Nanjing, a city ravaged by the Japanese invasion, in east
China's Jiangsu
Province, will be the location for the world's first memorial
hall for aviators who fought in the Chinese War
of Resistance Against Japan. The plan is to build the memorial
in 2007.
Wang Jian, vice president of the Nanjing Aviators Association,
on Wednesday described the construction plan to a group of
veterans, the "V60 Tracking the History of the American Flying
Tiger" delegation, including 15 former American "Flying Tiger"
pilots.
The delegation toured battlegrounds where the "American Flying
Tiger" volunteers helped the Chinese fight the Japanese invaders
during World War II.
Wang said that the memorial hall, covering a floor space of
2,500 square meters, will commemorate the heroic deeds of aviators
from the former Soviet Union Volunteer Air Force, American
Volunteer Air Force (known as "American Flying Tigers") and the
Chinese Air Force.
The memorial hall will be built next to the existing Cemetery
and Monument to the Aviator Martyrs in the War of Resistance
Against Japan.
The Nanjing Memorial Cemetery was built in 1930s, and is the
resting place of more than 3,000 pilots from China, the former
Soviet Union and the United States. The Monument was erected at the
northern foot of Purple Mountain in 1995.
The 65-member delegation paid a visit to the cemetery on
Wednesday. Jack Coombs, an 81-year-old former "Flying Tiger" was
excited at the news of the memorial hall, saying that he was
willing to make a donation.
The delegation arrived Nanjing after a three-day trip to Guilin
in south China's Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region. They will depart for Shanghai on
Friday, the final stop of their China tour.
On August 1,1941, American Volunteer Group (AVG), nicknamed
Flying Tigers afterwards, was formed. On December 20, they downed
six Japanese bombers and damaged four.
In the ensuing half year, the Flying Tigers fought more than 100
air battles, shooting down 272 enemy aircraft and destroying
another 225 on the ground.
(Xinhua News Agency August 25, 2005)