By Zhang Mengxu, Bao Han, Li Zhiwei
This year marks the 85th anniversary of the Flying Tigers first coming to China. Eighty-five years ago, they arrived in China to support the Chinese people in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Recently, a series of commemorative events have been held in Nanjing, Liuzhou, Kunming, Wuhan, and other cities in China. Descendants of Flying Tigers veterans and groups of American young people have revisited historical sites related to the war and taken part in historical tours, youth dialogues, and school-to-school exchanges.
Through these activities, the spirit of the Flying Tigers, which has endured for more than eight decades, is taking on new meaning in advancing people-to-people friendship between China and the United States in the new era.
In 1941, at one of the darkest moments of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a group of American pilots traveled thousands of miles to China to join Chinese forces and civilians in the fight against Japanese aggression.
During the war, the Flying Tigers shot down more than 2,600 Japanese aircraft and killed over 66,000 enemy troops. Through blood and sacrifice, they forged a spirit rooted in defending peace, standing together through adversity and cherishing friendship and loyalty. Their story has become a testament to the bonds forged between the Chinese and American peoples in the struggle against fascism.
History endures through generations who carry its memory forward. At 105, Harry Moyer is one of the few surviving Flying Tigers veterans. His memories of fighting alongside the Chinese people remain vivid to this day. In July this year, his son, Peter Moyer, came to China at his father’s request to attend commemorative events. Standing before historical photographs on display, Peter was deeply moved and said he would carry on the family’s commitment to preserving and promoting the Flying Tigers spirit.
The friendship between the Flying Tigers and the Chinese people has always been a two-way bond. Rodney Ross Wilder, a pilot who took part in the Doolittle Raid, was forced to parachute from his aircraft after encountering danger during the mission. Chinese villagers risked their lives to rescue him, and local people subsequently suffered brutal reprisals by Japanese troops and paid a heavy price.
During this year’s commemorative events, Wilder’s grandson, William Ross Kantenberger, made a special trip to Nanjing to lay flowers at the Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Monument, paying tribute to the fallen and honoring the sacrifices made by earlier generations.
In September 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from Chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation and Flying Tigers veterans. He stressed that a sound and steady development of the China-U.S. relationship in the new era requires the input and support of a new generation of Flying Tigers. He hopes that the spirit of Flying Tigers will be carried on from generation to generation among Chinese and American peoples.
This aspiration has provided direction for people-to-people friendship between China and the United States in the new era, while encouraging the Flying Tigers spirit to move beyond historical remembrance and find new expression in the actions of young people.
Efforts to carry this spirit forward through youth exchanges are gaining momentum. Launched in September 2022, the Flying Tigers Friendship Schools and Youth Leadership Program has so far expanded to 48 schools in 11 states in the United States and 118 schools in China. Through cultural exchanges and visits to historical sites, young people from the two countries are gaining a deeper understanding of each other. American students who have taken part in visits to China have generally said that learning about this shared history has helped them better understand the special bond between the Chinese and American peoples.
Jeffrey Greene, Chairman of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, said these young people will become envoys for carrying on the Flying Tigers spirit and promoting friendship between China and the United States.
In May this year, K. C. Ma, vice president of the Flying Tiger Historical Organization, led a delegation of students and faculty from Pepperdine University to a heritage park of the Flying Tigers in Guilin, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. The cave command post, the rock from which Major General Claire Lee Chennault observed the fighting and a C-47 transport aircraft that once flew over the Hump gave the American students a vivid sense of the years when Chinese and American fought side by side.
Nell Calloway, granddaughter of Chennault, once said that remembering the history of the Flying Tigers is not simply about looking back at the past, but about drawing guidance for the future.
Eighty-five years on, the smoke of war has long cleared. Yet the Flying Tigers spirit, with its commitment to peace and its bonds forged through shared adversity, remains an important source of strength for people-to-people friendship between China and the United States. Passed from one generation to the next, it will continue to inspire new vitality in friendship between the two peoples.
