US exhibit commemorates Flying Tigers

Dan Petach, a relative of a pilot attends events celebrating the volunteer US pilots who helped China repel the Japanese during World War II. REN QI/CHINA DAILY

Dan Petach, a 71-year-old US citizen, came to the exhibition with a Flying Tigers jacket. He said his uncle, Johnnie Petach, joined the US navy during World War II, became a member of the Flying Tigers and went to China.

Johnnie Petach was born on July 15, 1918, during the closing months of World War I. He was a high-ranking ace pilot among the Flying Tigers and shot down three enemy bombers on Jan 23, 1942.

"Actually, thanks to this extraordinary adventure, my uncle met his wife on the way to China, since my aunt worked as a nurse in China, and soon they got married," Petach said.

"To commemorate what my uncle did in China, I decided to donate this jacket to China."

The exhibition showed some gear used during the war, including telephones, military equipment and personal belongings.

The organizers of the exhibition said the Flying Tigers were a splendid example of US aid to China during the war.

"We are holding the exhibition to display the blood-forged military friendship between the Flying Tigers and Chinese soldiers and civilians, to emphasize the power of Sino-American cooperation," organizers said in a statement.

The show was also supported by the Yunnan government, since the southwestern province was called the second hometown of the US Flying Tigers.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn