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A Tiger Zoo--Flying Tigers AVG, CBI, & 23rd Fighter Grouping + Other PTO ETO Heroes


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josesharontraders

A Chinese Air Force cum AVG-Flying Tigers used cap badge mostly for ground and admin with the metal device in gold used by officers:

 

 

post-160067-0-08542900-1459161088.jpg

 

The back:

 

 

post-160067-0-67226500-1459161125.jpg

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josesharontraders

A grimy, but pretty nice AVG Flying Tigers cum Chinese Air Force officers cap device:

 

post-160067-0-61875100-1459161209.jpg

 

The back:

 

post-160067-0-45059000-1459161263.jpg

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josesharontraders

AVG Flying Tigers, CATF, WW2 US Navy Aviator CBI Bloodchits. A lot has been said of authenticity of bloodchits in the CBI. Stamped or not; per mission issue or not; attributed to a person or not or just simply gotten from a pile of patches at the Kunming AVG admin office or not, transitional AVG to CATF to 23rd Fighter Squadron or not, etc. Some of the bloodchits I acquired came from auction agents in Florida helping to plan part of the end of life issues of a CATF veteran or AVGer's widow. I find it a little disrespectful to broadcast the provenance when it is quite fresh from the death of the AVGer's widow herself vis the auction house and/or her estate lawyer. Let's just enjoy a sampler of the artistic presentation of items worn by the greatest generation of America's heroes who fought like honey badgers to create the world we know for the last 75 years.

 

post-160067-0-37785200-1459161904.jpg

 

Back of AVG cloth canvas bloodchit:

 

post-160067-0-09420300-1459162069.jpg

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josesharontraders

As Admiral Chester Nimitz brought his forces to bear on the Chinese Coastline to force the Japanese Kwangtung Army to flee northwards, even US naval aviators became part of the CBI theatre participants. So, it was not only the US Army Airforce that contributed to Empire of Japan's defeat in China:

 

post-160067-0-07200300-1459162400.jpg

 

Whew, that's it for now. Next part we'll go back to the life and times of the Flying Tigers AVGers.

post-160067-0-55050400-1459162454.jpg

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josesharontraders

Jose,

Your collection is exceptional and World class pertaining to the "Tigers"...I understand your thought process and personal conviction, to speak, why you do what you do...somebody like Pappy who lived larger than life and did not follow the normal traditional family morality. ..at the end of the day, he is still "Pappy Boyington"...Mythical and Legendary. I'm sure there was a rough transition from MOH awardee and Fighter Ace,to being shelved. While many of those guys returned home sliding right back as comfortable as possible ,the old life.I knew many of that generation. ..many drank hard, smoked hard and lived hard ...I always wondered if that was a pressure valve.

Thank you for posting your items and we look forward to more.

Señor tartbridge,

 

Yes, you are correct. We forgot to thank Pappy Boyington for his service, and for inspiring bravery in the persons that followed. In the early 70s, I used to watch a lot of Robert Conrad playing MOH Boyington's role in ¨Baa Baa Black Sheep¨ and was undoubtedly impressed.

 

Saludos,

 

jose

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"Pappy Boyington" was an American Hero and he was awarded the MOH. However, he was also a person who probably suffered from PTSD. Today he would be treated by a Doctor after WW2 the veterans just suffered in silence.

Dick

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When It's Bad Luck It's No Go. I always avoid buying artefacts of non-survivors of battles because it is just my preference. Even when they did survive their service like recently last year I turned down Pappy Boyington's mini-tiger and his post AVG air battle awards and documents as a US Marine Corsair Fighter. The record of his post war life was a turnoff for me. His unstable marital life, his drunken waywardness and intra-colleague fights leading to the US Navy ejecting him from the War Bonds poster boy line up, and his often being discovered sleeping on the streets after being booted out of bars was something else. He couldn't just keep still and help his country raise money to get out of its war debts. I don't buy stuff belonging to a knucklehead. Full stop.

 

 

 

 

 

Nice collection, but a comment on this comment: I'm sure Boyington didn't choose to be an alcoholic- its a disease- therefore JMHO, he wasn't a 'knucklehead' but more of a man with an issue bigger than he could handle or admit to and I believe he did get sober before he passed away.

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josesharontraders

Yes, you are right on that. Was insensitive to forget the trauma of war. A son of mine went through this some half a decade ago and modern treatment post war is the norm of our days, unlike in MOH Pappy Boyington's time. Bless them these American heroes who went--all of them now before the grace of God.

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josesharontraders

Señor tartbridge,

 

Yes, you are correct. We forgot to thank Pappy Boyington for his service, and for inspiring bravery in the persons that followed. In the early 70s, I used to watch a lot of Robert Conrad playing MOH Boyington's role in ¨Baa Baa Black Sheep¨ and was undoubtedly impressed.

 

Saludos,

 

jose

Oops sorry for misspelling you Señor tarbridge...didn't put on my reading glasses so early in the Portugal morning. Saludos boss.

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josesharontraders

Jose,the badges,chits and patch are choice,thanks for sharing them with us.

Hola & Happy Sunday to all:

 

Buenas noches.

 

Muchas gracias tío PC for the compliment.

