The Flying Tigers by; Sam Kleiner

(The untold story of the American Pilots who waged a secret war against Japan) I purchased this newly published book as soon as I learned of it. It is very well written and researched. Most of you reading this will have no knowledge or recollection of this famous group. Because of my advanced age I do. At the beginning of WWII there was nothing but bad news. We were beaten everywhere by the Japanese. The Flying Tigers was the lone exception. In reading I now know how it was formed. Claire Chennault had resigned from the Army Air Corp and went to China in the 30’s to help them create a Chinese Air Force. In this he was not successful due to the poor quality of the aircraft and the poorly trained pilots. He brought the situation to the attention of President Roosevelt to create a volunteer Air Force of Americans in 1940 to help China, which was before we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. The volunteers for the most part were from our air force. They resigned with the understanding that they could return after serving one year. There were about 100 pilots and an equal number of maintenance personnel. They were supplied with P-40’s which I am proud to state was produced in Buffalo, N. Y. They painted the nose to resemble shark teeth. Somehow sharks became tigers in describing the group. Do to the foresight of FDR and Chenault they were ready at the time of Pearl Harbor and became active. The book covers the events during that year. A few agreed to stay on. Some of those didn’t make it back. Some rejoined the Army, others returned home. Their exploits were spectacular. The Japanese for the first time had equal opposition. Many enemy aircraft were destroyed but the main benefit in my opinion was the huge boost in moral for those of us at home when all else was disaster. They fought over Burma, China, Thailand and French Indo-China. They are credited with destroying 299 Japanese planes with another probable of 153. They also strafed and bombed Army units as they found them. Many were aces destroying 10 or more planes. Many didn’t return home. Those that did received boisterous demonstrations from grateful citizens with home town parades. This is another great book reminding us of the contributions of the “Greatest” generation. Jack B. Walters June 27, 2018