375 24 26018 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/39e06e45c9d0fc279420505128f3f7b1.mp4 ad1c0184388cd4536cbecb5b5373d8b0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ff4a5e646c6d21a9a8ee3726639de924.pdf 7339e0549e94e03ede6f4e6968a35617 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Yu-Wei K'ang Date of Interview: 03-23-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] FRANK BORING: In as much detail as possible, if you could explain the experience of training in China? YU WEI: You see I joined the Air Force Academy after I graduated from flight school. It was only one year. But the rest of group they were recruits by the Air Force flying school, but they send them to the Army for training. That took them 2 years you see. So then training start always lack of bad flying weather, we get raining there's mud on the runway and you are short of gasoline because the British cut off the Burma Road .There is only the Majestic line to the outside world. We become directly to the inland by the Japanese. So the flight training was the same, but we had wait and wait for the good weather, for the parts for the gasoline so that the training intensive. Now like later on we were in the United States with the world's best flying weather always plenty of aircraft, and gasoline. FRANK BORING: In turns of the periods of time when you were flying and then you stop and then flying and you had to stop this interfered with your ability to get better as a pilot. YU WEI: I think so. �FRANK BORING: Not just saying I think so, but if you could go thru that whole period. YU WEI: You see if you train a new pilot. You got almost [?] every day 2, 3 hours ground training and the flying combined and all of a sudden you have to stop for a few days, 3, 5 maybe a week or even 10 days during monsoon season. You forgot what you learned. You know the flying tactics is not like driving an automobile. FRANK BORING: Did you miss any of the bombings of the cities? YU WEI: We were in other city, [?], even in the morning for the basic training, but actually was ready, then I had some bad food and I was in the hospital. I remember clearly that was air raid alarm. And I was told to get out of the hospital. Which I didn't because hospital is outside of city you see the city wall of the Chinese. You build a wall. After the bombing I walk out. I was almost recovered I saw the corpses piled up to the city wall which was as high at least 20, 30 feet. That was a friendly city and the Japanese bombed? There was nothing, airports were far away and there were no aircraft were we were I saw several of those bombings. FRANK BORING: Could you describe what you saw? YU WEI: I saw all [?] pile up the corpse you know. Piled up as high as the city wall. About 30 feet high maybe more. Men, woman, all ages. And that city is a defenseless city there is no [?] in the city and they bombed the city. FRANK BORING: Why do you think the Japanese bomb the city rather than military targets? YU WEI: The Japanese, I think the Japanese want to bomb us to destroy morale, to [?] to fight against them. They bomb Chunking. �Why? There's no [?] they are all in the front. They bomb all cities, particular, Where I say I was in [?] and [?] - they were all bombed. They tried to demoralize the Chinese people so we can surrender. FRANK BORING: Why did the Chinese not surrender? Why didn't these tactics work? YU WEI: We will never surrender to Japanese. The Chinese people though in size, in military equipment, transporting, whatever in the high techs we are way behind, but we are a nation of serenity, we are proud race. We suffer from the Japanese for the last 100 years, but we weathered many storms, we suffered, my family lost everything. All the more give us more courage to fight against them. We never surrender to the Japanese. No foreign country. FRANK BORING: Did you ever have the opportunity to walk thru one of the bombed out cities. YU WEI: I witness the bombing in the city where I was hospitalized just about 2,3 kilometers from the hospital I walk there I saw all the dead bodies, right after the bombing. All ages, men and women. I don't know why the Japanese did that. If I were commander I wouldn't order my troop to defenseless city like [?] where we work. FRANK BORING: I realize this may be very painful. YU WEI: Very much so. FRANK BORING: But could you describe what it was like to walk thru that city. YU WEI: I feel so sad and furious. I really heart is breaking by looking at it. You know that people somebody see an automobile run through a dog they feel bad. And you look at those dead �bodies, thousands of them. Piles of them. And of course afterwards I just walk away and go back to the hospital. I don't know what happened, what they took the dead bodies. FRANK BORING: Just looking back from the perspective of your life now how do you react to the AVG coming to China and working with the Chinese people. What is your impressions and feeling of…? YU WEI: Big encouragement. FRANK BORING: When you say big encouragement remember we need to reference the AVG. YU WEI: Of course, you know we were encouraged by the coming of the AVG. American Volunteer Group you see. Because we were based on the same air base in Kunming. We saw AVG as P-40B, the old P-40 came in by group. I think the first flight I saw that AVG came was in early 41 or something they came by a whole group more than 10 of them. Oh, we were so happy to see them. We know that we were not alone. We are going to get some new aircraft here. Of course when I saw this aircraft I didn't know that they were AVG, but later on I asked my instructor, are they AVG? FRANK BORING: Did they have the shark's teeth? YU WEI: Yeah, already painted on. FRANK BORING: What was your impression to see this colorful group come in? YU WEI: Oh, why, I feel jump in mid-air. Because you see, Frank, the point is that every time when the air raid we saw Japanese aircraft. Because we are short in equipment, no gasoline, all of a sudden we see some [?] from outside that's AVG. �FRANK BORING: How do you rate in terms of Chinese history, in terms of your looking back in Chinese history, how do you think the AVG fit in Chinese history? YU WEI: It is very difficult question, however, I think they help us to build up more confidence in fighting against the Japanese because equipment wise and technical wise we were behind. I mean that's nothing to hide away from it. We were behind because the Japanese were preparing invading China for so many years and then AVG came in and they started up we will not be defeated by any foreign aggressors. We have outside help. I think we must see the point in the whole area. You see we don't talk about the present period, 40 something years ago. United States need a unified and peaceful China otherwise now can balance the world power. During then we have about 450 million people. Now there is about all that many. Huge population. FRANK BORING: You say it was a morale booster, but if we could get a more detailed reaction from you, as a cadet especially, I was thinking if I was 19 years old, 20 years old, if I would have seen these shark's teeth. It is different than regular airplanes and they dressed differently and I think the thing that would have impressed me most about Chinese is Chinese air force symbol on those airplanes. You know the Americans get mad, Chinese your air force. YU WEI: You know the logo. You see the sharks' teeth. This is why they call it the tiger you see. You see it really scared the hell out of the Japanese when we close strafe them you know. I think that somebody, I read about it I forgot completely. I think somebody in the AVG started, I forgot, you better check Frank that would be a good story. I thing General [?] could tell more about it. And you saw these P-40's they can dive about 10, 15 miles per hour and usually all aircraft over �150 maybe 20 miles per hour when you are diving it is so much faster. And the speed and the maneuverability deciding factor to win an air battle you see. The AVG brought us a whole thing in Indo China. And of course Chinese pilots they have a lot of experience dogfight with the Japanese, but we did not have the equipment after we have the equipment of course we can do lots. We can do lots. For instance, you see afterwards we went back to China to fight the war. In my squadron, for instance they start only few American schools, pilots. We had about 20 something pilots. I mean the proportion American side in numbers, very low the Chinese pilots of course we have about something. FRANK BORING: And with your fellow cadets who had witness how only the bombings and the anger that you felt and the frustration of not being able to fly and they were flying antiquated equipment and everything. What kind of a morale booster, could you describe what happened to your morale with the AVG arriving? YU WEI: It is very simple, Frank. You saw this aircraft and you knew some day you were going to fly them. That's all there is to it. We need the equipment. We may not need them hundred thousands of American pilots, we need hundreds of thousands of aircraft. So we can man them so we can fly them. When we think about some day in short period of time we going to fly this sort of fast, strong, aircraft. All morale was very good. Very high. Very high. FRANK BORING: More specific in terms of morale, once you started hearing that the Japanese were being defeated by the AVG what was your morale? What was your…? YU WEI: We only read the newspaper, we were not close to the AVG because we were only cadets. We read I still remember I forgot the date, 4 AVG shot down 9 Japanese aircraft over �Burma border, you know. We thought, gee, someday I'm going to be in the flight to do the same thing. That sort of thing you look forward to it. Any young air cadet they looking forward to the moment and especially we were oppressed by the Japanese for so many years. And we want to stand up and say Chinese people will not be oppressed again. This sort of thing I mean you think and really look forward to it. That sort of thing I call morale. FRANK BORING: I think that's perfect. That's just the sort of thing. