On the morning of July 17, a delegation of nearly 20 representatives from the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation visited the Memorial Hall. They had traveled across oceans and continents to reconnect with a history that must never be forgotten.

The “Flying Tigers”, formally known as the “American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force”, were formed by Claire Chennault in 1941 and became famous for the shark-toothed noses of their aircraft and their flying tiger insignia. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, they volunteered to come to China and fight alongside Chinese forces. They helped regain air superiority over Southwest China, defended the Burma Road and transported supplies over the Hump. At great cost, they shot down thousands of enemy aircraft and forged the enduring “Flying Tigers friendship”. Established in 1998, the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation seeks to preserve and pass on this history and spirit through people-to-people exchanges.

The U.S. “Flying Tigers”

Gail Cooper Baumgartner-Brown, daughter of Joseph C. Cooper, a flight engineer with the Fourteenth Air Force, bent down and gently ran her hand over the cast of the sole remaining foot of Nanjing Massacre survivor Wu Xiulan. During her first visit in 2019, she had seen the footprint on the bronze-paved path in Mourning Square. “Touching it with my own hand on this return visit, I still feel deeply saddened. The photograph shows Wu Xiulan, whose left leg was blown off by a Japanese aircraft. Her two daughters were also tragically killed. Her life was so heartbreaking that I can feel her pain,” she said quietly.

After the visit, Anna Li, daughter of K.C. Li, a fighter pilot with the Fourteenth Air Force, found old photographs of her father on her phone and spoke about him with deep emotion. “My father was Chinese American. His ancestral home was in Hunan, and he was born in the United States. During his service as a pilot, he received two U.S. military decorations and two medals awarded by the Chinese government.” She said her father had remained deeply proud throughout his life of having helped the Chinese people. “He often spoke about ordinary Chinese people, always saying they were the finest people he had ever known.”

Finally, the visitors carefully wrote their heartfelt messages in the guest book.

Anna Li (daughter of K.C. Li, a fighter pilot with the Fourteenth Air Force, and a member of the Executive Committee of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation)