Reception Honoring Flying Tiger Historical Organization for its contribution to Guilin Flying Tigers Museum and Honoring Anna Chennault & Catherine Stevens, September 17, 2013
Program_______________________________________________________
6:00 pm
Social interaction, view artifacts and photos of museum progress
6:30 pm
Welcome by Embassy; Remarks by Minster Lu Kang
6:45 pm
Speech and Remarks by General James T. Whitehead Jr., Chairman, Flying Tiger Historical Organization, and Nell Calloway, Director Chennault Aviation and Military Museum and Congressman Joe Wilson
7:00 pm
Nell Calloway and General Whitehead present commemorative plaques to: Anna Chennault Catherine Stevens
7:10 pm
Nell Calloway and Larry Jobe, President of Flying Tiger Historical Organization, present commemorative gift to: Frank Losonsky
AVG Veteran
Paul Crawford
14 AAF Veteran
Jerry Yellin
14 AAF Veteran
Short remarks by Veterans
7:30 pm
Buffett dinner; DVD of Guilin Flag Raising ceremony
8:30 pm
End
Honorees __________________________________________________________________ Anna Chennault Wife of General Claire Lee Chennault
Born in Beijing, China, on June 23, 1925, Chen Xiangmei received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese from Lingnan University in Hong Kong in 1944. She was a war correspondent for the Central News Agency from 1944 to 1948 and wrote for the Hsin Ming Daily News in Shanghai, from 1944 to 1949. She is the younger sister of Cynthia Chan, who was a U.S. Army nurse in the group under Claire Chennault in Kunming. While visiting Cynthia Chan in Kunming, she met Claire Chennault. Chen Xiangmei was married in 1947 to Chennault, who died in 1958. She has two children, Claire Anna (born in 1949) and Cynthia Louise (born in 1950). After her husband's death, Anna Chennault worked as a publicist for the Civil Air Transport in Taipei, Taiwan (1946 to 1957) and was vice-president of international affairs for the Flying Tiger Line that he founded, and was president of TAC International (from 1976). She was an occasional correspondent for the Central News Agency (from 1965) and the U.S. correspondent for the Hsin Shen Daily News (from 1958). In the U.S. she received presidential appointments from U.S. President Richard Nixon to the President's Advisory Committee for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the U.S. National Committee for UNESCO (from 1970). She was president of Chinese Refugee Relief from 1962 to 1970 and has served as president of the General Claire Chennault Foundation after 1960. As Anna became increasingly prominent in mainstream political activities and gradually built up her status in social circles, she came to be known in the U.S. capital as "the hostess of Washington." In the early 1980s, as the Chinese mainland began to implement its opening-up and reform policy, she naturally served as an envoy between the three points of the triangle – the mainland, Taiwan and the U.S. In 1980, shortly after Ronald Reagan's presidential election victory, she was sent to Beijing as a special ambassador to meet with Deng Xiaoping. Today Anna visits the mainland frequently and is an active player in promoting cultural exchanges between China and the U.S., as well as across the Strait.
Catherine Stevens____________________________________________ Wife of Senator Ted Stevens
Ted Stevens was a pilot in the Army Air Corps during WWII, serving in the 14th AAF. Catherine and Ted met on a blind date and were married on December 30, 1980 in Anchorage, Alaska. The day after their wedding, Senator Stevens agreed to fill in for a colleague on a trip to tout Reaganomics in China so he and Catherine ended up spending their honeymoon in China. Senator Ted Stevens served in the US Senate from December 24, 1968 through January 3, 2009. Eighty-six at the time of his death, he was a U.S. attorney and a legislative counsel of the Department of the Interior. Catherine is an attorney, federal prosecutor and lobbyist. Together nearly 30 years, the marriage of Ted and Catherine Stevens ended on August 10, 2010 when Ted died in an airplane crash. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on September 28, 2010.
Frank Losonsky________________________________________
Awarded: Bronze Star Presidential Unit Citation
After graduating from high school and attending Chicago Aeronautical University, Losonsky entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1939. While stationed at Selfridge Field in May of 1941, he was intrigued by the opportunity for adventure that was offered by the AVG recruiters and soon found himself on a ship headed for Burma and China. Losonsky was assigned as a Crew Chief in the "Hell's Angels" squadron where he generally was responsible for 3 to 4 aircraft at a time. In addition to these duties, he also was called upon to carry out memorable tasks such as delivering bombs via truck from Kunming to Paoshan and salvaging parts from ill-fated P-40's. On one such occasion Losonsky was part of a salvage crew sent out to recover 4 wrecked Tomahawks. All four of the planes, led by Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, had made forced landings near the Indochina border. Honorably discharged from the AVG, Frank returned home, married, and then returned to the Far East as a mechanic with Chinese National Aviation Corporation (CNAC). Later, he returned stateside and assisted in building B-24 Liberators. Leaving the Air Corps, Losonsky took a civil service job at Clark Field in the Philippines. Losonsky soon found himself on the ground floor of the new Trans Asiatic Airlines which flew the Manila, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Rangoon route. He attained one of his earliest goals and became a commercial pilot. In 1950, he left TAA. After a short time farming in Michigan, Losonsky joined the Allison Division of General Motors as a jet engine service engineer. He spent the next 30 years with GM traveling all over the world as Allison's service representative. After retiring from GM, Frank joined his son's Part IV Columbus, Georgia, restaurant conglomeration as an Executive Officer.