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Yu-Wei_1991-03-23_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yu Wei Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-03-23 Title A name given to the resource Yu Wei interview (video and transcript, 3 of 4), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of General Yu Wei of the Republic of China Air Force by filmmaker Frank boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. In this tape, Yu Wei discusses the painful memories of the bombings he witnessed and the encouragment he felt for the AVG coming to work with the Chinese people. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/742978cbed378bd543169b2aae5cfe86.mp4 e72b609beb41d805fd2dd92b6198f70d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e79bccf0106ff76bf9e2de38190edc7b.pdf b14be1716d269e4ba2002cac1bec72f8 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Yu-Wei K'ang Date of Interview: 03-23-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] FRANK BORING: While you were in the United States training, how much information did you get about what was going on in China. YU WEI: Not much. We are awfully busy you see and most of us cannot read English newspaper. I did a little because I remember when I was in school my English teacher was a British woman so I had some advantage but still we know roughly want is going on. We lost a certain place. We had a victory in which part of China and so forth but we do know that in the future to come we are going to fly more advanced American aircraft to fight the Japanese. FRANK BORING: When did you first hear about Chennault and the AVG? YU WEI: That was before I was sent to the United States, because the [?] did not have his headquarters in the airport, Kunming? General Tiger Wong was the director of Chinese personnel or something. We know General Chennault. FRANK BORING: Did you ever get a chance to meet? YU WEI: After, yes. I know Mrs. Chennault very well. �FRANK BORING: While you were in the United States the AVG was getting very well know there - did you have any contact with them? Did you find out about the AVG? YU WEI: No, you see before we left for United States that was later part of '41 right after Pearl Harbor. One day we saw a group of old P-40 came into Kunming, that we read about among the airport personnel we knew them, AVG moved from Burma to China. FRANK BORING: At that time the AVG still was in existence. Did you have any contact with the Tigers during that period of time? YU WEI: No. FRANK BORING: Back track to the training period and everything. When you were being trained you said there were three different stage of training. The first stage was in China. YU WEI: Yeah. FRANK BORING: Second stage was in China? YU WEI: Yeah, part of the second stage. The third was in the United States. But we had to start all over again from primary to advance to [?] to full stage of training in the United States. FRANK BORING: What I'm trying to get you to who were the actual people. Stop a minute. Sure. YU WEI: You see in the small little village. West part of Kunming. West part of Burma even. Very let's see a couple of hundred houses. A small village. We were actually at the center of the whole area. Besides flight training, sports, jogging, basketball, football, soccer. We didn't have any activities. No social life, no movie to go, no dates. �FRANK BORING: What was your relationship with the other cadets? What we are really looking for is to get an idea of what it was like to be there. You were so excited about finally be able to get into the Air Force Academy. What were the other pilots thinking about and what was their morale like? What was their concerns? I mean. Where they going to finally get equipment? There must have been things you were talking about and concerns. YU WEI: Yes, you see. We are all from all parts of China. Some cadets they were from inland China, they didn't even see a locomotive. So we get along, but the wash out rate very high. I think we start with 290 something and least when we were in the United States only about 50 60 left. Wash out. Because you see you have to be soloed around 10 hours or less or more, but if you're not capable flying you just wash out. And the wash out rates are very high. So we see people left we feel so sorry, but however they all hold a military Army rank so still able to return to the Army. So it is well arranged. Usually air cadets must go thru training process thru the military academy so that they get the basic training as a soldier. Then this starting of flight training. FRANK BORING: When you saw the other cadets were washing out and you weren't. Was there a sense of competition or what was that like? YU WEI: Of course, I feel proud of myself, however I was worried about what was going to happen. But after I, but you see in my flight we had a flight cadets, I was the last one soloed. See my instructor was a very careful officer, he even sent me to American check pilot. American check pilot, I think, Mr. Preston?* or something like I forgot. Preston?*, he took me up he told me you can solo. So I soloed. Then they didn't �appear to come in the last stage of aerobatics. I was [?] then the better of other four. FRANK BORING: Can you remember or can you describe the feelings that you had the first time you soloed? YU WEI: I was I thought I was on the top of the world. Really feel proud of myself. People say that somebody get nervous or tension, but I did not have that kind of feeling. Only looked forward that someday I'm going to fight. Fly a fighter in the [?] with machine guns and so forth you see. Because I have so many bad experiences with the Japanese bombings. FRANK BORING: That was wonderful except we really don't have reference to what he was… oh, you have to say, “I was so proud of my solo flight I didn't feel nervous” - that always has to reference what you’re trying to document, because you won't hear my questions. YU WEI: You see Frank, I think my flight was 5 cadets I was the last one soloed. But before my Chinese instructor even sent me to the American check pilot to check me out because he was very careful. I don't know why, but after the flight I had with Mr. Preston [?] the American check pilot he told me that you can solo. So I went up and I saw I was on top of the world, I was so proud of myself. A lot of people say that you get nervous and tension, but I don't have such kind of feeling. I like flying so after I quit flying, I really miss flying. FRANK BORING: In terms of the views that you were getting at the cadet school did you have any idea how China was doing against the Japanese. YU WEI: Yes, roughly we do. FRANK BORING: Please explain about that. �YU WEI: Yes, you see the United States most of them do not largely read American newspaper, but I had some little advantage because my school training. I had a British woman as my English teacher. We don't something about it, of course the big events, but however, all the news dispatch usually government, United States government, Chinese government so we knew lost some place, we had some victory over the Japanese, but it makes us really anxious to get back. To fight the Japanese, everybody was very patriotic. Because we were having enough of the Japanese low mentality, killing people. FRANK BORING: What was your evaluation, candid evaluation of the military difference, not political, but military between the Japanese air force at that time and the resources you had as a Chinese air force. YU WEI: Of course, I was a cadet in the later part of the 30's and early 40's. There's no match. The Japanese they had their zeros or their 89's, 98, 97. Much faster, much more maneuverable you see. And we had bunch of American old biplanes, they even shoot the machine guns thru the propellers. Some Italian [?], some Russian E15, E16. There's no match. So those old fighter pilots they really had very, very hard time. Of course, after the AVG after we were back from United States brought with us a group of new P40's. We were start to wipe out the Japanese Air Force, especially in the early I think in the first part of 45 where we had a bunch P-51's from India I never had any combat with the Japanese fighters. Never saw them in the air until the war was ended. FRANK BORING: Hold up for a second. If we could look at more detail now at the style of training that you were given -- once again we are still talking about being in China not the American training -the style of training at that time, was it still in threes or now what was the actual process, if you will, the style of fighting? �YU WEI: In the basic there was no combat training. You don't have to stay in formation and so forth, but even in advance we fly those 86's you see. There was quite good aircraft. But in the old [?] breaking training unit in [?] we had all kind of, Strafing, dive bombing, aerial target shooting, formation flying, dog fight, training was really good much more than we really expected. Because a lot of training aircraft P-40's there was no shortage gasoline. Not like in China, you have to come back in the training. Most of the Burma Road was cut by the British. No supply. Everything had to be flown over the hump you see. So we were really, for instance, we can we could fly about 3, 4 hours a day during the week days from Monday to Friday. So training really have to brief you. We had really maybe what 4 flying hours before joined the combat maybe a little more. I was never trained by the [?] only by the Chinese and Americans. FRANK BORING: You can talk about the training you had with American and the Chinese so we can get a sense. Remember the training I had with Chinese the