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HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Second World War saw an unprecedented level of cooperation between the people of the United States and the people of China. No where was this better demonstrated than in the skies above China, where American and Chinese airmen fought side-by-side to defeat the military forces of Imperial Japan. Severely isolated by the initial battlefield successes of the Japanese Military, equipped with few modern combat aircraft and supported by an inadequate level material resources, American and Chinese airmen tenaciously met and ultimately vanquished Japan's finest military aviators. In the process, they saved the lives of untold thousands of Chinese civilians and contributed mightily to the eventual downfall of Imperial Japan's dreams of a vast Asian empire. |
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The spirit of devotion that grew between the Chinese people and the American airmen who fought for them, and the common sacrifices made by hundreds of American and Chinese airmen in the defense of China, is ultimately, far more important than the temporal ideological differences that have often divided the two great nations. In order to recognize and commemorate the shared experiences of both the United States and China during the Second World War, a prestigious group of retired military officers, government officials and distinguished veteran aviators have joined together to create the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation. The
Foundation's founding members include; senior officers of all branches
of the American and Chinese military, respected government leaders and
distinguished veteran aviators of the Second World War who served in
China and throughout the China, Burma and India Theater of Operations.
The foundation's Second World War veterans represent the following
organizations: |
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