Two surviving members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG)—better known as the “Flying Tigers”—were honored in Beijing at an event attended by China Vice President Han Zheng.
In December 1941, the group of all-volunteer U.S. mercenary fighter pilots launched a seven-month campaign that blocked Japanese expansion into China. By July 1942, the Flying Tigers reportedly had shot down or destroyed 297 enemy aircraft.
China recognized the contribution Monday, honoring former Flying Tigers Mel McMullen, who is in his late 90s, and Harry Moyer, who turned 103 Monday, The Associated Press reported. The two traveled to China as part of a delegation of veterans and their families.
“The Chinese people always remember the heroic deeds of the Flying Tigers, and we will never forget our old friends,” Zheng told the South China Morning Post.
- READ MORE: Photo Gallery: The Flying Tigers
During the event at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, McMullen recalled how Chinese farmers saved the lives of American pilots shot down by moving them to safety at night, despite the risk of reprisal from Japan.
“I think that’s something we should all understand,” McMullen said. “People are the same. Their governments may be different, but the people actually always have one desire, and that is to live and to raise their families in peace, and in the customs of their predecessors. And I needed to say that, and I’m sorry I took so much time.”
The Flying Tigers’ support of China represented “a brilliant chapter in the joint fight against aggression, in which China and the U.S. fought side by side,” He Wei, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s national legislature, told the China Daily. “It is an important source of inspiration and guidance for the mutual trust between the two countries and for building a stable and healthy China-U.S. relationship.”
The event comes as the U.S. and China attempt to restore contact after several years of broken relations.
“We’re at a difficult moment in the U.S.-China relationship,” said Nicholas Burns, U.S. ambassador to China. “We are in many ways rivals, strategically. … But the two peoples of the countries have always been together.”
