Liuzhou, September 21st, China News Service: How does the friendship of flying tigers cross the times and become the link of friendship between the American and Chinese people?

--Exclusive interview with Lu Baike, a historical research expert of the American Flying Tigers

Authors are happy.

During World War II, the American Volunteer Air Force (Flying Tigers) of the Chinese Air Force, established by General Chennault of the United States, assisted China in combat. As a hub connecting the southwest rear area with the front lines of the Anti-Japanese War in Central and South China, Liuzhou City, Guangxi is an important frontier fulcrum for the American Flying Tigers to carry out air strikes against the Japanese army in South China.

Over the past 20 years, American Tiger history research expert, World War II veteran son Dr. Patrick Lucas has travelled across the United States and China, visited Tiger sites, interviewed hundreds of veterans, documented this history, and provided a lot of valuable historical material for the Tiger permanent exhibition that opened in the beginning of September in Liuzhou.

Lubeco (right) and Guangzhou median Huang He (right) in the home of a collector in the United States photographed with the Tiger P-40 fighter aircraft.

Why continue to visit China and the United States to pursue the history of the Flying Tiger? commemorate this history, what is the revelation of the current exchanges between the two countries?In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people's war of resistance to Japan and the world anti-fascist war, Lubbock received an interview with China News Agency "What Ask" and answered.

The interview will be summarized as follows:

As the son of a veteran of the Second World War, how do you view the history of the U.S. Flying Tiger Force and Chinese civilians working together to resist the war?

The Ruby:My father was a naval officer who fought against the Japanese in the Pacific, and although he had never been to China, I admired the qualities and spirit of that generation. In 1985, I came to China to study and then lived in Beijing for 20 years, engaged in a project of U.S.-China academic exchange. Thanks to studying Chinese history and culture, I gradually became interested in U.S.-China cooperation during the Second World War.

The historical significance of the Tiger Squad is that it shows the history of the US-China joint efforts for world peace, is the common historical memory of the US-China two countries, can promote friendship between the two sides, and provides a platform for political exchanges between the two countries.

China News Service: Where have you looked for the ruins of the Flying Tigers in China? Why have you been doing this for many years? What are the takeaways?

The Ruby:For more than 20 years, I have traveled through Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Hunan and other places in China to find the remains of the Flight Tiger and missing pilots.

When I visited Liuzhou to find clues about the crashes, I joined up with Liuzhou median Huang Hyun and others to form a "share glory" search group. For more than 20 years, the search group visited China to find the crash site, traveled to the United States to interview more than 200 old soldiers, and saved a large number of valuable historical materials.

The original intention of the search team came from the sense of responsibility to rescue history. Around 2000, I realized that the witnesses of this history of the Flying Tigers were getting old, and many stories were about to disappear forever. I have a foundation in anthropological research, am good at fieldwork, and can communicate in both Chinese and English, so I just have the conditions to do this. More importantly, these stories are so moving that they deserve to be remembered, otherwise precious history will be lost forever.

On September 9, Lubeck (right) visited the Tiger Flight Crash site witnesses in Guangzhou.

For example, this is one of the stories that happened in Guangzhou. A U.S. logistics soldier fainted while transporting goods and was rescued and cared for by a Chinese nurse. Decades later, the old soldier Tōtō searched for the two nurses and eventually we found one of them. The old soldier said he was in a coma and was dirty, but the Chinese nurses were very respectful and cared for him, and this kindness made him unforgettable for the rest of his life.

Chinese news agency reporter: What footprints did the Flying Tiger team leave in Liuzhou during the war of resistance to Japan?

The Ruby:Liu Xiaobo had an important airport at the time, a base used by large aircraft during the war. According to data, between 1942 and 1945, the Flying Tiger Squadron was stationed in Liu Xiaobo. Liu Xiaobo Base was an important front-line hub for the Flying Tiger Squadron to carry out Japanese air strikes in the southern region, and was viewed by General Chen Nade as a ¡°centric hub of the east China airport network¡±. This prompted me to start an investigation from Liu Xiaobo.

