China honours WWII Flying Tiger aircrews in push to improve people-to-people ties with US

Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall releases names of 2,590 US air personnel who died fighting on behalf of China

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At a ceremony in Nanjing on Tuesday China’s ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said the the Flying Tiger spirit “will forever be a great treasure”. Photo: AP Photo

Published: 6:00pm, 4 Sep 2024Updated: 6:07pm, 4 Sep 2024

China has paid tribute to American “Flying Tiger” aircrew members in a ceremony commemorating the end of World War II, in the latest push to foster people-to-people relations between the two nations.

For the first time, the names of more than 2,500 personnel who died fighting the Japanese on behalf of China have been published.

At a ceremony in Nanjing, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, on Tuesday, Chinese ambassador to the United States Xie Feng said the Flying Tiger spirit “will forever be a great treasure”.

Chinese ambassador to the United States Xie Feng addresses the opening ceremony of “Remember the Heroes – Historical Photo Tour of the Flying Tigers (Nanjing)” via video link. Photo: Chinese embassy in the US

He said the aircrews represented the keeping of justice and peace, as well as friendship.

“During China’s greatest hour of need in the war against Japanese aggression, a batch of US air personnel travelled thousands of miles without regard for their own lives … to fight with the Chinese army and people, to fight for peace,” he said.

The Flying Tigers were founded in 1941 as the First American Volunteer Group and became part of the newly activated 14th Air Force in 1943.

They not only engaged in air combat against Japanese forces but also ensured transport across the Himalayas from what was then British India to China’s southwestern provinces, the base of the resistance government.

According to state broadcaster CCTV, more than 2,000 American volunteer air personnel died in such missions during the war.