Lasting bond honors Flying Tigers legacy

Visitors view items related to the Flying Tigers collected overseas at the Kunming Museum in Kunming, Yunnan province, on Aug 3, at an exhibition paying tribute to the heroes who contributed to the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). YANG ZHENG/FOR CHINA DAILY

Editor's Note: This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War. This series of special reports by China Daily presents how and why China cherishes and keeps revisiting the wartime friendship with its foreign friends.

Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, has an inside view of, and is a keen advocate of, the history of China and the United States joining hands in their fight in World War II and the story of the Flying Tigers pilots.

He said that China's role in the victory 80 years ago should not be downplayed or underestimated, and the two countries can achieve more success and win together today through cooperation.

In 1941, a group of volunteer US pilots, later known as the Flying Tigers, came to China, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese people against the invading Japanese troops.

"Look at the Chinese soldiers, the guerrillas, the Chinese people, men, women and children. It speaks to us from 80 years ago, and it says that against a terrible, terrible opponent, an incredibly terrible situation, the Americans and the Chinese working together won," Greene said in an interview with China Daily.

"That says to me that today, no matter what the circumstances (are), the two people together can win again," he added.

In a reply letter to Greene and Flying Tigers veterans Harry Moyer and Mel McMullen in 2023, President Xi Jinping said it was his hope that the spirit of the Flying Tigers would be passed down to the next generation between the two countries' people.

Xi said he was glad to see that Greene's foundation and Flying Tigers veterans have been tirelessly promoting the story of the Flying Tigers in both China and the US, and an increasing number of American youths have participated in the "Flying Tigers Friendship School and Youth Leadership Program".

Recalling the past, the peoples of China and the US jointly fought Japanese fascists, withstood the test of blood and fire, and forged a profound friendship, Xi said.

In September, China will host commemorative events to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Greene took part in the major celebrations of the anniversaries 20 years ago and 10 years ago, and this year will be his third time attending the celebrations.

He said he is impressed to see that China, as the host, has included people from as many countries as possible this year.

Greene noted that what frustrates him is that China's role in that war "was kind of downplayed", as China helped the rest of the world defeat the fascists "in a way that it never gets (enough) credit for".

"China in the war played a huge role in the world's victory", and China was a prominent player in the allied victory, he said.

Noting that China has been telling the wartime stories more and more to the rest of the world, Greene said, "That makes me happy because that's the role your grandparents played … and they need to tell the world about that."

Greene is a frequent visitor to China, and he has also brought many Flying Tigers veterans to the country.

Greene has often brought up the fact that almost every veteran told him that even after decades passed, the one thing they remember about China is the eggs given by the Chinese mothers, since food such as eggs was in short supply at that time.

"That was one of the nice things about their time here," he said.

Legacy underlined

The Zhijiang Dong autonomous county in Central China's Hunan province was home to a base of the Flying Tigers during World War II, and it witnessed some major battles, aided by US forces, that dealt heavy blows to Japanese troops.

Wu Jianhong, curator of the Flying Tigers Memorial in Zhijiang, presented a Chinese saber with ethnic features that had been collected by Flying Tigers pilot John Richard Rossi.

"At a Flying Tigers event during my visit to the US in 2016, the wife of Rossi made the decision to donate this saber collected by her husband during World War II to our museum," Wu recalled.

"This is a piece of major evidence of China-US friendship as well as a reminder of the Flying Tigers taking part in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression," he added.

Noting that China and the US have been two major forces in winning the World Anti-Fascist War, Wu voiced his hope that the two nations can "build on their wartime spirit of making joint efforts and moving forward shoulder to shoulder".

Anna Antonia Li, daughter of Kuo Ching Li, a Chinese American and a Flying Tigers pilot, said that what struck her most throughout all these years was that her father always said that "the Chinese people were the best people" he knew.

"And his years flying with the Flying Tigers were the most important years of his life," Li told Chinese reporters during a visit to Hubei province last month.

She noted that during a mission in China, her father's plane was badly hit, he lost one of the engines, the tank was hit and there was fuel around his feet when the plane was going down.

To make things worse, the cockpit glass above his head was damaged, so he could not get out with his parachute.

"He landed with fuel covering his shoes. … And his squadron said it was a miracle that he could land," she said.

Li highlighted the importance of taking more American youths to visit China, spreading the story of the Flying Tigers to more young people and passing on China-US friendship.

"I'm so honored to be here to actually see the history he spoke of come to life in front of my eyes," she said.

"It's a great honor to be with the people of China, who lived in his heart his entire life until he was 72."

As some people in the US have labeled today's China as a major competitor or even a rival of the US, rejecting the need to mark the history of the two countries fighting together more than 80 years ago, Greene said, "To say that just because it's a different period of time is silly.

"Politicians in my country can ignore it, but it (the history of China and the US fighting together) is true, it happened. It's part of our DNA, it's part of our experience … and we must not forget it," he said.