SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 7-- The city of Dublin in the U.S. San Francisco Bay Area on Saturday honored the historical contributions of the American Flying Tigers who fought invading Japanese troops in China during World War II (WWII). The commemorative event, co-hosted by the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, paid tribute to members of the First American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers, especially for their first victorious battle in China on Dec. 20, 1941, when they shot down six of 10 Japanese bombers over Kunming, Yunnan Province in southwest China without losing any of their own. The Flying Tigers' first triumph in China came 13 days after Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which was also commemorated at Saturday's event. Chinese Consul General in San Francisco Wang Donghua said the Chinese people will not forget the members of the Flying Tigers who fought together with them to resist the invasion of China by Japanese troops. "Their heroic combats made important contributions to the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japan and to the world's anti-fascist war at large," Wang said. Dublin Mayor David Haubert told Xinhua that the event happened on "a great day" to celebrate the legend of the Flying Tigers at the Livermore Airport in California, and that people are remembering them for how they saved the world and helped China defeat the Japanese invaders. |