The Flying Tigers Historical Organization

08/29/2025

Tomorrow!

08/28/2025

This promises to be an epic day and event!

08/25/2025

We are counting…!

08/25/2025

Come join us for a once-in-a-lifetime event as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the ending of WW II this year. A very special all-day event will occur on the USS Hornet docked in Alameda, CA this next Saturday, Aug. 30th. Tickets may still be available but capacity is limited. This will be focusing on the Pacific Theater and the strong relationship between the US and China that lead to success incl. the Doolittle Raid, Flying Tigers, Carrier Raids in the Pacific, etc. - with special presentations, exhibits and much more. Full details - click on image below - see Comment for link to more details.

Laura Fies, Executive Director of the USS Hornet Museum invites you to join the USS Hornet as we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

03/13/2025

01/26/2024

***ALERT*** Several "folks" have posted numerous ads for a tee or sweat shirt using our FTHO LOGO without permission. Please ignore these as this type of unauthorized post has become a common SCAM. Many have been victimized by these as a way to capture your credit card # as well as keeping your payment with no merchandise ever being sent and no recourse. I have removed and reported all of these to date and will monitor to continue doing so.

11/11/2023

On this veteran’s day it is appropriate to remember those who didn’t make it home. One such story involved a B-24 bomber that crashed in a very rural section of China August 31, 1944. It was discovered by local villagers on October 2, 1996, having crashed into a cliff in almost inaccessible terrain. These villagers found the crew’s remains and their dog tags. They collected the dog tags and took them back to the local village authorities who in turn gave them to the American Consulate. A decision was made to return to the site and collect all the human remains they could, which were then flown, along with the two villagers who found the wreck site, to the U.S. for internment.
After this the local villagers returned to the site and recovered every piece of wreckage they could, took it all back to their village and created a memorial to the crew in the form of a small museum. Not to attract tourist or make money, but to honor the crew which gave their life defending China in WWII.
In later years a life size memorial was cast in bronze of the crew from a picture of them taken in India when they deployed. It has been placed in the mountains as close as possible to the actual wreck site. However, the wreck site itself is still inaccessible except to only the most experienced mountaineers.
We visited this memorial on November 1st, 2023. The pictures are from that visit.

11/10/2023

As we approach veterans day I would like to honor two WWII “Flying Tigers”. They were invited back to China by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC). Harry Moyer turned 103 on Monday, October 30, 2023 and was feted by the Chinese government at the Flying Tiger Museum in Beijing, China. Melvin McMullen (almost 99) and his wife Jennifer (married 77 years) were also honored. Melvin spoke to the gathered audience. He recounted the comfort he and other flight crew drew from the knowledge that if they were shot down in enemy territory, and picked up by Chinese farmers or villagers, they would almost certainly get back to their base alive. (95% did at great cost to the farmers and villagers, sometimes sacrificing their own lives).

From The Detroit News, 11-4-2023
China honors American veterans of World War II known as Flying Tigers in an effort to improve ties

McMullen recounted how Chinese farmers saved the lives of downed American pilots, hiding them by day and moving them from village to village by night, despite the risk of severe punishment by the Japanese.
“I think that’s something we should all understand,” he said at a ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
“People are the same. Their governments may be different, but the people actually always have one desire, and that is to live and to raise their families in peace, and in the customs of their predecessors. And I needed to say that and I’m sorry I took so much time,” he said to loud applause.

11/09/2021

If you would like to learn more about the FTHO please go to Flying Tiger Historical Organization - Home (flyingtigershistoricalorganization.com)
and don’t forget to sign up for future newsletters in the Newsletter tab.

11/09/2021

Sadly we report the passing of "J" Vinyard. Jay was in the Army Air Corps as a pilot assigned to the Air Transport Command in WWII. He served in the China-Burma-India Theater July 1944-February 1945, and flew 87 roundtrip missions over the “Hump” between India and China.

12/07/2020

Today, as we reflect on the 79th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that launched the USA into WW II, it was that event that inspired the original AVG Flying Tigers to be the first Americans to strike back against the Japanese invaders in China on Dec. 20, 1940.

FLYING TIGER HERITAGE PARK in Guilin, China honors all the Americans collectively known as "Flying Tigers" by the Chinese who served in China just prior to and during WW II. This 23-acre park preserves for history the memory of the brave men and women of the US and China who fought together to preserve our freedoms in WW II against a brutal and aggressive enemy.

Please visit our web site at: www.FlyingTigerUSA.com