 

Upcoming Topics AVG & Ace Fighter Related. Now that we're back home I so wanted to line up some other displays with respect:

1) Flying Tigers Line and its vital role;

2) the Life and Times of the American Volunteer Group and additional AVG stuff;

3) a display & guide to assessing bona fide autographs of important USA fighter aces and bomber captains;

4) a new piece on Claire Chennault;

5) a history of CNAC & the AVG from the viewpoint of an allied British spy, based on unpublished documents & additional CNAC pieces;

& 6) lastly, a respectful reference and homage to the best AVG private collection on display owned by a buddy of mine.

 

Avoiding A Running Gunbattle W/ The Wifey. My Macbook video card conked out and entered comatose probably from the bumpy ride in the Douro Mountains to Évora going back to Southern Spain, and it'll be fixed in a week--whoops. Meanwhile, I am subject to the mercy of the nice wifey and won't be able to sneak in any of my dropbox shrunken photos and clutter her mac.

 

 

CALLING ALL AVG FLYING TIGERS COLLECTORS. In the meanwhile, could I humbly invite all you other experts on the AVG to display your stuff in this thread, for the sake of: A) teaching those who will follow, pay homage and appreciate the sacrifices made by a previous American generation & B)B)protecting the liquidity & demand value of your AVG set by allowing a larger market of people to have full information about your collection of unique valour by easy online reference--one day when we leave the departure lounge our kids will be able to easily sell for a handsome price these long-kept pieces because of the exposure and managed constant demand & interest we do now--by way of proper recording in this herein USMIlitariaforum.

 

 

And so, thank you for allowing me to send ya'll this humble invite, please.

 

 

Goodnight & Saludos, fellow collectors.

 

 

An August 1942 Time-Life cover of General Claire Lee Chennault:

post-160067-0-83749700-1459716530.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...
josesharontraders

Amazing group! It is just amazing! You have done well Sir and I salute you for keeping a group such as this together. I am a older dude now but in my "better"day's "I was lucky enough to fly as a pilot with the Flying Tiger Line and flew some long trans-pac flights with a number of former AVG guy's and also CNAC. They were all just plain good Captains and a pleasure to fly with. I once asked one of them over a cool one in Hong Kong if he had any spare items from the AVG day's and he said he had all his stuff in a trunk at home and one day he would sort it out and send me a few things. Never happened, maybe one two many cool one's talk, but he was a super person and I never asked again.This was the "Duke" and his nick name fit him to a T, great guy.

Again, wonderful collection!

Dear flytiger,

 

Here is a proper picture from the web of the Cold War Airline you flew for: A Flying Tigers Lines Boeing 747 picture next to the crew pin or pilot's lapel pin.

 

The Most Patriotic US Airline. This airline was founded and initially manned by Flying Tigers American Volunteer Group pilots after WW2, and was funded by a private California businessman-financier. The Flying Tigers Line did a lot for the USA's intelligence agency objectives from carrying arms & cash to the military coup leaders who toppled Salvador Allende's Chilean regime all the way to bringing out the essential staff of the Shah of Iran. I remember being in the company of the late Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi in some country in the mid 80s, as he told stories of how the Airline brought out his Dad's security people, close friends and relatives. The airline provided crucial military help to our ally, Israel, in the '73-'74 and '77-'78 twin Arab-Israeli wars. It also cornered the bulk of the MAC flights transiting military personnel, friends & family, and US Embassy staff in countries with US bases to and from the US mainland. It was a patriotic airline helping the USA spread its brand of compliant rightist democracy against the immense rise of Marxist-Leninist communism in the late 50s and 60s.

 

When the Soviet Empire imploded in 1991, the subsequent rounds of bases retrenchments of equipment, assets, and personnel in the U.S. and abroad also spelled the death of the airline's existing business scale & financial viability. In the late 60s with my Dad, I remember, as mentioned, admiring the airline's converted Canadair CL cargo planes open up the fuselage from the tail up to a third of the way. Later on, I remember this Airline leasing some Boeing 747Fs that allowed cargo to come out from the front fuselage-nose opening up. These were needed to deliver cargo to the US task force fleet, for example, doing a world cruise or sailing around the South American continent and needed re-supply at the Rio de Janeiro port of call. This would also apply to northern Canadian ports of call to supply US Navy cruises to the Arctic (if I remember, ¨Operation Blue Nose¨ and ¨Northern Wedding¨) to project power next to the Soviet Union up yonder.

 

The record of this airline's ETOPs-rated plane mishaps especially over water in the 60s were half suspected to be related to insurance claims and the US intelligence agency ditching unwanted collateral evidence.

 

Successors To Flying Tigers Line. Ironically, after this went kaput, in the 1990s the likes of unreliable scumbags like Victor Bout et al. ended up filling the void. The latter is celebrated in the ¨Lords of War¨ movie, fuelling the mid 90s African World War demand for arms between 9 nations around the DR of Congo. In reality, the gentleman perpetually did much of his office work in one of his private jets over South African skies whilst his lackeys maintained his collection of 25 ferraris in London. Such was the immense size of profitability, cash flow largesse and myriad revenue sources in that parallel underworld or US military world of the 60s & 70s that the Flying Tigers Line once enjoyed.