training I had with the Americans. YU WEI: I finish my primary training about 80 or something and very short period of basic training three stages. And of course in China we only had Chinese instructors and some of them have combat experience some of them I don't think they had combat experience. But in the United States we had enough aircraft, enough gasoline, enough equipment and the training went on really smoothly, intensively. Especially the weather in Arizona you can fly all year round. Not in Kunming, or [?] if it rain it start to rain to stayed on the ground for 10 days, week, so forth, so forth. Something we run out of gasoline. So I think the training you see you have to intensively train, otherwise you in between the training period you had a week or ten days left and you forgot the feelings. So I think the continuously the American air force, Chinese air force did the �right decisions to send them to Arizona because the flying weather was always good except thunderstorms for a couple of hours. It is all over. FRANK BORING: This is exactly what we are looking for. What we need to know. Say the training was the same, but the conditions, the difficulty of training in China YU WEI: You see when I just start the flight training I think that was early 1940 we had a group of fleets, that’s 120 horsepowers. About 20 or 30 of them, but we had about 20 to 90 cadets. You see that weather in [?] there are monsoon season. During the whole period everybody is stuck on the ground. Sometimes there is no gasoline because the British cut off the Burma Road. Supply line was cut you know we run out of gasoline. So the training was on and off and now intensive enough. I think then you have a 5 hour flight last week and you have to stop another 3, 5, 10 days. So it was very bad for new pilot this sort of training. FRANK BORING: We have to do that again because the siren. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Yu-Wei_1991-03-23_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yu Wei Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-03-23 Title A name given to the resource Yu Wei interview (video and transcript, 2 of 4), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of General Yu Wei of the Republic of China Air Force by filmmaker Frank boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. In this tape, Yu Wei discusses when he first heard of General Chennault and the American Volunteer Group, in addition to his cadet training in China and the United States. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e3c109ba2811415b13812513db471bfd.mp4 62054b9ab38b09bb34f500fa18f6a5a6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3d717338a7e75fd438a16135ff69a6ca.pdf 077acdb16f658c1f8508742865e59e2f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Yu-Wei K'ang Date of Interview: 03-23-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] FRANK BORING: I'd like to begin, if you give us some background… before you even became a pilot. What were you doing and what was your background? YU WEI: Actually I was born in a merchant family, my father doing cotton business. When I was nine years old my father went to northern part of China – from Shanghai, I was born in Shanghai. That's when I fear the Japanese oppressors. In [?] there were concession, the Japanese had their own territory, the British and the French, those were force. We were just like the second class citizens, from the Japanese, the Chinese were nobody's. So then I decided that we must do something about it. Of course, the paternalism really undermined all the young students. When I was 17 years old the Japanese war started July 7th. The same year I was engaged in the underground of the Japanese activities. We just [?] the young students somebody came over here, they say we must do something. So then we bomb the largest Japanese department stores, we bomb the Japanese schools, and we execute some of the traitors, the Chinese walk [?] for the Japanese. I was on the wanted list, then I had to escape, so all the way go to Chunking to General Kai-shek because we feel that he was a leader to lead us to fight the Japanese. That's a little bit of my background. But I remember that I left Hinching [?] a year �after the Japanese invasion, that was in 1938. I remember when I was sitting in my classroom, at least half a dozen times I saw a group of Japanese bombers training the Japs with bombs loaded under the belly. They flew out, in a couple of hours they were back, the bellies were empty, so the bombs were dropped somewhere, on our army or civilians, you see. So then I decided that the Air Force - I'd got to try everything to join the Air Force, to fight against the Japanese. It was as simple as that. FRANK BORING: Once you made the decision, what was your trip like to make it to Chunking? YU WEI: That was quite an experience. When I was [?] the Jap to bomb the department stores, [?] my girlfriend, her father was some sort of minister, and her mother just passed away so she is mourning. But that day I saw her all made up - girls shouldn't wear those colorful dresses, so I knew she was in war activity. Then a couple of days later, she was wounded by the Japanese and the policeman - we were working the British concession. The British police chief, the Chinese know the girl's family - warn her, you'd better get out or I'm going to have to keep you in custody to protect you, and he said your boyfriend is also wanted. So the two of us decided to leave for Chunking. We headed up from Tientsin to Shanghai, to Hong Kong, and we organize a group and we took a boat to Hanoi, at night, and took the train from Hanoi to Kunming. There I then joined the Chinese Air Force. There was no chance to [?] Air Force so I joined the Air Force Academy as a [?] officer. About a year later I was graded on the top list and I was assigned to a regiment. I didn't think they would send me out to the front to fight the Japanese, so a buddy of mine, the two of us were from the same city. Fortunately, the Air Force Academy was right beside our artillery regiment headquarters, so we're walking in and see a big sign that said, the Director of Education, Chinese Academy School or �something, so I just knocked on the door and there was a tough looking officer sitting there, so we went in and saluted him and said, "Sir we came from Gold Coast and we'd like to join the air force, that was our original intention, but we did not have a chance. We join the Army Academy and we graduate, however, we'd still like to join the air force, that's our intention." That officer looked at us, without a word, he picked up the telephone and he said, "Operator, send [?]." He slammed down the phone and looked at this document. The Flight Surgeon came in and he said, "These two young officers, you give them a physical examination." I passed this exam and I was in the Air Force, this is the same thing. That officer, I think he was a Lieutenant Colonel, not a full Colonel yet. He was a General type of man, the General of the Chinese Air Force. FRANK BORING: We're going to have to run through just the part about the what we need then is, if you could talk again about the arrival in Chunking, the fact that you couldn't get into the Air Force Academy, and then you graduated with top honors in the Military Academy and then you were stationed next to that in the [?]. YU WEI: Then I escaped from Tientsin to Shanghai with my girlfriend, my classmate. I was already eighteen years old, and we escaped from Tientsin to Shanghai, Hong Kong, to Hanoi, into Kunming and we ran out of money, so then during then, the Chinese Air Force School was not recruiting the young officers, so then I had a chance to enroll in the Military Academy as an Artillery Officer. After one year - I left Tientsin on the 1st October - I enrolled in the Academy on the 1st November, I graduated before Christmas of 1939, then I report to my regiment - Artillery regiment - I was assigned. I looked at the regiment set up - they only had 81 motors. I don't think this is the way to fight the Japanese - I don't see any sign that we would be sent to the front to fight against the �Japanese, so then I reported to the Regiment Commander, we work hard, and fortunately, the Air Force Academy was right beside our regiment headquarters. I walked in and I saw a big sign that says, Director of Training Department or something, so I knocked at the door. There was a young officer sitting there and looking very tough, and brainy looking officers, so we salute to him, a snappy salute and we said, "Sir we came from Shanghai, Tientsin, we would like to join the Air Force. We did not have a chance, now we have just graduated from the Academy as a 2nd Lieutenant, and we would like to dedicate ourselves to the Chinese Air Force." He looked at us without any answer. He picked up the telephone and told the operator to send the Flight Surgeon, Captain [?], I remember the name. So Captain Good [?] came in and took us out and gave us a physical examination. I was passed in the Air Force the same day. That officer happened to be General of the Chinese Air Force, General Tiger Wong. I think he was made a Lieutenant Colonel or something. FRANK BORING: You mentioned that the Artillery Regiment only had 80 some odd motors, and you didn't feel that they were going to be going to the front. Can you give us a better idea of why you thought that this unit was not to be transferred over? Was it just the motors or was it just the…? YU WEI: I was trained in [?], a big kind of Snyder [?], and I didn't see any Snyder's [?] or military [?] in that regiment. My original intention was to join the Air Force because, like I told you I see those Japanese bombers when they were loaded with bombs and come back with empty bellies you see. So I told myself and my buddy, we were to grab the first chance to get into the Air Force, no matter what the cost. FRANK BORING: Can you describe your introduction to the Chinese Air Force, so to speak. Here you are, you're eighteen, nineteen, twenty years old maybe? �YU WEI: Nineteen, almost twenty. FRANK BORING: First time out of your home, really. Can you give us your first impressions and your first early dealings with the Chinese Air Force? You've always wanted to do this and now, here you are! YU WEI: Of course, in about a few months we were sent to the east of Kunming, a place called Yunnanyi for basic training, we called this [?], not even a whale tail, a whale's [?] you know, a bi-plane. That was open canopy, we wear goggles and so forth. Then we had rigid training with American ?