70 Years Pass, Flying Tigers Return“Home”

Journalist: Why do you think we should celebrate the 70th anniversary of the victory against Japanese aggres-sion? ”

J Vinyard: Why do you celebrate your birthday?

An early autumn breeze swept across Beijing， bringing a slight chill.At dawn on September l， the whole city was still in sleep as we drove to-wards the airport， where we would wel-come a few veteran Flying Tigers pilots returning“home”. To us (post-80/90 young people)， they are characters in history books， somewhat distant， and respectable heroes……

The plane landed on time and the first 12 veterans and their accom-panying personnel arrived. When the door opened， we saw weathered faces with excitement and anticipation. They eagerly Iooked out of the window of the gallery bridge， wishing to see the significant change of the country for which they used to fight.

When they saw our greeting sign written with “Veterans of Flying Tigers， Welcome Home”， they were all smiles. We hurriedly stepped forward to greet them. Some of us pushed wheelchairs for them， some helped them to the VIP room. We expressed concerns about their health after such a long flight. The veterans looked hale and hearty， saying“China! I’m back! It’s great to comeback home!”Their words soon easedour worries.

In the aftemoon， we picked up the other veterans and their accompanying personnel. Thus， the whole delegation of Flying Tigers veterans and their reti-nue had amved in Beijing safely. The 38-member party included 14 veterans，two family members of the deceased，two retired US generals and their ac-companying group.

During the visit， the delegation watched the September 3 military pa-rade， attended a reception， watched a performance gala， and met Mr. Max Sieben Baucus， US ambassador toChina. On September 2 morning， Mr.J Vinyard was awarded a Cormnemo-rative Medal of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The Ministry of Defense specially appointed a representative to call on the veterans on behalf of Fang Feng-hui， chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army.

The representative paid tribute to the Flying Tigers veterans. Some mem-bers of the delegation were interviewed by China's Central Television， the Xin-hua News Agency and other media out-lets.

On the morning of September 2， Mr. J Vinyard， former USAAF Air Transport Command C-46“Hump”airlift pilot， now aged 92， received the 70th anniversary commemorative medal from President Xi Jinping.

He said excitedly:“I really ap-preciate the Chinese Government and people who never forget us. It’s so nice of them to invite us to Beijing at this time of commemorating the victory of WWII. The US and China helped each other in the past. Today we should be united to help the whole world to achieve peace and stability. I’ll devote the rest of my life to the cause of pro-moting the US-China friendship”.

On the afternoon of September 2， 11 Xiaolin， president of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC)， met with the whole delegation， and pre-sented the Commemorative Medals of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist Wars on behalf of the State Council.

She also helped every delegate wear a scarf depicting a Rainbow Peace Dove hand painted by her. Vet-erans’eyes brimmed with tears. They said:“Over the years， China never for-gets us， we’ll never forget China. China is our second home. We will tell our following generations to continue the US-China friendship forever”.

The China Central Academy of Fine Arts especially made a statue of General Claire Lee Chennault， who headed the Flying Tigers during WWII. CPAFFC President Li Xiaolin present-ed the statue to General Chennault’s widow Mme. Anna Chan Chennault and daughter Cynthia Chennault as a special gift. Cynthia said: “It looks ex- actly like my father!”

Veterans of Flying Tigers were also very excited at the sight of the statue. They all took group photo with this“General Chennault”， the man who had led them to China， fought side by side with them and helped forge a tight bond with China.

On September 3， the day of the military parade， although the weather was hot， the veterans got prepared early. They watched the parade very carefully， nodded with thumbs-up and praise. In the past， when the Chinese nation’s existence was in peril， these American air servicemen flew f’ighter aircraft painted with the logo of shark’s head to help China win the war. Today， when China is developing rapidly， they are pleased to see that China has devel-oped the world’s leading weapons and equipment independently.

After the parade， the veterans said with emotion: “70 years ago， when we came to China to help fight againstJapanese invaders， China was in a di- sastrous state. Today， when we come to Tian’anmen Square， hearing the so-norous and forceful songs of the Anti-Japanese War， seeing the majestic pos-ture of Chi-nese Army，we feel so happy forChina’s de-velopment.Incredible，so incred-ible ! ”

Espe-cially when President Xi Jinping solemnly declared his plan to“cut down the armed forces by300，000”， the veterans expressed their appreciation by saying “It shows Chi-na’s confidence and strength， as well as its firm belief and desire for peace and development.”

On the evening of September 3，the delegation watched the national performance with the theme“Victory and Peace” in the Great Hall of the People. When “American Volunteer Group (AVG)” appeared on the screen，all delegates were moved. With eyes glistening with tears， they said: “We’re pleased we assisted China when she was suffering.”

The next day after the parade it rained in Beijing. Comparing the sunny weather during the parade and the heavy rain the following day， the veterans said，“The government and people of China never forget veterans.Your magnificent feat moved the Gods.Good! Very Good!”

On the same morning， Mr. Max Sieben Baucus， US ambassador to China， met with the veterans at the em-bassy. The delegation was shown high courtesy， with the whole embassy stafflined up to welcome the delegation.The veterans told Baucus， “Chinese people never forget us! We are very grateful of the kind invitation and warm hospitality of the Chinese Govemment.We are treated as distinguished guests here. We are deeply moved!”

Since most of the staff and vol-unteers receiving this delegation were post-80/90 generations， who were not familiar with the history of China-US jointly fighting against Japanese invaders， we specially arranged“Oral History”interviews. Through direct dia-logues with the veterans， young people acquired a true knowledge of history，closely communicated with these he- roes who had risked their lives to help China and listened to the distant but touching stories， which was a rare spir-itual baptism.

On September 4， before the del-egation departed from Beijing， we held a special reception for them and played a video especially made to record ev-ery moment of their stay in Beijing.Watching the video， some smiled， oth-ers applauded， still others even wiped tears……At the end of the reception， we presented a photo album of the visit to every member of the delegation. Theysaid they would keep it carefully.

On the morning of September 5，it rained again. Mr. Jack Bond， brother of Charles Bond， AVG P-40 fighter pi-Iot and a Fighter Ace， gave every staff member a Flying Tigers badge. He said， “This visit will become my mostprecious memory. I’ll never forget it ! ”

Over the days， we accompanied these veterans to attend various activi-ties， took care of their daily diet， and listened to their stories in China. In our eyes， they are like our amiable and re-spected grandparents. At the moment of farewell， everyone was reluctant to part; all we could do was to wish them a safe journey home and keep healthy.They also embraced us， like elders with their children.

After the delegation left， we often thought of them， trying to know how they were doing recently. Caring for them seems to have become our habit.These lovely seniors quietly walked into our life and then left， taking with them a new memory that China gave them and full appreciation and bless-ing of Chinese people， leaving us a precious， life-long memory and a great spirit of pursuing peace.

It is said that getting together and then parting is like a turn-around， fol-lowed by more turns， which symbolizes the dance oflife. We all know that some people we will meet again， but some we may not see again. However， the great love of China-US friendship never fades! Both the Flying Tigers veterans and the family members ofthe deceased have deep feelings for China. As time goes by， they will gradually become older， but their Iove for China is rooted in their hearts， will come into bud and bear the fruit of China-US friendship.

It was the 70 years’ friendship and love that made them return to China，the place which they once fought for and today keep thinking of. See-ing a growing China still yearn-ing for peace and still keeping old friends in memory， the vet-erans were deeply moved. A love that has lasted for 70 years and a friendship that proved to be worth a life-long trust have touched us， touched all Chinese and touched China.

That’s why the veterans consider it important to attend this event， which is as signifi-cant as celebrating their own birthday. This is their friendship with China， deep， profound andsoul-stimng.