In 1941, American General Claire Lee Chennault established the Volunteer Air Force, known as the “Flying Tigers,” to assist China in resisting Japanese aggression, shooting down 2,600 Japanese aircraft over several years. Chennault, a U.S. Army Air Forces general, was widely known as the “Flying Tiger General.”

As early as January 1936, Chinese Air Force Colonel Mao Bangchu invited Chennault to serve as a flight instructor at the Central Aviation School in Hangzhou. On June 3, 1936, Soong Mei-ling appointed him as a military advisor to the Chinese Air Force to help build China’s air capabilities.

Chennault participated in the Battle of Shanghai, the Defense of Nanjing, and the Battle of Wuhan, working alongside Chinese and Soviet air force commanders. He also established an aviation school in Zhijiang, Hunan, and later served as director of the flight instructor office at Kunming Air School, teaching advanced classes.

On August 1, 1941, the American Volunteer Group was officially established, with Chennault as colonel and commander. On July 4, 1942, it became the U.S. Army Air Forces’ China Task Force, with Chennault promoted to brigadier general. On March 10, 1943, it transformed into the U.S. 14th Air Force, with Chennault as major general and commander. On July 25, 1943, he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Chinese Air Force. In October 1943, a mixed Chinese-American air unit was formed and put into combat under his command.

Chennault left China on August 8, 1945, after living there for eight years. Under his leadership from July 1942 onward, the 14th Air Force destroyed 2,600 enemy aircraft, damaged or sank numerous merchant ships, and destroyed 44 warships, while losing 500 aircraft of their own.

Chennault returned to China in December 1945. In October 1946, he established a civilian air transport unit to deliver emergency supplies for the Chinese Executive Yuan Relief Agency. In 1947, he married Chinese journalist Chen Xiangmei. After 1948, as Chiang Kai-shek’s forces suffered defeats in the civil war, Chennault’s transport unit assisted in airlifting troops and supplies.

In 1949, his memoir Way of a Fighter was published in New York. In June 1950, the air transport unit was reorganized as a holding company, with Chennault serving as chairman.

On July 15, 1958, President Eisenhower requested that Congress promote Chennault to lieutenant general. On July 18, Congress approved the promotion. Chennault passed away from illness on July 27, 1958, in Washington, D.C., at age 67.

The U.S. Department of Defense honored him with a full military burial at Arlington National Cemetery. His gravestone bears English inscriptions detailing his medals and achievements on the front, and on the back, in Chinese, “Tomb of General Chennault,” the only Chinese inscription in Arlington Cemetery.