* pilots, and we had about 18 something hours, just about - we finish our training and I still remember clearly - you'd better listen to the story - Colonel [?], he was our chief instructor, he was still in Taiwan. Every damn time we are up to the flying, he would have us line up, and raise hell out of us. He talked to us for two hours. But that day, he had a real bad cold, "He said, go back to the barracks." and that time we saw a group of planes approaching the airport. We heard about American new aircraft, we thought that was new American aircraft. We were [?] they stopped to shoot, that was Japanese aircraft. Every single airplane lined up was shot and burned to pieces, and luckily, Colonel in Chief did not give us after flight instructions. We all landed in the ditch. Otherwise my class there would be few left… clearly so fortunate that he had a real bad cold, he couldn't even talk you see. He saved our lives. FRANK BORING: What was your reaction as a cadet who was flying these airplanes, feeling that sense of pride in mastering it, what was your reaction to see all those airplanes shot? YU WEI: We were furious. Someday we'll get even with them, that's the [?] I told myself. There was no warning [?], no �information, we didn't know what was going on. So they just started to shoot about what 30-40 planes, it's so frigid you know, you light a match it might burn you, but …… FRANK BORING: What was your - learning to fly and seeing the state of the airplanes that you were flying compared to the Japanese planes, what was your reaction to the fact that your airplanes were sort of old style, World War 1 and the Japanese were the new ones, what was your reaction? YU WEI: During that period, I was a cadet. I was not in the combat, and of course, there were no shutters over the head of the pilots, we know something about it. There was no match with those American Hot Three*, Hot Two biplanes, to fight against Japanese [?] or even Zero, so that was the first part of our combat, air combat in the late '30's, really give the Chinese Air Force some very, very hard time. However, I remember the 14th of August, 1937, we were still able to shoot down about 10, 15 Japanese raiders over Hong Shunks [?]. So we set up the 14th as Chinese Air Force Day. FRANK BORING: Before we get into the battle part, I'd like to get more details about the training and the period of time that you were training, because there's very little information about that. YU WEI: Then, of course, after our basic training aircraft was all [?] and destroyed, we were stuck with those old aircraft, no gasoline I guess. Then all of a sudden we heard the government has some sort of agreement with the United States Air Force to train the Chinese pilots in the United States, so then we start to freshen up our English, to prepare to be sent to the United States. Then, that was already in 1940, then in 1941, you know the Pearl Harbor? I remember clearly, we were flying a BT13, when the BT13 was the basic - pilot training - the basic training when it was three stages. Primary training was [?], basic training BT13, advanced �training more faster aircraft. We were flying those BT's and all of a sudden American [?]. We start war, we bombed Pearl Harbor. We didn't know where Pearl Harbor was we had to look in a map to find out. Then we knew American start war with the Japanese. We would have friends, internationally, especially the United States. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Yu-Wei_1991-03-23_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Yu Wei Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-03-23 Title A name given to the resource Yu Wei interview (video and transcript, 1 of 4), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of General Yu Wei of the Republic of China Air Force by filmmaker Frank boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. In this tape, Yu Wei describes his background before becoming a pilot and his introduction to the Chinese Air Force. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a8e13ed4cb69e45d9430eddf5687335d.mp4 46d2eefa455f6fdf6e175c06fe686130 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fb230ca8cc7764ecd909081344866569.pdf e91006b64adecb97edbdc213fb1102ad PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 9] CHARLIE MOTT: In summation, in retrospect, the question of the enduring contribution of the AVG I think is important. I recently read these papers that were circa about September 1941. I don't think that there is any question that what the AVG saved China from collapse. The messages from the Chinese were full of you might say boogey men but I don't believe so. They were helpless against Japanese invasion of the Yunnan Province culminating in taking Chumai [?]. The only reason it didn't happen was they had bigger fish to fry, i.e., they opened up World War II in December. They were very vulnerable, but the fact that the AVG was there and available served as a deterrent. Not only a deterrent to the Japanese but hope for the future of the Chinese. Relative to the effect on America course not many people remember those dark days when the fleet was sunk and burned in Pearl Harbor, battles on Savo Island, the loss of the Philippines, Bataan surrender, Bataan death march, the surrender of Corregidor, the fiasco of the British in Malaya, the fall Java, Indonesia, the Dutch East Indies, all these just happened like that in a period of 3 months. The only real ray of hope was the fact that the AVG proved that the Japanese could be beaten. They could be stopped. That they weren't supermen. That it was done by the AVG is I think is unique I think that group of men whether they were AVG or regular Army or regular Navy would have done the same thing. �FRANK BORING: That's an interesting point to stop. Let's put into context what has been said about you and the newspaper, Time Magazine, Life Magazine and all that kind of stuff. CHARLIE MOTT: Flying Tigers is a popular name which was inflicted on the AVG. However, it is descriptive the tiger is a [?] in Chinese, old tiger you know. So it is an honorable title as far as the Chinese go. They picked it up. I think it is coupled with the distinctive shark configuration - painting. It glamorize something and provoked interest of people into what really happened. Anybody can doll up an airplane and put out a lot of propaganda, but it is what is behind it. Some economic analysis has been made of the cost of Flying Tigers and every one that I've seen concludes that if you want to wage a war this is the way to do it. Small, competent, professional force. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 9 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses the enduring contribution of the AVG and the sense of hope the Flying Tigers gave the Chinese people during that time. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/6ce87abf97ede7bc09549b66fb0969dc.mp4 093e898c96970496a0642b01d36acdce https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b4d7a029d7fbbe48352674ea9066751f.pdf 724ee76c636af4cf9ace6b509184e197 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 8] CHARLIE MOTT: When I arrived at the Japanese Headquarters of the Burma Army in Bangkok I could listen to the civilian radio, Bangkok radio so I was aware of what was happening in general, but remember, that news was censored. No there was no specific news about the AVG because they were the hostiles and they were bad news to the Thais. The Thais declared war on us in March so we were hostile. At the same time there's enough shall we say frankness that it was clear that there was fighting going on around Toungoo that involved Chinese troops as well as British troops that had been reinforced. Rangoon had fallen. Some resistance there. It was also clear that the Japs had finally prevailed. We had evacuated into India and China. Later on and I'm talking the period when I was working along the River Kwai with the British I was part of the British espionage system. The British were great spies. Because of my position of being able to get around on trucks. We actually had a secret radio which was punishable by death a couple of times. My job was to transmit that information to the camps up and down the river. Now, news is a great hunger. People have a great hunger for news--good news in particular. When prisoners of war are deprived of it, it has a very bad morale effect. On the other hand when they get news and know what's going on particularly if it is favorable it can buoy their hopes it is a great morale booster. Of course we hit our nadir there when the Philippines surrendered. And from then on it was all generally good news so it helped the �troop’s morale. We had to be very careful about distribution because the Japs had a nasty habit of eavesdropping under the eaves of the hut and listen and if anybody mentioned any news the police would come and grab him and asked who told you. And they would go right down the line. Now each guy would hold out for maybe a week or so or maybe just a day and they would get to the source. We always had a cover story. There was a newspaper printed in Bangkok in English and of course there was a [?] which is an English paper printed in Japan. One case where they