The Flying Tigers

Teresa with military veteran J.B. Caldwell at his 93rd birthday party in North Carolina

Residents of Mocksville, North Carolina, recently hosted a special birthday party. More than 100 people from across the state gathered to celebrate a World War II veteran named J.B. Caldwell.

Now 93, Caldwell is a United States veteran who fought in China during the war. He helped defend the country from Japanese attacks.

Caldwell was a member of the Flying Tigers. The group of pilots was assembled soon after the U.S. entered the war in December of 1941, with the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

The Flying Tigers came from three branches of the U.S. military: the Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps. The team of pilots consisted of three fighter squadrons with about 30 aircraft each.

The pilots were officially members of the Chinese Air Force. Known as the American Volunteer Group, they were nicknamed the Flying Tigers. Their mission was to help defend China from the Japanese.

A drawing that Teresa created as a birthday gift for Caldwell. It commemorates his military service in China during World War II.

A DECORATED VETERAN

Caldwell was only 19 when he left Texas to fight in the war. “I was a nose gunner,” he told me at his birthday celebration. He controlled the machine gun from the nose of the airplane.

Caldwell participated in 36 successful missions, including destroying the Japanese military supply chain in southwest China. His bravery earned him a Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military award.

From 1931 until 1945, more than 20 million people were killed in Asia, most of them Chinese. When the U.S. joined the effort in 1941, the tide turned. In 1945, World War II ended with the defeat of Japan and Germany.

The bravery of the Flying Tigers helped to make them legendary in China. Hong Wang, who is of Chinese descent, hosted Caldwell’s birthday party in North Carolina. “I feel that it’s my responsibility to do this,” she said. “I wanted to show him the appreciation that the Chinese people feel. Since we couldn’t get all of the Chinese people in America here, we did what we could in our area.”