posted on Mar, 22 2005 @ 05:22 AM
The "Flying Tigers" were a volunteer band of pilots sent by President Roosevelt to China in order to the fight the Japanese in World War II. This
was before the United States had entered the war. The Tigers were led by Claire Lee Chennault and had around 100 pilots and 55 planes. In
remembrance of World War II, China has erected a memorial to the Flying Tigers measuring 13 feet tall and 490 feet wide.
www.boston.com
BEIJING (AP) China has erected a memorial to the Flying Tigers, a band of U.S. fighter pilots who defended China against Japan during World War II,
the government said Tuesday. Construction of the memorial was timed to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, Xinhua said. Local
officials hope it can become a major tourist attraction.
The memorial, measuring 13 feet tall and 490 feet wide, features a sculpture of Chennault and scenes of the Tigers' victories and their cooperation
with local Chinese, Xinhua said. The Flying Tigers had fewer than 100 pilots and 55 planes. They flew for only nine months, until U.S. forces arrived
in China in May 1942 and absorbed the unit.
The Tigers have become a potent symbol of Chinese-U.S. unity, and communist authorities readily overlook the fact that they fought for the leftists'
bitter enemies the Nationalists who ruled China in the 1930s and '40s.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
I just thought this news was interesting considering how all the recent talk centered on how the world was going to end in World War III between
China and the U.S. Yes, despite the fact that the tigers fought for the Nationalists and not the Communists, i doubt many Chinese would make that
distinction.
General Chennault with General and Madam Chang Kai-shek;
A Original Flying Tiger Plane;
(Just a question, what on earth is 13 and 490 feet in meters?)