Xinhua News Agency

"I think it is very important to remember history. Only by understanding what happened 80 years ago and what we did can we distinguish between gains and losses and better cope with current challenges," said Melvin McMullen, a centenarian Flying Tigers veteran, in an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters in Los Angeles County, the United States recently.

President Xi Jinping has told the story of the Flying Tigers many times and has corresponded with Flying Tigers veterans. On January 1st this year, when President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan sent New Year's greeting cards back to representatives of teachers and students from a middle school in Washington State, the United States, they said, "During World War II, China and the United States fought together for peace and justice. The friendship between the two peoples has withstood the test of blood and fire and has become even stronger over time."

"Fighting for China"

In November 2023, at a joint welcome banquet hosted by US friendly organizations in San Francisco, President Xi Jinping once again told the story of General Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers: "They not only directly fought against the Japanese invaders but also established the Hump Route to transport urgently needed supplies to China. More than 1,000 Chinese and American aircrew members sacrificed their lives on this route."

"The Chinese people have not forgotten the Flying Tigers," said President Xi Jinping. When talking about the warm welcome that Flying Tigers veterans Harry Moyer and McMullen received during their recent visit to China, President Xi Jinping looked at the veterans sitting in the front row of the audience, and Moyer raised his hand to acknowledge.

Moyer is now nearly 105 years old. During his visit to China in 2023, Moyer recalled to reporters in Kunming the years when he fought side by side with the Chinese people for peace and justice. In January 1944, after completing his combat mission in the European theater, Moyer faced two choices: one was to go home, and the other was to go to China. "I chose to go to China and fight for China," he said.

"What touched me the most was the spirit of cooperation shown by the Chinese and American people. Whether they were soldiers, farmers, or merchants, everyone had a common goal -- to defeat the enemy," said McMullen. "We were united and finally won the victory."

During their visit to China two years ago, Moyer, McMullen, and descendants of Flying Tigers veterans traveled from Beijing to Chongqing, Kunming, and Liuzhou, Guangxi, following in the footsteps of the Flying Tigers, reliving history, and entering schools to tell children the story of the Flying Tigers.

McMullen said that the core of the Flying Tigers spirit is "cooperation." "Working together towards a common goal is the key. We did it in the past, and we can surely do it now and in the future."

A Pact for Peace

Huxi Experimental Middle School in Liuzhou, Guangxi is one of the first Chinese schools to join the "Flying Tigers Friendship Schools and Youth Leadership Program." In the school's learning and communication garden for the spirit of the Flying Tigers, many photos record the scene of the school forming a "Flying Tigers Friendship School" with Scofield Middle School in the United States, as well as the scene of the visit by Flying Tigers veterans such as Moyer and McMullen and their descendants two years ago.

Li Liuying, a student of this school, still remembers the situation clearly: Moyer and McMullen listened carefully to the students playing "Jasmine Flower" and interacted with the students, hoping that the spirit of the Flying Tigers would be passed down from generation to generation.

"By jointly inheriting the spirit of the Flying Tigers, we are telling the world that whether it was during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression or in the current peaceful era, we can cross the ocean and national boundaries, work together to safeguard peace and justice, and jointly move towards a better future," said Li Liuying.

President Xi Jinping once said in a reply letter to Greene, Moyer, and McMullen that the healthy and stable development of China-US relations in the new era requires the participation and support of Flying Tigers members in the new era, and he hopes that the spirit of the Flying Tigers can be passed down from generation to generation between the two peoples.

Since the US-China Aviation Heritage Foundation launched the "Flying Tigers Friendship Schools and Youth Leadership Program" in 2022, nearly 100 Chinese schools and more than 40 US schools have participated.

Source: Xinhua News Agency