caught the guys red-handed with a radio which is peanut can about this big. We were able to keep the source open. FRANK BORING: At this point if we could --- your opinions and emotions, too, of Claire Chennault. CHARLIE MOTT: There's no doubt about it Chennault had charisma. But not in the sense of being a spellbinder, great speech maker and all the rest of it. It was certainly dedicated and he transmitted that to you. He knew what he was talking about when he talked about the characteristics of Japanese airplanes. He instructed us in detail on the contents of the Japanese tactical manual. Every using some of the terms that they used. For example, the area behind the tail where a fighter gets on your tail you're in deep yogurt. The Japanese tactical manual calls it the death area. Sort of like our troops call things the killing zone. He was certainly determined. He had a sense of humor, but he didn't show it very often. He was not in good health. He smoked too much. He already had symptoms of what killed him in '58, lung cancer. And he was subject to bronchitis and in fact during the initial battles there over Rangoon he was never there he was sick in Kunming. Not bedridden, but sick. Chennault also had one bad ear, I forget which one it was. Ed Rector mentioned that he gruff exterior but he really had a heart of gold. He somehow either intrinsically or he picked it up he had the oriental trait that the Japanese have and the Chinese have of that attitude is extremely important. You know you can pull an [?] crime, but if you apologize for it and say well I won't do it again, I �see the light, you've convinced me, they'll forgive you. Chennault had that characteristic. He tolerated things that normal sundowners, straightliners, Army regular officer would never tolerate. Chennault was extremely loyal. He expected loyalty up and you certainly got loyalty down. If you once one of his boys you were his boys for life. I know when I came back after the war Chennault was quite busy setting up the [?] of our operation and doing other things. He had offices there in [?] in the Washington Hotel across from the Treasury Building in Washington. Chennault always had time to talk to his boys. Shortly before he died I was over in Taipei on business when I was the Plans Officer for Navy Task Force 72 which was naval component commander of the Taiwan defense force. An Admiral by the name of Arty Doyle, whom I had known previously was the vice admiral resident on the island and commanded Taiwan defense command. Arty passed the word that he wanted to talk to me and I came in and made the appropriate greeting and who was sitting on the couch but General Chennault. It was just like it was 30 years before. I said General I forget which is your bad ear (I think it was the right one) so I got to the right side and we reminisced. He always had time for his boys. I know of no other senior officer who could have done the job he did. Jack Newkirk, Scarsdale Jack, as the newspapers named him was a competent pilot. He came from the east coast, I forget which carrier I think Yorktown. He was in fighters. Personable. I got to know him pretty well on the way over on the Jaegersfontein. Consequently he was my nominee for what was to become the second squadron or the Navy squadrons. We had Navy pilots scattered thru the other squadrons. In fact the majority of the pilots were Navy pilots if you include the Marine Corps which is part of the Navy. Jack did a credible job. He and I got along pretty well until we got to Rangoon and then Jack started to socialize with the British and they'd fly in with the booze and Jack would come back late at night wanting this done and that done and I said Jack --No, Way. At the time I said it that became a point of issue. The next �morning he disappeared. But then Jack was a dedicated guy he pressed the attack too hard and he got killed. FRANK BORING: Background on Greg Boyington CHARLIE MOTT: Well, Greg Boyington was a trouble maker. I knew him remotely I actually knew who Greg Boyington was at North Island a relatively small group. We didn't really fraternize much with the Marine pilots, but they were there and we meet them and of course some my classmates in flight school were Marines so I got to have drink with them when occasionally. We lived on a street there in Coronado and as it turned out Greg Boyington marched by our front door in full regalia every morning on his way to catch his ride with somebody. Greg was putting on what I could call the chesty puller act. You know chesty puller the swaggery Marine. Actually a good general. He appeared to be trying to emulate him. So I couldn't resist it if I happen to be there waiting for my car pool to arrive and Greg would come by I'd give him the old Marine Corp hymn. And Greg didn't like it. Greg had a reputation for being a real hard-boiled guy, but he didn't bother me. Nothing every came of it. I asked about Greg and Greg was you know at the bar he had 2 drinks, he was married and the marriage wasn't working out and he had a judgment against him and he wouldn't pay it and that was [?] and so he was just in a personal situation where number one the Marine were glad to get rid of him and two he was creating a new environment, but actually he took his trouble with him. Well, let's start in at the beginning. When I signed up for the AVG I was convinced that one of two things was going to happen. It was going to be a howling success or a dismal failure, nothing in between. And when I got there I didn't change my mind but I thought until we got in action there was strong possibility that it was a dismal failure. Because you tend to create hobgoblins out of the bad things that happen even though fortunately human beings are naturally optimistic and they remember the good things. As it turned out circumstances were such and the abilities of the guys �were such that they became heroic and of course there is always gratifying to be one of the original members of Lafayette Escadrille, when though if you read their history you'll find out that they weren't all great characters at all. So it's personal satisfaction while that I had that experience and also that I had friends like Ed Rector who become part of my life and will be right until the very end. So it has always been a source of satisfaction to me, personal satisfaction that I was able to go thru the experience although certainly not the whole way. I recognize the fact that in many respects I went thru the good part. Because later on we lost more airplanes, we got run out of Burma and there was more friction and I missed that. After the war and after my wife and I were reunited. Chennault made me an offer to come back to China and chose not to accept it after talking to the wife because I had enough of that and so had she. So I chose to go back into the Navy and see if I could still fly airplanes. I went thru all the hoops and hurdles. In those days if you came back to the Navy as a POW you were no hero--question was what the hell did you do wrong? In my case, you were supposed to come back after a year not 4 years, what the hell have you been doing? We had a bunch of us about 70 actually that went thru refresher training, went thru all the [?] just fast. Went thru it fast because various training units were glad to get rid of us because we weren't too cooperative. We insisted that were 1 qualified and two senior. Such as when you get out of an airplane the instructor gets out first. Well, we soon changed that custom. Age and experience rank has its privileges, wait until I get out. This didn't go over so big with these instructors, but we pulled it off. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 8 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses his respect of General Chennault and declining his offer to return to China after being reunited with his wife and going back into the Navy. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7ebe63b4cfdb55809b89c64d9d3f305a.mp4 538e74d6ba618d1c4edd1b188edfacb7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/5c091b1b3963ffbaa561248b81c7e0ed.pdf 0b747ed0fae434e99cf18dcb52aa965b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 7] CHARLIE MOTT: Continuing on the trip down to Bangkok I spent it on a stretcher in the baggage car. There was an interesting visit by some Thai officers who spoke English they expressed the thought that they were very sorry to see you in this situation and I told them you are not half as sorry as I am to be in. Arrived in Bangkok after about 3 days and was taken to a Japanese hospital. Which actually turned out to be one of the buildings of Chulalongkorn University. Modern, concrete. And they put me a room and left me alone and I slept on thin futon and the normal Japanese hospital food which is quite different which is quite different from U. S. hospital food I can tell you. The Japanese had a philosophy that if you were in the hospital you weren't doing the Emperor any good and the name of the game was to get you the hell out of there as fast as possible and motivation was a part of it. They didn't go anything in particular for me but they left me alone. For example, I noticed when I arrived there that my arm was very poorly set. The Japanese were offering any traction so I decided I'd do it myself and I figured out what I wanted was rotary movement. These two bones they had to overlap wherefore the two critical things was to one keep them from knitting together so that all four were one big mass, keep the mobility there, the other was to make sure the critical dimension which is hate to say this but the bar stance with is having flat surface on the bottom so I took the split off and my cuts where the bone came thru pulled it back and it seemed to be clean so I got �this another couple of compresses put them on and then I lined it up my way, but with an overlap such as the two bones were