A story of Chinese-Americans in the early years of American aviation.
A study on the lives of Chinese railroad workers and their descendents revealed a serendipity finding that, three of the familifies are connected by the Flying Tigers.
The name “Flying Tigers” refers to three successive organizations: The American Volunteer Group (1941-1942), The China Air Task Force (1942-1943), and The 14th Air Force (1943-). The commander is Claire Chennault. There is an exhibition on the Flying Tigers in the San Diego Air and Space Museum.
In the article, the lives of six people are described. Three of them, Chin Lin Sou, Jim King, and Chan Fong, are first-generation immigrants from China. They share some characteristics. First, they are all from Guangdong, a province in southern China. This is not uncommon. A lot of Cantonese in that era took the harsh voyage to America for gold rush, or/and escape from warfares in their homeland. Then, the three are educated, which distinguishes them from the other workers. Most Chinese workers could not speak fluent English, and are led by white foremans. After the road construction, Chin became one of the pioneers of Colorado, and King ended up being a tenent farmer in California. The life of Chan were a little more twisted. He had a business in Mississipi first, but had to move to Ohio due to then hostility towards Chinese. Chan and his wife passed away in their early ages, leaving behind ten children. That is another characteristic of the three people: They have a lot of children. Not sure if that was common in that era, or was that also due to some Chinese beliefs.
The other three, W. C. Chin, Bill King, and Moon Chen are the descendents. They are all graduated from college or specialized school. In particular, Chen had to earn his own tuitions due to the loss of his parents. In the Flying Tigers, Chin worked as communication officers, King was a fighter pilot. Chen was the personal representative of Chennault and flew the Hump routes. After war, Chin and King returned to their hometowns and started their local businesses. Chen stepped further. He continued to work with Chennault for airlines supporting the post-war rehabilitation of China. Later he worked with Northrop on the F-5E jet fighter program.
Reference:
- See the links above