flying TigersA brief introduction from Wikipedia:
Flying Tigers was the popular name of the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Chinese Air Force in 1941-1942. Arguably, the group was a private military contractor, and the volunteers have also been called mercenaries. They were former United States Army (USAAF), Navy (USN), and Marine Corps (USMC) pilots and ground crew, recruited under Presidential sanction and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. The group consisted of three fighter squadrons with about 20 aircraft each. It trained in Burma before the American entry into World War II with the intention of defending China against Japanese forces.
Slideshow of our visit to the Flying Tigers Museum in Chongqing on April 2, 2009
http://hillmanwonders.com/china/chinese_phrases.htm#_map_china
No comments:
Post a Comment