 

Bretton-Woods & the US World Policeman Post WW2. To relate the Flying Tigers Line service to the grand scheme of things at the time, their niche kind of supply business was created by the US WW2 Bretton-Woods, Connecticut commitment (near the time of Nazi Germany's imminent defeat in late 1944) that post-war, it shall be the nation amongst the victorious to guarantee the free trade routes with its naval fleets around the world, while previous colonial powers could not rebuild their fleets nor restrict profitable trade with their captive colonies (i.e.. British Empire and British India or the French and Indochina or the Dutch fleet and Indonesia).

 

 

Please feel free to correct me or to add if my memory slipped me.

 

j

 

 

 

post-160067-0-06045000-1460586429.jpg

post-160067-0-21348300-1460586442.jpg

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josesharontraders

Flying Tigers AVG Association Activities Post War. Here is an example of the reunions of the American Volunteer Group members. It is very much akin to an AGM or annual stockholders meet with the AVG registering themselves, then a board meet for those elected and finally, a publication of the official acts of the association. And in the evening a gala, and other sponsored activities like golf tournaments with other famous figures (Rocky Marciano for example) the following days. The formal/informal meet is adjourned when the hangover starts, as usual couple of days later---hahahahahah.

 

Please remember that then and now post-war, these guys and gals were like superheroes which also profitably attracted other luminaries and fans to their gatherings. That will be in another section.

 

Lookee at their second AVG members's meet in 1952:

 

 

post-160067-0-05971400-1460589718.jpg

 

I think someone else lives in these addresses by now, so no harm in disclosing:

 

post-160067-0-34235700-1460589983.jpg

 

Note Captain Robert H. Neale's spelled out name is different from his autograph for fans. More to come on the Ace of Aces:

 

post-160067-0-09715600-1460590076.jpg

 

Some highlights like AVG Ace George Burgard who won like Capt. Bob Neale the extremely rare Ten Star Wing Medal of valour, awarded by the Chinese Air Force, and based on the number of air-to-air combat kills. In a later section will show a sample of the medal and pics from George Burgard's loyal son, Lee Turner Burgard.

 

post-160067-0-20017200-1460590756.jpg

 

Additional Flying Tigers AVG members registering attendance to the Second Meet in 1952:

 

post-160067-0-52298200-1460590999.jpg

 

RT Smith's Book. I would highly recommend reading a Flying Tiger's Diary by Ace RT Smith. Pretty funny and seriously heroic description of what vast damage these David-like men did to the Goliath Japanese Empire's air assets.

 

When The Japanese Learned To Fear. After destroying 299 planes plus a probable 250 more, the Japanese recalled almost 500 more planes from its Malayan Peninsula occupation to replenish the Kwangtung Army's Air Force in China. Also, in July of 1942 the 7th and last month for the AVG, the Japanese avoided flying any planes over interior China for the whole month until the takeover by USAAF's CATF (China Air Task Force).

 

post-160067-0-78723600-1460591125.jpg

post-160067-0-96228800-1460591170.jpg

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josesharontraders

Through The Flying Tigers AVG Association Comes Managed Commercial Fame. After the general meet of members, here is the board of directors line-up who then proceeded to perpetuate the fame of the Flying Tigers in an orderly, commercial, and coordinated way to help out their family's interests. Given that they were NOT officially recognised for 50 more years from 1942, this scheme of managing their fame and the demand of their fans, was the least they deserved to give them and family some humble prosperity & peace of mind, if any there be.

 

Brave Horatius At The Gate. After the Japanese clobbered the US Pacific Fleet in Oahu as well as the USAFE (US Army In The Far East under Gen. Douglas MacArthur of 100,000 personnel) in Clark Field & Fort Stotsenburg and with final surrender of air and ground assets in the Bataan Peninsula and Corregidor Island--from where MacArthur fled to Australia--the US for a good 8 months had no assets to get back at Japan in a timely way. The fight back and damage inflicted by the AVG against the Empire of Japan in the interregnum made many American hearts whole again, as they heard on their radios and read their newspapers in their homes of the steady valour of the AVG and their air and ground victories, against all odds. Colonel Doolittle's Tokyo bombing also helped cure the wounds.

 

Irony. At least the American nation was grateful to them way ahead of their government.

 

Going back to the issue, after the Board meet, the AVG Families would meet up for lunches and dinners over several happy days until adjournment. Sponsors were aplenty to compensate the cost of the events.

 

Pictures of AVG guys and gals living it up at their every two year reunions next round. Goodnight & Saludos, caballeros.

 

 

 

 

 

 

post-160067-0-16911500-1460592384.jpg

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Patchcollector

Good Evening Jose,
Great stuff-I enjoyed reading about the interesting post war activities of these Heroes.Yes Flying Tigers Airline had an interesting history,and worked closely with the Military and Intel services.

 

Here is a link to their site:

http://www.flyingtigerline.org/founders.htm

 

Another Airline that has Flying Tiger connections is Civil Air Transport (CAT).