Paul Crawford_________________________________________ Paul Crawford is seen here in 2005 getting a close-up look at a Clay Soldier in Xi’an. This was the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the ending of hostilities in China. Fighter pilot Crawford of the 529th Fighter Squadron of the 14th AAF was invited into the pits with the clay soldiers - an honor which had up to that point only been bestowed on 37 world dignitaries and which included only two Americans, former Presidents Bush and Clinton. Paul came to China as a 14th AAF Flying Tiger in the fall of 1944 and left in June 1945. Paul flew P 51’s from bases in both Xi’an and Chengdu. On one mission he was shot down and rescued by Chinese villagers. He participated in missions bombing Japanese supply routes in Hebei and once met with Chairman Mao. Reflecting on the China he encountered in 1944 during his return visit to China in 2005, Paul said "China had no cars at that time and only a few trucks were used for military service," Crawford said. "China's changed so much except that the people are always warm-hearted and hard-working."
Jerry Yellin________________________________________________________ • The man who flew the final combat mission of the most destructive war in history.
Jerry Yellin, of Fairfield, IA, was flying a P51 fighter plane over Japan on August 14, 1945, the day that President Harry Truman announced that the war had ended – which was followed by spontaneous celebrations across America. Yellin, now 89, is a national spokesman for “Spirit of ’45 Day,” a national day of remembrance honoring the men and women of the WW II generation, that was passed by Congress in 2010 and is now observed annually on the 2nd Sunday in August [ www.Spiritof45.org ]. “August 14, 1945 was my generation’s greatest day,” said Yellin. “But it was a sad day for the thousands of families whose loved ones never returned.” Yellin lost his wingman Phil Schlamberg of Brooklyn, that historic day.
Congressional Host Committee________________________________ Congressman David Camp Congresswoman Jackie Speier Congressman Charles Boustany
Congressman Adam Smith Senator Thad Cochran Congressman Joe Wilson Senator David Vitter Congressman Rodney Alexander
List of Sponsors_________________________________________________________ Northrop Grumman Corporation Potomac Partners L-3 Communications
Steering Committee_______________________________________________ John Nichols Potomac Advocates
Greg Mills Flying Tiger Historical Organization
Douglas Stewart BAE Systems
Guy Hicks EADS North America
Dennis Carel L-3 Communications
Stanley Baratta Flying Tiger Historical Organization
Nell Calloway Jon Gallinetii Chennault Aviation & Military Museum Rolls-Royce North America
Acknowledgement______________________________________ The Flying Tiger Historical Organization and the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum wishes to thank our host, The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Ambassador Mr. Cui, Tian Kai and his staff.
About Flying Tiger Historical Organization______________________ The Flying Tiger Historical Organization, Inc. (FTHO), is a California non-profit organization, registered with the IRS as a 501(c) (3). We are working with the Lingui County authorities in China to renovate the Flying Tiger's Command Cave in Guilin, China. Our Save the Cave project is to restore the Flying Tiger Command Cave and establish a museum and memorial park at the site of the Flying Tiger Airfield located in Guilin, China. The FTHO promotes continued friendship, cultural understanding, and cooperation between our peoples. This will provide citizens of both countries, and all over the world, a firsthand opportunity to see, hear and understand the significance of what transpired in China during World War II. They watered the flowers of Sino-US friendship with their blood and lives and left a bridge we can cross today to jointly build a better world. [ www.FlyingTigerHistoricalOrganization.com/ ] (Email: larryjobe1@gmail.com ) (Telephone: 209.962.5501)
About Chennault Aviation and Military Museum_________________ General Chennault would be proud to know that his legacy has lived on to form a bond of friendship between the Chinese and Americans. There are so many Americans that do not understand the tremendous sacrifice of the Chinese people during this time. They also do not know about the courageous men and women who fought for China and set records that have never been broken. We strive to tell both stories. Our partnership with the FTHO is one way that we can teach this history, not only to the Chinese but to the Americans as well, and bring a better understanding of the importance of working together both now and in the future. The Chennault Aviation and Military Museum is located in Monroe, Louisiana, home of General Chennault. It was established in 2000 as a 501 (c) (3) organization. [ www.ChennaultMuseum.org ] (Email: nell.calloway@sos.louisiana.gov) (Telephone: 318.362.5540)
Cave
Operations and Command Cave during WW II. Actual shots taken inside General Chennault’s Command and Operations Cave.
Plans are to restore Operations and Command Cave to WW II livery.
Latest Pictures of Museum Progress September 10, 2013
General Claire Lee Chennault