On October 16, 1944, a Boeing B-24 bomber flew from Liuzhou airport to the South China Sea to carry out a mission. On the way back, 11 pilots fell out of pressure due to a sudden engine accident and landed in the vicinity of the Myron village in Liuzhou, Zhejiang County, where local villagers risked rescuing the pilots so that they could return safely.

In 2002, I came to the Myron Village. An elderly man recalled that the pilots were rescued after seeing each other in the house and crying. At that time, the American pilots were only eighteen-nine-year-old young people.

These stories show that during the wartime, the American Tiger Force helped the Chinese people to resist Japan, and the Chinese military rescued American pilots despite their own dangers, and the two sides made a deep friendship in the battle of blood and fire.

Lu Baike (first from right) and Huang Xiling (second from right) interview Flying Tigers veterans in the United States. Photo courtesy of interviewee

Q: This year you have returned to Liuzhou again, and have seen valuable historical materials rescued over the years exhibited here, what feelings?

The Ruby:In early September, the permanent exhibition opened at the old site of Liuzhou airport - Liuzhou Military Museum Park, opened for long-term free for all sectors of society. The exhibition set up five main theme exhibition areas, exhibiting more than 1000 precious historical relics, through rich physical material, scene restoration and advanced exhibition method, outline the complete history of the Liuzhou team and the Chinese military civilians to fight side by side.

A lot of information collected by the search team over the past 20 years has been used in this exhibition, including my handwritten notes and old photos scanned by future generations. Around 2000, I provided high-definition scans of thousands of photos to Liuzhou City, suggesting that a museum could be built to commemorate the Flying Tigers. Unexpectedly, many years later, everything came true.

When I saw that this history of the Flying Tigers was fully presented in the exhibition, I was very moved, and felt that the rescue of the search team for so many years was not in vain.

On September 8, Lubbock saw on the board of a Tiger Friendship School in Guangzhou a photo of the old location of the Tiger Friendship School in Guangzhou.

Q: How should the friendship between the Chinese and American people continue today?

The Ruby:The cultural background of the two countries is different, the things that are valued are different, the differences are normal. When communicating with each other, you need to pay attention to the cultural differences of the two countries. For example, many Americans don't know that there has been historical cooperation between the United States and China, and don't even think that China can remember this history. Therefore, it is necessary to tell these stories in a way that Americans can understand, while also to let Americans know that this period of history is valued in China.

When telling the story of the Tigers, focus not only on the big stories, but also on saving and protecting the touching little stories. The real thrill is often not the grand historical storytelling, but those specific personal stories, which is why the search group has focused on individual stories for years.

At present, young people from both the United States and China can inherit tiger friendship in a variety of ways, such as school exchanges, exhibition events, etc. I have brought many American students to visit the Chinese tiger site to tell them the story of the tiger team. The "Tiger Friendship School and Youth Leader Program", launched in recent years, has set up over a hundred Tiger Friendship Schools in China, and the number is still growing.

I think the most important thing is to make more people realize that this history belongs to the two peoples and has nothing to do with politics, it demonstrates mutual help between people. Today, understanding this common history can serve as a platform to promote mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples of the United States and China. As one of the relatives of the American Tiger Squad said, ¡°War is a disaster for everyone, everyone pays a price. We stand here today with hope rather than blame.¡±

List of respondents:

Ruby is fine.

Patrick Lucas, a history researcher of the American Tiger Squad and son of a veteran of the Second World War, received a doctorate from the Central National University. He served as the director of the American Association for International Education and Exchange (CIEE) project and was responsible for the work of American students to travel to several universities in China. He has long been involved in the history of the Second World War, anthropology and other studies, and has co-authored the "Tiger Squad Liuzhou Old Film Collection" with the experts of the Liuzhou local editing committee.