According to Wiki:
CAT was created by Claire Chennault and Whiting Willauer in 1946 as Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA) Air Transport. Using surplus World War II aircraft such as the C-47 Dakota and the C-46 Commando, CAT airlifted supplies and food into war-ravaged China. It was soon pressed into service to support Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang forces in the civil war between them and the communists under Mao Zedong. Many of its first pilots were veterans of Chennault's World War II combat groups, popularly known as Flying Tigers. (Other of Chennault's veterans went on to form another air transport company, the Flying Tiger Line. This was a completely separate operation from Civil Air Transport and the follow-on Air America.)

 

Almost forgot;a very nice badge and documents Jose!

 

Good night

PC

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josesharontraders

Good Evening Jose,

Great stuff-I enjoyed reading about the interesting post war activities of these Heroes.Yes Flying Tigers Airline had an interesting history,and worked closely with the Military and Intel services.

 

Here is a link to their site:

http://www.flyingtigerline.org/founders.htm

 

Another Airline that has Flying Tiger connections is Civil Air Transport (CAT).

According to Wiki:

CAT was created by Claire Chennault and Whiting Willauer in 1946 as Chinese National Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (CNRRA) Air Transport. Using surplus World War II aircraft such as the C-47 Dakota and the C-46 Commando, CAT airlifted supplies and food into war-ravaged China. It was soon pressed into service to support Chiang Kai-shek and his Kuomintang forces in the civil war between them and the communists under Mao Zedong. Many of its first pilots were veterans of Chennault's World War II combat groups, popularly known as Flying Tigers. (Other of Chennault's veterans went on to form another air transport company, the Flying Tiger Line. This was a completely separate operation from Civil Air Transport and the follow-on Air America.)

 

Almost forgot;a very nice badge and documents Jose!

 

Good night

PC

Hi PC, tío

 

 

Buenos dias.

 

Yes you are correct. Very good insight. I know of Air America, but that Chinese civil war CAT airline is something else. Thank you for pointing this out, as I'll have something to look up and research.

 

Appreciate your good inputs, my bro.

 

Gracias & Atentamente Cordial Saludo to you.

 

jose

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firefighter

Dear flytiger,

 

Here is a proper picture from the web of the Cold War Airline you flew for: A Flying Tigers Lines Boeing 747 picture next to the crew pin or pilot's lapel pin.

 

The Most Patriotic US Airline. This airline was founded and initially manned by Flying Tigers American Volunteer Group pilots after WW2, and was funded by a private California businessman-financier. The Flying Tigers Line did a lot for the USA's intelligence agency objectives from carrying arms & cash to the military coup leaders who toppled Salvador Allende's Chilean regime all the way to bringing out the essential staff of the Shah of Iran. I remember being in the company of the late Prince Ali Reza Pahlavi in some country in the mid 80s, as he told stories of how the Airline brought out his Dad's security people, close friends and relatives. The airline provided crucial military help to our ally, Israel, in the '73-'74 and '77-'78 twin Arab-Israeli wars. It also cornered the bulk of the MAC flights transiting military personnel, friends & family, and US Embassy staff in countries with US bases to and from the US mainland. It was a patriotic airline helping the USA spread its brand of compliant rightist democracy against the immense rise of Marxist-Leninist communism in the late 50s and 60s.

 

When the Soviet Empire imploded in 1991, the subsequent rounds of bases retrenchments of equipment, assets, and personnel in the U.S. and abroad also spelled the death of the airline's existing business scale & financial viability. In the late 60s with my Dad, I remember, as mentioned, admiring the airline's converted Canadair CL cargo planes open up the fuselage from the tail up to a third of the way. Later on, I remember this Airline leasing some Boeing 747Fs that allowed cargo to come out from the front fuselage-nose opening up. These were needed to deliver cargo to the US task force fleet, for example, doing a world cruise or sailing around the South American continent and needed re-supply at the Rio de Janeiro port of call. This would also apply to northern Canadian ports of call to supply US Navy cruises to the Arctic (if I remember, ¨Operation Blue Nose¨ and ¨Northern Wedding¨) to project power next to the Soviet Union up yonder.

 

The record of this airline's ETOPs-rated plane mishaps especially over water in the 60s were half suspected to be related to insurance claims and the US intelligence agency ditching unwanted collateral evidence.

 

Successors To Flying Tigers Line. Ironically, after this went kaput, in the 1990s the likes of unreliable scumbags like Victor Bout et al. ended up filling the void. The latter is celebrated in the ¨Lords of War¨ movie, fuelling the mid 90s African World War demand for arms between 9 nations around the DR of Congo. In reality, the gentleman perpetually did much of his office work in one of his private jets over South African skies whilst his lackeys maintained his collection of 25 ferraris in London. Such was the immense size of profitability, cash flow largesse and myriad revenue sources in that parallel underworld or US military world of the 60s & 70s that the Flying Tigers Line once enjoyed.

 

Bretton-Woods & the US World Policeman Post WW2. To relate the Flying Tigers Line service to the grand scheme of things at the time, their niche kind of supply business was created by the US WW2 Bretton-Woods, Connecticut commitment (near the time of Nazi Germany's imminent defeat in late 1944) that post-war, it shall be the nation amongst the victorious to guarantee the free trade routes with its naval fleets around the world, while previous colonial powers could not rebuild their fleets nor restrict profitable trade with their captive colonies (i.e.. British Empire and British India or the French and Indochina or the Dutch fleet and Indonesia).

