BEIJING, Aug. 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- A report from People's
Daily:
My name is K. C. Ma. I'm the vice president of the Flying
Tiger Historical Organization.
My bond with the Flying Tigers dates back to the 1980s, a time
when China just started its reform
and opening-up process, leading to a surge in foreign visitors and
a growing need for interpreters. Leveraging my Chinese language
proficiency, I started working as an accompanying interpreter for
American tourists in China.
In the following years, I had the privilege of accompanying many
veterans of Flying Tigers on their return visits to China, retracing the places where they had
fought and lived.
Walking alongside these veterans and immersing myself in their
daily lives, I came to understand their courageous acts and heard
the stories of their wartime experiences. I was deeply moved by
their stories and began to gather historical documents for
research. I hope that the spirit of Flying Tigers will be carried
on from generation to generation among Chinese and American peoples
to reinforce the historical underpinning of people-to-people
exchanges between our two countries.
To better facilitate the research, working together with my
colleague, we started preparing for the establishment of the Flying
Tiger Historical Organization in 2002, which was officially
launched in 2007, primarily composed of Flying Tigers veterans,
their families, and sponsors.
Throughout the years, we have been involved in building the
Flying Tiger Heritage Park in Guilin, South China's Guangxi
Zhuang autonomous region, and donated nearly 3,000
historical artifacts to the park, including a C-47 aircraft. During
World War II, the Flying Tigers created "The Hump" airlift to
transport much-needed supplies to China. More than 1,000 Chinese and American
airmen lost their lives on this air route, with C-47 being their
primary aircraft.
In 2015, we discovered this still operational C-47 aircraft in
Australia and refurbished it for
the purpose of recreating the historic "The Hump" airlift. We
invited five pilots with exceptional C-47 experienced veterans from
the United States (US) and
Australia, with an average age of
71.8, to pilot this 72-year-old "vintage aircraft."
In August 2016, the veterans
started their journey from Australia. Over the course of 90 days, they
flew across six countries, encountered two engine replacements, and
made an emergency landing. Without navigation equipment, they
relied entirely on manual piloting to navigate through the
Himalayas. Finally, they arrived in Guilin. As they stepped out of
the plane onto the Chinese ground, the airport erupted in applause.
Everyone present was filled with excitement and admiration!
Since 2003, I have organized over 20 trips to China for Flying Tigers veterans and their
families and friends, as well as enthusiasts of Flying Tigers
history. Through these visits, I have experienced numerous emotions
and witnessed the profound friendship between the Flying Tigers
veterans and the Chinese people, a friendship that had withstood
the test of blood and fire. These experiences have deeply engraved
in my heart, reinforcing my commitment to carrying on the spirit of
the Flying Tigers.
Over the years, there is one visit to China that has remained vivid in my memory. It
was in March 2004 when I accompanied
a group of 32 Flying Tigers veterans and their friends and families
to China. Despite a long flight of
over 10 hours, these elderly veterans showed no signs of fatigue.
Their eyes were filled with excitement and determination as they
set foot on Chinese soil, from which they had been separated for
over 60 years.
We visited multiple places during the trip. In Shijiazhuang, capital of North China's Hebei province, the veterans reunited with the
Chinese guerrilla fighters who had previously saved them. They
slowly made their way towards each other. Though only a few steps
apart, for them it was a distance spanning decades. They embraced
each other tightly, shaking hands with all their strength, and a
flood of excited words burst forth, expressing the deep friendship
forged in the fires of war.
During a subsequent gathering, a Chinese guerrilla veteran,
dressed in a Zhongshan suit, showed us a photo he had cherished for
many years - a group picture with Flying Tigers members. Following
that, he began to recount a true story.
On a late autumn day in 1943, a plane flown by a pilot of the
Flying Tigers was hit by the Japanese army, which forced him to
parachute and land near the outskirts of Shijiazhuang.
The Japanese soldiers launched an extensive search for him.
Promptly detecting the situation, nearby Chinese guerrilla fighters
immediately initiated an emergency rescue mission. Due to the lack
of natural hiding spots in the Haihe Plain where Shijiazhuang is located, the guerrilla
fighters led him to a hidden underground tunnel.
Even in the tunnel, the searching sounds of Japanese troops
could be heard from time to time. Hiding with them was a young
woman with an infant. Due to the thin air, the baby cried
incessantly, struggling to breathe. To prevent the Japanese
soldiers from hearing any sound, the young woman tightly covered
the baby's mouth with her own hands until the soldiers left.
Eventually, the Flying Tigers member was successfully rescued,
but the adorable baby lost its life due to suffocation, forever
leaving its mother's loving embrace. Later, the guerrilla fighters
escorted the pilot through various challenges and safely brought
him back to the main base camp.
As the story was told, all Flying Tigers veterans stood up to
pay their respect with a moment of silence and a military salute,
while the Chinese guerrilla veterans rose in response and returned
the salute. They then held each other close in a tight embrace.
As the gathering came to close, the guerrilla veteran solemnly
entrusted us with the important task of finding this pilot, an
honorable mission we were proud to undertake. In our extensive
search over the years, we have reviewed a large number of
historical documents, hosted gatherings and birthday celebrations
for Flying Tigers members and their families, and visited Flying
Tigers veterans who are of similar age to the pilot, all in an
effort to trace his whereabouts. Regrettably, we have not been able
to fulfill this wish yet.
Even after two decades, the story I heard in Shijiazhuang still resurfaces frequently in my
mind. I am determined to keep looking for this pilot, hoping that
the old comrades have another chance to reunite.
For me, carrying on the invaluable legacy of Flying Tigers has
become a mission I will pursue throughout my life. I will continue
to tell the story of Flying Tigers, promoting people-to-people
exchanges and mutual understanding between the US and China and deepening the friendship among
Chinese and American peoples from generation to generation.
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SOURCE People's Daily