Anna Chennault, widow of 'Flying Tigers' leader general, dies at 94

Anna Chennault, the widow of US General Claire Lee Chennault, the leader of the "Flying Tigers" air squadron, died on March 30 at her home in Washington. She was 94, the Washington Post reported on April 3.

Anna Chennault was a Chinese-born writer and business executive who married a storied American general and became a Washington hostess, Republican Party activist and secret emissary for candidate Richard M. Nixon during the 1968 presidential campaign, the report said.

The American Volunteer Group, called the Flying Tigers by the Chinese for their courage, was formed in 1941 under the leadership of Chennault to help China drive out the invading Japanese troops.

Anna, whose Chinese name is Chen Xiangmei, was born on June 25, 1923. She married to Chennault in Shanghai in 1947.