 

 

Please feel free to correct me or to add if my memory slipped me.

 

j

 

 

 

 

FLYING TIGERS Airline. WOW!! I took that too and from the Philippines. Funny thing is that I was first stationed with the 23rd TFW "FLYING TIGERS" at England AFB.

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josesharontraders

Thanks for your comment, firefighter. Bro, I hope they fed you on those MAC flights. Was your unit the helo- battalion or the A10 squadron reassigned from the UK back to the mainland? Lastly, were you able to complete 100 trips over the ¨sh...¨ Olongapo River to the ¨cultural district¨, just outside Subic Naval Facility? Oops, sorry I asked about what we'd do when we were young--hahahahahha. Saludos cordiales, mi amigo.

 

Jose

 

ps. Below is the very well-described and well-thought out list from Warbird Forum.com (all in small caps) of the top aces of the AVG Flying Tigers. To be an Ace Pilot, you had to bring down 5 enemy planes:

WARBIRD HOME > TIGERS > ACES The Flying Tiger aces

Here are the nineteen pilots credited with five or more air-to-air victories during their year with the American Volunteer Group, based on my research and that of Frank Olynyck. (Click here for victories attributed to AVG pilots in the air and on the ground.) Where scores are tied, I list the names alphabetically. If you have additional information about any of these men, please send email. Meanwhile, thanks to Skip Guidry, Tom Pearson, and Rick Siciliano for helping update this file.

1 - Robert Neale

bobneale.jpg

A Seattle resident, Bob Neale was a dive-bomber pilot on Saratoga when he joined the AVG. He took over the 1st Squadron Adam & Eves after Sandy Sandell was killed, and was decorated by the British government (Distinguished Service Order) for his exploits in Burma. Awarded the Ten Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. Neale was one of the pilots who volunteered two weeks' additional service in China after the group was disbanded; during that interim, he commanded the U.S. Army's 23rd Fighter Group--as a civilian!--pending the arrival of the designated commander, Colonel Robert Scott. After returning to the States, he served as a civilian transport or ferry pilot for Pan American World Airways. Postwar, he returned to Seattle and ran a fishing resort until his death in 1994. The AVG records credit him with 13 air-to-air victories:

 

  • 23 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 24 Jan 1942: 2 Ki-21 Sally bombers
  • 26 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 6 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 25 Feb 1942: 4 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 26 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 3 May 1942: 1 Ki-15? observation plane

2 - David Lee (Tex) Hill

 

texhill.jpg

Born in Korea to a missionary father who later became chaplain to the Texas Rangers, Tex Hill was also a Navy dive-bomber pilot when recruited for the AVG, serving on Ranger on the east coast. He replaced Jack Newkirk as commander of the 2nd Squadron Panda Bears in March 1942. He was decorated with the British Distiguished Flying Cross and the Chinese Nine Star Wing Medal. Devoted to Chennault, he was one of only five Flying Tigers who accepted induction into the U.S. Army in July 1942. He was given the rank of major and the command of the 75th Fighter Squadron. On his second combat tour in China, he served as commander of the 23rd Fighter Group, scoring six more air-to-air victories to become a triple ace. Postwar, he served in the Texas Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, retiring as a brigadier general. He died in 2007. The AVG record credits him with 10.25 air-to-air victories:

 

  • 3 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 23 Jan 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 24 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-21 Sally bomber + 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 29 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 24 Apr 1942: shared 1 Ki-15 Sonia observation plane
  • 28 Apr 1942: 2 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters
  • 5 May 1942: 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter
  • 6 July 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter

3a - George Burgard

 

burgard.jpg

A native of Pennsylvania, George Burgard was born August 12, 1915. He attended Bucknell and spent six years as a newspaperman before joining the Army. Trained in B-17s, he was serving as a Ferry Command pilot when he joined the AVG. He was awarded a Ten-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. Following his AVG service, he flew for American Export Lines. Postwar, he ran a machine shop in Pennsylvania, dying in 1978. The record shows him in a three-way tie as a double ace:

 

  • 21 Feb 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 25 Feb 1942: 1 bomber + 2 fighters
  • 26 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 12 Jun 1942: 1 Ki-45 Toryu fighter + 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter (the Toryu was piloted by Sgt. Jiro Ieiri, commander of "Nagano Force" of five or more Ki-45s based at Canton; Ieiri was killed in the crash, but the radioman-gunner survived to have his picture taken with Burgard and other Flying Tigers)

3b - Robert Little

 

boblittle.jpg

Bob Little is shown as a native of Spokane. Likewise recruited from the Army Air Corps (probably from the 8th Pursuit Group at Mitchel Field), and likewise a double ace, he was killed in action while bombing Japanese positions on the Salween River, 22 May 1942. He was hit by anti-aircraft fire, which may have exploded a bomb on his P-40E Kittyhawk.

