Three American veteran pilots of the Flying Tiger Fleet will come to China to attend a symposium marking the 60th anniversary of American volunteer pilots' fight against Japanese invaders during the Second World War.
In 1941, Eriksen Shilling, Robert Raine, Richard Rossi, and other American pilots organized an aerocade known as the Flying Tiger Fleet. They transported arms and other materials, and carried out air raids, supporting China against Japanese invaders.
Some of the pilots were killed during the war and people are still searching for their remains in China's mountainous regions.
To commemorate the event, the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and the organizing committee of the Chinese Cultural Ties Project invited the three American veterans as well as scholars and relevant celebrities to attend the symposium.
Anna Chan Chennault, wife of Claire Chennault, a late American general who led the "flying tigers", will address the symposium.
Luo Bishu, a farmer from Hubei Province who had saved some American pilots during the war, will also be invited to attend the symposium, scheduled on September 5.
(Xinhua News Agency 09/01/2001)
