Flying Tigers’ heritage in ‘good hands’
Veteran, 103, meets student, 13, as aviators inspire kids in US, China
It was a rare and heartwarming sight when 103-year-old Flying Tigers veteran Harry Moyer and a 13-year-old boy, Zane Richie, sat face-to-face and delved into the heroics of United States pilots who fought alongside the Chinese more than 80 years ago.
“What do you think about the Flying Tigers?” Moyer, who fought throughout World War II, asked gently.
“They’re pretty cool,” the seventhgrader replied, brimming with enthusiasm. “I tell my mom and dad, and most of my friends, about them.”
“Atta boy!” Moyer shot back. “That’s what we have to do. You have to tell everybody. It’s up to you guys now.”
The centenarian, impressed by what he called the “energy and output” of young people like Richie, was visiting Jack Lund Schofield Middle School in Las Vegas, which was named for another Flying Tigers pilot.
Moyer, a legendary pilot who took to the skies until he was 100, received a warm welcome at Schofield. When the principal announced their guest — an original Flying Tigers pilot — the hall erupted in applause.
Months before, Moyer had visited two middle schools in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Yunnan province, two areas significant to the Flying Tigers’ history, and this left him deeply touched.
“Flying Tiger means so much more than just a name,” Moyer said. “A great friendship was forged then, a bond created between our two peoples at a terrible time in China’s history. It’s just wonderful this continues all this time.”
The Flying Tigers were a group of US volunteer pilots who, starting in 1941, fought courageously alongside the Chinese during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (193145). After the group was disbanded in 1942, members who wanted to be were absorbed into the US 10th Air Force and became the nucleus of the China Air Task Force, which in 1943 became the 14th Air Force.
Moyer, who also was a fighter pilot for the 14th Air Force, had fought in the Mediterranean before arriving in Chengdu, Sichuan province.
At Schofield Middle School, every student knows about the school’s namesake, a bomber pilot for the 14th Air Force who became an educator after the war.
“I knew about (the Flying Tigers) the first day I entered the school,” said Amia Aromin, a student council member. She understood the significance — the Flying Tigers connect their school to a middle school in China.
“I think it’s really interesting to keep the schools in contact through the Flying Tigers and keep the symbol alive and give it to future generations,” she said while helping to show the guests around.
For Samantha Lopez, another student council member, missing a few classes to help with the tour was worth it.
She also helped prepare a gift for the Chinese school — an artwork crafted with bottles and paper. In return, they received a painting from China — a tiger with wings, bearing the inscription “Long live China-US friendship”. The painting is now on display in the school’s cafeteria.
“I don’t know how often we’ll see each other, but that connection is very nice,” Lopez said.
The connection might become closer soon. The Chinese government is inviting more US students to visit China, and 20 students from Schofield may embark on the journey to meet their Chinese friends.
“I haven’t heard much about China, but I’m sure it’s amazing,” Lopez said. “I’d love to try the food and learn more about their culture.”
Principal Terri Knepp confirmed that communication with the Chinese school is ongoing, with agreements having been made for student exchanges.
“We want that young generation’s energy to spread out throughout the world,” Moyer said.
With the number of surviving Flying Tigers veterans dwindling, he added: “We need a new generation now to carry that story forward. And it looks like it’s in good hands.”