 

  • 29 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 6 Feb 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 25 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 26 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 8 Apr 1942: 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter

3c - Charles Older

 

chasolder.jpg

An honors graduate of UCLA, Chuck Older joined the marines as a breather before law school. He was awarded a Nine-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. Following the AVG, he joined the Army and returned to China with the 23rd Fighter Group, credited with six more victories and ending the war as a lieutenant colonel. He earned his law degree from the University of Southern California. He was recalled to active duty in 1950 and flew a Douglas B-26 Invader during the Korean War--probably the only Flying Tiger to fly as a U.S. Air Force pilot in another conflict. Appointed to Los Angeles Superior Court in 1967, he presided most famously over the bizzare, ten-month murder trial of Charles Manson. He died in 2006.

 

  • 23 Dec 1941: 2 Ki-21 Sally bombers
  • 25 Dec 1941: 2 Ki-21 Sally bombers + 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter
  • 17 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-21 Sally bomber + 1 shared
  • 29 Mar 1942: 1 Ki-46 Dinah observation plane
  • 10 Apr 1942: shared 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter (flown by Sgt. Yoshito Yasuda of the 64th Sentai, who not only managed to fly back to Chiang Mai but survived the war, later writing about this combat in terms that make it impossible that he was not the pilot claimed by Older and Hedman)
  • 28 Apr 1942: 2 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters

6 - Robert T. Smith

 

rtsmith.jpg

A native of Red Cloud, Nebraska, R. T. Smith was serving as an Army flight instructor at Randolph Field when he joined the AVG. He was awarded a Nine-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. He rejoined the U.S. Army when his tour was finished, serving with the 1st Air Commando in India and Burma and ending the war as a colonel. His facsimile diary, Tale of a Tiger, is one of the best of the AVG memoirs. Postwar, he flew for Trans Word Airlines, wrote radio scripts and screenplays, co-owned a toy company, worked for Lockheed Aircraft and Flying Tiger Line, and served with the Air Force Reserve. He died in 1995. The record shows him with 8.90 air-to-air victories:

 

  • 23 Dec 1941: 1 Ki-21 Sally bomber + 1 shared
  • 25 Dec 1941: 2 Ki-21 Sally bombers + 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter
  • 8 Apr 1942: 2 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighters (the first was flown by Lt. Yohei Hinoki of the 64th Sentai, who was badly shot up but managed to fly home to Chiang Mai; the second belonged to Sgt. Chikara Goto, credited with two victories at Singapore, who crashed 30 or 40 miles south of Loiwing)
  • 10 Apr 1942: 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter
  • 25 Apr 1942: shared 2 Ki-15 Sonia observation planes (the loss of these planes is confirmed in Japanese records)
  • 28 Apr 1942: 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter

7 - William (Mac) McGarry

 

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One of the few AVG recruits who'd actually flown fighter planes--Curtiss P-40s for the 1st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field--Mac McGarry was shot down over Chiang Mai, Thailand, on 24 March 1942. (Portions of his Tomahawk are now on display at the Chiang Mai airport. It was the discovery of those relicts that prompted me to write my Flying Tigers novel Remains.) After a rough interrogation by the Japanese, he was handed over to the local authorities and the comparative comfort of a Thai jail. Postwar he lived in California. He died I think in the 1990s. The record shows him with 8 air-to-air victories:

 

  • 26 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 6 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 25 Feb 1942: 4 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 26 Feb 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters

8a - Charles Bond

 

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Charlie Bond was born in Dallas on April 22, 1915. As a high-school student, he joined the ROTC and eventually the Texas National Guard. In 1935 he joined the Army in hopes of attending the West Point Preparatory School at Camp Bullis, Texas--a route for enlisted men to attend the Military Academy. Failing to win an appointment, he tried again as a flying cadet. He succeeded in becoming an officer, but was disappointed to be assigned to the 2nd Bomb Group at Langley Field, Virgina, instead of flying "pursuit" as every young pilot dreamed of doing. He was ferrying Hudsons to the RAF when an AVG recruiter caught up with him. The British awarded him the Distinguished Flying Cross for his services in Burma, and the Chinese a Seven-Star Wing Medal. After his AVG tour--which included two weeks' extra service during the transition to the 23rd Fighter Group--he became a career officer, retiring from the Air Force with the rank of major general. In 1984, he published his memoirs as A Flying Tiger's Diary. He died in 2009. He was credited with 7 air-to-air victories with the AVG:

 

  • 29 Jan 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 25 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 26 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 4 May 1942: 1 Ki-21 Sally bomber (the Sally belonged to the 98th Sentai based at Rangoon; it crashed inside China, and several other bombers also sustained damage from Bond's attacks)

 

 

8b - Frank Lawlor

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Born in North Carolina in 1914, "Whitey" Lawlor graduated from the state university and joined the Navy in 1938. He was a fighter pilot on Saratogawhen he joined the AVG. He was awarded a Seven-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. He returned to the Navy after his AVG tour, ending the war as a lieutenant commander. He died in 1973 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He tied Bond and Jack Newkirk with 7 air-to-air victories:

 

  • 23 Jan 1942: 4 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 29 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 5 May 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters

 

 

8c - John Newkirk

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His family called him "Scarsdale Jack," to distinguish him from a cousin with the same name. Born in 1913, he received his Eagle Scout badge from no less a hero than the Antarctica explorer Richard Byrd. He learned to fly as a student at Rennselaer Polytechnic, where he eventually accumulated the two years' study that would qualify him to become a cadet aviator in the US Navy. He was a fighter pilot aboard Yorktown, flying the F4F Wildcat, when he volunteered for the AVG. At the age of 27, with his leadership training, he was already a dominant figure in the group by the time he arrived in Burma. By the time he was killed on the Chiang Mai raid, he too had been credited with 7 air-to-air victories, though some AVG veterans hinted broadly that were skeptical of his claims. (It is certainly true that the squadron leaders, who had the primary responsibility for signing off on victories, generally built up their scores more quickly than the other pilots.) For more about the crash, see here.