separated. After a period of a couple of weeks it seemed to take hold and I had limited movement. The same way with the foot. The important thing was to be able to walk. You need this motion. And so for nights I slept with my foot up against the wall such that the foot was flat and the bone were in a plain instead of one here and one there and all sorts of stresses. It turned out that it wasn't a bad job because although I don't have the rotary motion on the right foot I could still work brake pedals on airplanes and for some years I passed the flight physical, no strain. The ribs healed, the pelvis seemed to be taking care of itself. The fact that my bowels were paralyzed was really painful and I talked I talked to the Jap doctor that had that particular ward and I was in there with the rest of the chaps only in a little separate room. I told him I needed an enema and he delegated a Japanese corp man, a medical troop, to give me an enema. So I laid on my side and he gave me an enema. Well, by this time it was over a week and there was considerable back pressure. So all of sudden there's a great gushing and boom it hit the wall. Corp man went off the deep end and he went rushing to get the medical officer and the medical officer came in and he spoke pretty good English and he said, you very bad soldier. In Japanese Army and he used this word, we do not defecate on wall. I was so relieved I could have received a beating at that time and felt happy about it. But anyhow that lasted for about 3 months and by that time I was able to stand on my feet and take a couple of steps so they moved me out of the hospital and they put me in with some 3 other prisoners. Actually right at the Burma Army Headquarters in Bangkok. Which was then located in a former Catholic Girls School and we were right above the guard house. The second floor. There were 4 of us. There was a British resident from Victoria Point, which is the southernmost town in Burma. His chief of police and a stray policeman. They were Burma British, full Burma and then the American. They would let us out to take a walk around the compound there daily in the afternoon. They were using this as a troop barrack so there were a lot of troops there and �there was a three stories with porches inside facing the compound. I could hear these Japs talking you shoot him he Burmese, no shoot, too bad. Anglo Burmese don't know. So we were training aids. Meanwhile there was no physical abuse or torture or anything like that. The average Japanese guard was a pretty friendly type and we would break him down over a period of a couple of weeks. After all it is not very comfortable being in a full uniform with leggings, heavy boots on a hot night. Now we are approaching summer season. So the Japs would change the guard every two weeks and put a fresh bunch in there. I began to learn Japanese simply by talking to the guards who all wanted to try out their Japanese -- it was pretty boring to go in there and they maintained their guard in a sort of ante place and then we had the place where we slept. One morning a Jap pilot came and he had typical leather, big pouch they carry when they are carrying a message and he spoke very good English. And he came up and announced that he had come to take me to my friends. I said well, I am very happy. He said and I wish you a pleasant life. We that we marched out and got in a truck. This is just backtracking a little bit but when the Japs captured me they took all my clothes and when it came time for me to be released from the hospital I got new clothes. Now the American ambassador was still in residence, his name was Mr. Peck. He knew I was there it had been in the newspapers. Japanese you know weren't set up to buying clothes for prisoners. They simply went to Mr. Peck and asked him to send some money to outfit this American they are holding. And he did, he sent 50 [?] then that was [?] 25 cents. With that the Japs went out and bought me a nice blue Arrow shirt , some Chinese business man pants and Chinese underwear some thin socks and nice pair of Florsheim type shoes--high class, of course I couldn't get in them, because my foot was all swell up out of shape. That was my uniform and I asked the Jap officers why did you buy these civilian clothes? I'm a military prisoner. They replied, if we buy soldier clothes Japanese troops will shoot you. So, that's a good logical explanation. So anyhow we got on a train and we went down to the main station and it was feeling of getting back into civilization. People were �going about their business. One very attractive French girl and made a mission to find out who I was. She kind of eased up and said a few words in French and I was able to pass on my name and I never heard anything about it. Then the Japs got up on a huff and chased her away. Train came in and we got in this coach. A day coach. We had a seat. In front of us were a lot of Thai prisoners. I asked who are they? Bad Thai man. At that time one of them turned around, he didn't have any teeth, [?], ugly looking thing, shackles, I said where we going--same place. No, no different. We got to a place called Ban Pong which is sort of down the main line railway with Singapore about 70-80 miles. Train stopped and we got off. I could see some troops in Australian hats working along the railroad and they were shifting ties and doing coolie work. The Jap escorted me into what turned out to me the British POW camp. There I was turned over to the British. I became a British POW for the rest of the incarceration until very late. So that was the end of the story of the AVG'er got shot down on the 8th of January. I stayed in there this Ban Pong was the eastern terminus of the infamous River Kwai railway. I worked on that for 3 1/2 years. An interesting aside on this period when I was kept with these 3 other British subjects on the second floor of the guardhouse. Right over the fence was Bangkok, private homes, they played their radios very loud. There was an English broadcast. They started out the news broadcast every night by playing the Thai national anthem and then the news came on in English. So I knew exactly, in general of course, what was happening. That we had set up a defense that Rangoon had fallen, that we had set up a defense for the help of the Japanese around Toungoo. Then another series of battles up around the oil fields. While I was captive there at the Burma Army Headquarters on the second floor above the guardhouse I could hear the radios from the civilian houses =. The rear headquarters of the Burma Army was in Bangkok and I was held in the guardhouse of the Japanese Army headquarters there in Bangkok. The fence was just behind the guardhouse and I could hear the radios in the civilian houses just over the fence. Every night there was a news broadcast preceded by the playing of the �Thai national anthem. The news broadcast was in English so I knew that during this period and now we're talking about something like March that we'd managed to patch together a defense with the help of the Chinese army around Toungoo and then later on up around the oil fields at United Young ?. I could follow that now when I left there and that period lasted for 3 months I totaled 6 months after I was shot down. I was in with the British prisoners and because I was in charge of the POW motor pool we had one truck for every 600 prisoners or actually 55,000 white men plus 100,000 coolies building a railroad along the River Kwai. The British called it the death railway because about 1/3 died and went out the hard way. But I survived because as long as you are on the line of supply you are not going to starve to death anyhow and we were also in the position to steal from the Japanese which we did liberally. When you could get 16 pickles a gallon by bleeding the emperor. So every chance we could we did, but don't get caught. Disastrous to get caught. The news I hear in Bangkok, course it helped me in spirits in the sense that it appeared that the Japs could be stopped on the ground because they hadn't been stopped anywhere. Guadalcanal was under way but it was still a bloody battle. Every place else, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaya, they just walked thru. And this was very encouraging of course then that defense failed and we had the great Stillwell walkout and it was all over in Burma until the 2nd battle of Burma in '44 and '45. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 7 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes his difficult recovery period in the Japanese hospital in Bangkok and later being a prisoner of war at the Burma Army Headquarters before becoming a British POW. