Flying Tigers' Affection, Long Friendship - The American Flying Tigers delegation visited Zhijiang, Hunan
2024-09-10
On the 8th, a delegation of American Flying Tigers, consisting of members of the US China Aviation Heritage Foundation and descendants of Flying Tigers veterans, visited Zhijiang, Hunan. Although many members of the delegation have not visited Zhijiang for the first time, this trip is still full of surprises, and some members look forward to "bringing more students back to Zhijiang". During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Zhijiang, as a military stronghold, had the second largest military airport in the Allied Far East, attracting multiple air force units to settle in Zhijiang one after another, among which the Flying Tigers had the longest garrison time. The brigade entered Zhijiang Airport on June 9, 1943 and did not leave until September 19, 1945, after the victory of the Anti Japanese War. The Zhijiang Flying Tigers Memorial Hall is an important stop for the delegation on this trip. Entering the memorial hall, members of the delegation carefully examined the exhibits such as old photos, military uniforms, airplane models, and battle maps. Among them, several color photos taken in the 1940s were particularly eye-catching. These precious color photos were donated by Joseph De, a communication officer of the China US Air Force Joint Forces. He witnessed the entire process of the Japanese surrender in Zhijiang and took a large number of photos Wu Jianhong, the director of the Zhijiang Flying Tigers Memorial Hall, said. On September 8th, Margaret Kinkanong (center), a descendant of a Flying Tigers veteran, displayed a photo (phone photo) of her donation to the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall in Zhijiang, Hunan. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yu Chunsheng in the memorial hall, there are numerous exhibits donated by friendly Americans. This is the photo you donated last year In front of a newly established display cabinet, Wu Jianhong and Margaret Kinkanong, a descendant of the Flying Tigers veteran, recalled the scene when they met last year. This time, Margaret Kinkanon brought three new photos to donate to the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall. One is a portrait of her father, and the other two are photos of her father with Chinese pilots and technicians back then. My father was a member of the Sino US Air Force Squadron back then. Decades have passed, and he still remembers the names of the Chinese technicians at that time Margaret Kinkannon held up a photo and said, "I will bring more photos to Zhijiang in the future to let more people know about our history of fighting side by side." "Oh my goodness!" In the last exhibition hall of the memorial hall, Margaret Kinkannon was pleasantly surprised to find that her photo of attending an event in Zhijiang last year was also placed in the memorial hall. Wu Jianhong told her that the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall not only wanted to show the people the history of China and the United States fighting side by side in those years, but also to record the inheritance of the friendship between the Chinese and American people.?? On September 8th, members of the US Flying Tigers delegation took a group photo (phone photo) in front of the statue of General Chenault. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yu Chunsheng: Nowadays, the "Flying Tiger Friendship" is continuing among the younger generation in China and the United States. Zhijiang No.4 Middle School is less than 2 kilometers away from the former site of the Flying Tigers barracks. In November last year, Zhijiang No.4 Middle School established a "Flying Tigers Friendship School" with Scofield High School in the United States. Returning to Zhijiang No.4 Middle School again, looking at the green faces, Green, the chairman of the US China Aviation Heritage Foundation, said emotionally that Zhijiang has significant historical significance for both China and the United States. This is his fifth trip to Zhijiang, and every time he comes, he has a different feeling. He hopes that more American students will come to Zhijiang to learn about the history of the Flying Tigers, and also hopes that more Chinese students will come to the United States to exchange ideas with Flying Tigers veterans and their descendants. On September 8th, members of the American Flying Tigers delegation visited the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall in Zhijiang, Hunan (mobile phone photo). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yu Chunsheng in the Sino US Friendship Forest next to the Flying Tigers Memorial Hall, a tall and lush cypress tree planted by Green and Flying Tigers veterans in 2005. Looking at the photo taken in front of the tree, Wu Jianhong smiled at Green and said, "We are not young anymore, but we hope that the friendship between China and the United States can last forever like this cypress tree
Edit：Yi Jing Responsible editor：Li Nian
Source：XinhuaNet
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