 

  • 3 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-44 Shoki? fighter, 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 20 Jan 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 23 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-21 Sally? bomber, 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters

11a - Robert Hedman

 

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Duke Hedman was the only AVG pilot--and one of very few Americans--to make ace in a single day. (The record was confused when one of his victories was shifted to an earlier day, and again when his flight agreed to share all bonus credits equally.) He attended the University of North Dakota and was serving with the 1st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field when he joined the AVG. He was awarded a Six-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. He stayed on in China as a civilian transport pilot for the national airline, CNAC. Postwar, he was a pilot for Flying Tiger Line until he retired in 1971. Though his CAMCO bonus account stands at only 4.83, he was actually credited with 6 victories, putting him in a three-way tie as tenth-ranking AVG ace, and one of very few Americans who achieved acedom in a single day. Death date uncertain.

 

  • 25 Dec 1941: 4 Ki-21 Sally bombers + 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter
  • 10 Apr 1942: shared 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter (Sgt. Yasuda's plane; see Older's listing for more about this combat)
  • 20 Apr 1942: shared 1 Ki-15? Babs observation plane

11b - C. Joseph Rosbert

 

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Joe Rosbert (his first initial stands for Camille) graduated from Villanova as a chemical engineer before joining the Navy in 1938. He was piloting a stately PBY Catalina for VP-44 in San Diego when the AVG signed him up. He was awarded a Six-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. He served two extra weeks during the transition to the 23rd Fighter Group, then joined CNAC as a transport pilot flying cargo over the "Hump" of the Himalayas. Postwar, he was one of the original founder-pilots of Flying Tiger Line before moving over to Chennault's Civil Air Transport, the predecessor of Air America). Later he ran several "Flying Tiger Joe" restaurants and published Flying Tiger Joe's Adventure Story Cookbook. He died in 2009. He too had six victories in the record:

 

  • 25 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 26 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 12 June 1942: 2 Ki-45 Toryu fighters

11c - J. Richard Rossi

 

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Dick Rossi was born April 19, 1915. He attended the University of California and served a hitch in the Merchant Marine before joining the Navy. He was a flight instructor at Pensacola when he joined the AVG. He was awarded a Six-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. Like the other six-victory aces, he declined to rejoin his country's armed services after the AVG disbanded, staying on in China as a CNAC pilot. He flew for Flying Tiger Line until his retirement in 1971, and was the president of the Flying Tiger Association for over 50 years. He died in 2008.

 

  • 28 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 25 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 26 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 12 Jun 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter

14 - Robert Prescott

 

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Born May 5, 1913, and therefore the oldest of the AVG aces, Bob Prescott grew up in Texas but moved to California in 1934, where he attended junior college and enrolled in Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. He dropped out to join the Navy, serving as a flight instructor before he was recruited by the AVG. He was awarded a Five-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese, Returning to the U.S. when his tour with the AVG ended, he flew briefly for Trans World Airlines before heading back to China to fly for CNAC. Postwar, he founded the Flying Tiger Line, the only "non-sked" established by World War II veterans that survived and prospered, at least until it was absorbed by FedEx. (Until the FAA put a stop to it, he used to fly AVG veterans to their annual reunions.) He died in 1978. The record shows him with 5.5 air-to-air victories:

 

  • 29 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 6 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 25 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 18 Apr 1942: shared 1 Ki-46? Dinah observation plane

 

 

15a - Percy Bartelt

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An engineering graduate of the University of Iowa, Bartelt had served four years in the Navy when he joined the AVG. He quit the AVG in March 1942 and thus received a "dishonorable discharge" from Chennault, depriving him of the veterans' benefits and Silver Star that were later awarded to those who stayed with the group to the end. He was the only ace to be so treated, and probably for that reason I could find no photograph of him in the AVG records. (The mug shot above is cropped from a photo of him as a US Navy pilot, sent to me by his son Rick.) He returned to the Navy as a lieutenant and served as a flight instructor until being hospitalized with a lung infection. He received a disability retirement in 1951 and worked for the state of Minnesota until retirement in 1974. He died in Fargo, ND on March 29, 1986. The record shows him in a five-way tie as the AVG's fifteenth-ranking ace:

 

  • 23 Jan 1942: 3 Ki-30 Ann light bombers
  • 24 Jan 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters

15b - William Bartling

 

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A 1938 graduate of Purdue in chemical engineering, Bartling joined the navy and flew a dive bomber off the USS Wasp. He was awarded a Five-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. He was one of the AVG pilots who volunteered two extra weeks' service in China to ease the transition to the 23rd Fighter group, and he afterward flew for CNAC. Postwar, he was an executive at National Skyway Freight Corporation, which morphed into the Flying Tiger Line, the most successful of the "non-scheds" established by veterans flying war-surplus aircraft (in this case, Douglas C-47s with a rather bemused shark-mouth painted on). He died November 1979.

 

  • 23 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 28 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 9 May 1942: 1 Ki-46 Dinah observation plane (this was the first plane ever lost by the 18th Independent Chutai, which had been flying reconnissance missions over China for four years; it was piloted by Capt. Hideharu Takeuchi)
  • 12 June 1942: 1 Ki-45 Toryu fighter + 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter

15c - Edmund Overend

 

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Born May 31, 1914, Eddie Overend was an honors graduate of San Diego State in 1939. A Marine pilot when recruited for the AVG, he had earlier served two years in a machine-gun company--presumably also in the Marines. He became a Flying Tiger ace shortly before his 28th birthday, a fairly advanced age for a fighter pilot in the 1940s, and was awarded a Five-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. He rejoined the Corps after his AVG tour ended, flying Corsairs with VMF-321 in the Pacific. He tallied 3.5 more combat victories and finished the war with the rank of major. For a time he was head of the UNESCO mission on Taiwan. He died in 1971 and was buried at sea.

 

  • 23 Dec 1941: 1 Ki-21 Sally bomber
  • 25 Dec 1941: 2 Ki-21 Sally bombers
  • 8 Apr 1942: 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter
  • 28 April 1942: 1 Ki-43 Hayabusa fighter

15d - Robert Sandell

 

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A former Army flight instructor at Maxwell Field, Sandy Sandell somehow ended up as squadron leader of the AVG 1st Squadron, called the Adam & Eves. He was not particularly liked, but in his short combat career at Rangoon he became one of the first of the AVG aces. He was killed on 7 Feb 1942 when his recently-repaired Tomahawk shed its tail on a test flight over Mingaladon airport.

 

  • 28 Jan 1942: 2 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 29 Jan 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters

15e - Robert H. Smith

 

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Sometimes called Snuffy, sometimes Smitty, this Bob Smith attended Kansas State College and served in its ROTC detachment; he had 18 months in the Army Air Corps when he was recruited for the AVG. He was awarded a Five-Star Wing Medal by the Chinese. He rejoined the Army after his tour as a Flying Tiger, commanding the 18th Fighter Group in the Pacific, flying 83 missions, and ending the war as a major. Postwar, he operated a resort in Wisconsin before retiring to Florida, where he died in 1998.

 

  • 21 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
  • 25 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
  • 26 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-48 Lily bomber

 

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josesharontraders

The Life & Times Post WW2 Of the AVG Flying Tigers Members--Reunions and 1992 Congressional Awards. To get back from digressing too much and with less blah..blah from yours truly, I shall let the 2001 reunion pamphlet explain the situ. Also there is a substantive photo collage of the the AVGers and their families in one of their most enjoyable reunions in 1967. Most would be in their mid 40s to early 50s, the prime of their lives. Or, the 3:30pm of their lives:

 

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Held in Seattle, Washington:

 

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The 2001 Board of the AVG Flying Tigers Association:

 

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The Flying Tigers Reunion Schedule:

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General Claire Lee Chennault, the Leader of the Flying Tigers:

 

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Awards given over the years at their reunions:

 

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Award Pictures: a history of post WW2 americana:

 

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The happiest Flying Tigers AVG 1967 Reunion (incorporated for the remaining members in their 2001 Reunion pamphlet):

 

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A Quiet Life After Putting Down The Sword. Ace of Aces Bob Neale, with Gen. Bond & Anna Chennault (widowed) is highlighted here, because we shall render more of his artefacts in a later section. At this time in '67, Capt. Neale ran a simple, quiet fishing resort in Kamano Island in the Sounds outside Seattle to calm his life down from the violent stress of war. Funny, from there you could see the naval planes taking off from the Navy Airfield of Whidbey Island:

 

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Superstars & Big Businessmen At The Reunions. In mutual homage to the men who served, many superstars like Rocky Marciano and Hollywood personalities would show up. Note that Ace Robert Prescott was the founder of then big time enterprise Flying Tigers Line:

 

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Sing to the tune of musical CATS song ¨Memory¨..´sunrise through the trees in summer, endless masquerading´. When you are at the prime of your lives and having accomplished the improbable for your country and come out of the badlands, these moments were the least they deserved:

 

Note too, our member friend ¨kanemono¨ owns Emma Jane ¨Red¨ Foster's AVG insignias (from Pilot Pete Petach). She is on the bottom photos:

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josesharontraders

The AVG Flying Tigers Admin. So, now we show the people mostly at the general headquarters:

 

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post-160067-0-00696000-1460654957.jpg

 

post-160067-0-27265900-1460655022.jpg

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josesharontraders

We highlight Crew Chief John Overley to show his intact grouping and artefacts in the next section:

 

 

post-160067-0-21055200-1460655491.jpg

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