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8cc8485abe744ebe9130e596b1e4f8e0.mp4 e1af8b3ea55553e61a949ab4e2d50417 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/cf77195b8b2a0a4233ed2e86f634d089.pdf fb0df7da45036f31b71985b2cff2bc84 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 6] CHARLIE MOTT: There's an interesting aside about these nights operations we were out there waiting for the warning to take off they were coming and we discovered that we were all former Navy pilots and so just for the hell of it we started making believe we were taking off from the carrier, no action just on the radio. So we had our little fun and games some. FRANK BORING: Start from the beginning… CHARLIE MOTT: An interesting aside on these night operations one night we were on the alert and we were all carrier pilots and just for the hell of it we simulated a carrier to deck operation, take-off and landing, in the groove and all the rest of it. Some two months later I had a formal interrogation as a prisoner of war by the top Japanese intelligent officer, came from Saigon, and he interrogated me about the presence of an American carrier in the Indian Ocean. Fortunately he could not speak English, but he spoke French thru an Indian who spoke French and English and translated it into English for me so I could catch all the asides. We knew that the Japs were sitting on our frequencies. And I'm quite sure they were sitting on our frequencies and thought they had picked up an American carrier in the Indian Ocean. A phantom, but interesting. But after Japs desisted in their daylight attacks we in the AVG took the defense. If you are going to win a war in the air you are going �to get them on the ground. It is a primary axiom, we did it in the Persian Gulf. It is an axiom in the air combat aerial forces combat that if you can get them on the ground this is where you really make big money. At this point having achieved a degree of air superiority, certainly not supremacy, but superiority over Rangoon we started to go on the offense. Now the Japs has occupied Thailand, more or less the Thais agreed to under duress. A lot of people don't know it, but in March 1942 Thais declared war on us, we never declared war back because we never heard about it. The Japs had built so forward air bases as well as taking over some Thai air bases one of the forward air bases was almost on a direct line from Rangoon to Moulmein right almost on the border between Thailand and Burma. It was place called Meshot, which was a forward air base and the British had taken some pictures of it and lo and behold it was heavily populated with fighters. They requested that we attack it and Newkirk agreed. We were actually under a de facto operational control of the British at this time. Chennault had agreed to leave a squadron there to defend the Burma Road. And the British, of course, that was there area. I was acting, Newkirk wasn't there for some reason or other, so I laid the flight on and Tex had taken one and I decided this was mine so I set it up in a little different basis from the dawn attack idea, but to catch them at high noon with the faces in the mess bucket. There were 4 of us on this raid, while we are talking about the flight planning aspects, Tex came to see me and he allowed as how he ought to take the operation. He had been very successful. I said Tex, don't disagree with you very often, but I'm taking this. In other words, I was pulling rank on him. Tex went away unhappy, but I'll tell you I'll never argue with Tex again. Because this is the raid where I got shot down. The circumstances were that we took off in good style, there was the Bay of Bengal there and came over about 20 - 25,000 feet, there was a [?] base - visibility unlimited and spotted the field right on the nose and left two up top for top cover and we went down to strafe with the idea that after we had exhausted our ammunition why the other two would come down if there was no air opposition. We sure in hell caught them unawares �and made a normal strafing run at high speed, very low and as I approached the field I could see some people on it they were working at the end of the runway actually [?] it. Chennault had briefed me that the chances are the Japanese employed local laborers. So I didn't open fire on this party but instead fired right over their heads must have scared them to death. In the ready flight line where there were 4 fighters lined up I went 1, 2, 3, 4. And we sure as hell hit them. Then went looking around for places where they had [?] them around the field and found two and pulled up and another chandelle? found another pair and was making a run on them around 30 feet and going flat out it is going around 250 knots and just I opened fire something big happened. I picked up, you can hear rounds that hit you in an airplane, it’s like being inside of a dumpster someone hits it with a hammer particularly it is near you. But here is sort of a big bang and the engine quit cold. The normal reaction was oh, shit and I had it… I then started shifting tanks and working the waddle pump, checking the mags from one to the other and working throttle back and forth I even though in terms of doing a slow roll in terms of getting rid of some obstruction in the fuel line--nothing worked. Just dead stick. At this time, time had run out and nothing to do but get out -- nothing but jungle in front of me. I was beyond the edge of the field, not much, but beyond it. Pointed in the wrong direction. I pulled up rolled over and kicked down. And I can still remember the sight of the trees coming up at me, because the parachute was slow opening and all of a sudden it jerked it opened I hit the tree and came to a stop swinging like a big plum about 20-25 feet above the ground in this jungle giant. So there I was and I concluded that if I could just get on the ground it was going to be a fast Jap that caught me. I had my 38 and it wasn't far from the border. I thought I could evade. But I couldn't get out of my damn parachute. We were using Chinese parachutes which had quick release, you hit one thing here and the four straps would pop out. I did it. Nothing happened. Did it again, harder, nothing happened. And there I was. So I took the 38 and pointed, there a steel pin in it, pointed it at the lease and bang that sprung one strap loose. By this time I was �really exhausted and I was trying to climb out of the parachute when I just slipped out of it and hit the ground and that's when I really got bugged up, I got bugged up hitting the tree, but really bugged up when I hit the ground. I was just lying there, the airplane had hit about quarter, half mile away. I landed on my feet. When I hit the ground I lit on my feet and my right foot gave way because I jammed the bones together and I hit my right flank and fractured my pelvis somehow. At the same you time you know when you fall if you hit your hands real fast you can break your fall, well, I did that and my left hand just broke off a compound fracture and the bone stuck in the ground. And also when I collapsed I fractured a couple of ribs. I didn't feel any great sensation of pain, I was fully conscious. That's the way it is with serious wounds. I was just laying there then. The airplane... oh, incidentally, I had my gun in my hand and when I fell out and when I hit it got thrown about 15-20 feet away, but I wouldn't move. Meanwhile the airplane had lit quarter, half mile away and was on fire and there was ammunition in the bay still and occasionally it would go pop, pop. Well, I mentioned that everybody was parachute conscious and so were the Japs and somehow or other the word seem to get around that there had been a paratroop landing because the airplane was there and they had surrounded it and it was still fighting and they were shooting and evidently they got shooting at one another and there was a hell of a fire fight going on. Meanwhile, I was just lying there and never saw them. All of a sudden a Jap jumped out from behind a bush and stuck his bayonet in my fanny, not much and said something that sounded like "Oss". I shook my head and he jabbed me again and I tried to get up then he realized I couldn't make it. About that time the sergeant came up the rest of the operation there, some officers around, but they didn't show up yet. A bunch of about 15 Japanese came in they had their topees on their bayonets fixed they were running around me in circles like Indians did in the movies. This went on for a few minutes and then an officer came on the scene and a couple of them nipped out and cut down some big bamboo's there and took their pants off and may a field stretcher �and put me on it. We started out for the airfield. Got to the edge of airfield and I raised up to see what was going, like I could see the airplanes here and there Anyhow I never saw them as one of the Japs started beating me over the head with a bayonet, I think the dull end of the bayonet not the sharp end because he put some head cuts on me. But all he did was I was still completely conscious he relieved some of the pain. He was pulled off and then we went across the field and about that time the pants broke and I came up on the parallel bars they put me down in this tent that was evidentially the operations tent and they put some field dressing on my arm and bandages up my cuts and then they all stood around and looked at me hard eyed. Just looked at me. And said you're American. I said yes. They said do you shoot Japanese soldiers? I said no, I only shoot Japanese airplanes. Fortunately I hadn't opened fire on the gang on the end of the runway because there could have been some Japs in there. By this time they were busy on the telephone and they got orders from Bangkok to send this guy to Bangkok clearly. I didn't understand Japanese at that time. So with that they put me on a trunk and started driving me to a rail head. It was a rough road, bumpy, I passed out. Woke up and had a Japanese topee, a light sun helmet. It was over my face. I peeked up from under it and the tailgate was down the guard consisted of 4 guards plus a corp man had a first aid thing and he gave me a couple of shots of morphine on the trip. There [?] bayonets were out cutting straw, rice straw in a dry paddy. Holy smokes, they are going to burn me. But they all rushed around and put them in sheaves and put them in a big stack and lifted me up and put it in the bed of the truck and put me on top of it because their orders were to bring me back alive and they were afraid I wouldn't make it. So we bumped and bumped and bumped for hours I have no recollection of time, but we arrived at this station and after a couple of hours wait the train came in and I was on my way to Bangkok. Well, it took over 3 days to get to Bangkok and they were pretty miserable because I couldn't pee I was paralyzed, couldn't defecate either. It got to be pretty uncomfortable. Eventually I convinced the Japs that I ought to have some help in �making water they got a hold of a doctor and he helped the kidneys to function, but the bowels didn't move for a whole week. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 6 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes the raid where he was shot down by the Japanese and injured upon landing when escaping his parachute, in addition to the experience of being discovered and taking a train to Bangkok. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/df0688e7f5eb066d85fae308ceef7e94.mp4 d7a6f1a78e2fef121f103b7c3b8208c1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/85395f3f014938e2b29638dcfee23014.pdf 6a23f04910af6d1f32c22dd687fb85dc PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 5] CHARLIE MOTT: Getting back to the reticle, now the reticle is that portion of an optical device where the light shines through and you can see whatever is scribed on the reticle. You can see it through the instrument. In case what we were looking for is a white circle. I could not find in Rangoon who could scribe reticles. We had reticles but they were the wrong size. So I did a little calculations and found out what real size they should be and had the boys down in the shop drill me a piece of metal and then I would take a piece of needle, we had these little kerosene lamps about so high, get it just the right temperature I could put that that one there center it nicely take the needle and inscribe the line. So I was in the barracks I set up a production line and inscribed an appropriate circle on all the gunsights. Course everyone wasn't perfect wasn't totally quality control. Sometimes the temperature wasn't quite right and the paint would chip and would be fuzzy. There were complaints which were handled by my compliant department along these lines, well, it you don't like the god-damned circle so scribe it yourself. All the customers were very happy. Nobody complained about the gun sights and they worked, but they were awful crude, but it took quite a while to line them up. The story of the gunsight is typical of the group and it certainly permeated all the activities in the case of the bore sighting in the guns. Our guns were bore sighted as well or better than they were in the service. We had chief ordnance man by the name of Hoffman, Army type and he �was a gunner. Every gun on every plane met the specifications of shooting thru very small circle at the given range which was normally 1,000 feet. In case of the mechanics I can't say enough about them. It was not just a question of spare parts, it was a question of utilizing a talent which was made available. Coolies who were out planting rice one day, were working for us, we paid them 12 Annas a day, which was approximately 15 cents a day and they were eager and they could clean airplanes and do a better job than our guys could. They could change plugs and check the oil. So they were used and while the crew chief or plane captain in the Navy went about more important things. In many cases the Chinese fabricated parts, or repaired parts, including propellers and kept us flying. In some cases, like tires you were up the creek. These were perennially cause for concern particularly in view of the fact that we were training. The runways were macadam and every time you landed you get a puff of smoke, you do that around here, too, and that is rubber coming off. So the men worked miracles in maintaining the planes and in fact I think that any of the pilots that you have talked to will speak absolutely highly about them. FRANK BORING: Can do spirit. CHARLIE MOTT: Talking about the spirt. They kept the airplanes flying they kept the morale up. The low point the nadir of the group was when we first arrived at Toungoo and there was no airplanes and no enough to do. As soon as we got the challenges as soon as we work as soon as we got the activity, morale went up. In every case, not necessarily in the materiel way, the troops responded. Now, I want to say something that will be a little controversial, but in the service, and it is still true, the radiomen were the electronics guys and they were dealing in a black art and they regarded themselves as a cut above the normal deck swabber and they were also the people who had more time on their hands to sit around and bitch. Yet when the balloon went up people like Mickey Mihalko on their own initiative make contacts, went over a hung around the radar. �The British kept it under wraps, by the way, same in our service it was hush, hush - don't talk about this. Was able to relay warnings to us. He couldn't vector us he wasn't an air controller, but at least he kept us from getting caught on the ground. In those case where we didn't have these warning, like Magwe we lost airplanes, bad. This permeated the whole force, even in the darkest days and there was no sitting round wringing hands-- it was do something about it. FRANK BORING: Pearl Harbor. CHARLIE MOTT: Let's jump a little forward or backward or sideways, to December 7, 1941. Pearl Harbor. I had been up at Chiang Mai making a pre deployment survey for Chennault, considering moving the group up to Kunming because we were trained, ready to go, and Chennault did not believe in exposing the group in places like Kyedaw Airdrome. I was in Hostel I, of course it was December, Kunming is about 6,000 feet high, damp, permanent chill in the Hostel because the Chinese have no central heat, there were a few charcoal braziers around I was listening to short wave radio and it was apparent to me from all these bulletins that we had suffered severe loses. I was also tuning in on some of the foreign broadcasts. So I was congratulating me, myself that I had the whole Chinese Army between me and the Japanese. Nothing happened in Kunming we went on the alert, the group came up and we had two squadrons there, but fundamentally we just getting bedded down, settled and it wasn't until the 20th until there was any activity like Japanese attacks. This, I'm sure has been better described by participants other than me, I was in the battle, but I was in a sector where they didn't come. Radios were so bad I couldn't get a vector so my flight we were circling around with trying to hear what was going on, just the confusion babble so finally it was cloudy too, so we came down and landed. I never saw the buggers, which was a disappointment. After the 20th there were no further attacks on Kunming and the same time the boys in Rangoon were being heavily engaged, they did a wonderful job, �but they were getting thin and Chennault decided they should be relieved. The second squadron was delegated to relieve them. We flew down en masse. We planned the flight to refuel at Lashio, which is at the head of the Burma railway. We had the whole squadron, I forget exactly how many planes were involved, something like 12 or 14 planes with Newkirk and headed for Lashio. We got to where Lashio should be and there was nothing there, just a big bowl of soup down there in the mountains. We had a quick conference and we decided to make turn and Toungoo So we turned all strung out in normal cruising formation and headed for what we thought was Toungoo, well, we steamed along and the terrain but we couldn't recognize anything we were pretty confident that our navigation was sound, but we had a unknown wind and you could get an unknown wind of 30-40 knots up there that would really blow you off fast. The fuel gauges kept going down and the tensions kept going up and one of the flight leaders said airfield in sight. We looked over there at 10 o'clock and lo, and behold there was an airfield. I didn't recognize that airfield, but with the fuel state we didn't have any choice. So called up Newkirk that we got to go down and Newkirk agreed. So we let down and here was this strange airfield, had one strip and had some bullock carts across the runway. We had an idea that it was RAF, but we didn't know which one. Meanwhile there was no choice, land, guys, so we landed actually not on the runway, but the dirt alongside, we all drug it in, carrier approach and sat down safely. We taxied up, there was a hanger there, no body home. But here in back of the hanger there one lonely Indian troop looked like a Punjabi. He couldn't speak very good English, but he could speak enough to know that we wanted gasoline. Finally the airdrome officer was a flight lieutenant came out of the boonies, because everybody in those days including the Japs, were apprehensive about paratroopers. They thought that a paratrooper arrival had taken place. Well, we identified ourselves we were Hako, which is a strip up towards the Shan states quite a ways from Toungoo, and then went direct from there to Rangoon. But we sure at the wrong airfield, but we arrived safely and good spirits and relieved the �current defenders of the Burma Road and took over. I forget what date this was, the 26, 27 around after Christmas. The Japs had shot their bolt and our first week was pretty tame, they gave up the daylight raids and contented themselves with coming over at night. We rebutted those tactics, I think some of the guys have told you about using satellite fields and we go out there in the late afternoon, cover up all reflecting surfaces, ride in, turn in, go out first thing in the morning pick up the planes. Japs would come over bomb the bejesus out of the field actually got Wavell's [?] plane one night, but they didn't get us. We weren't there. So we tried some night interception tactics. The idea was to stack, a moonlit period, 2, 4, 6000 feet over the field and wait for them to arrive. If they were in formation they had a habit of dropping on signal, a machine gun burst to the rear and we thought we might silhouette them against moon or thin layer of clouds. I saw one night, the gun fire, but I could never pick them up. This was the operation were we lost another pilot, Pete Wright who was former Navy pilot. When he was coming in, we didn't have airfield lights, we just line up a few vehicles along the runway and land between them the headlights would be pointed diagonally down the runway. Well, when Pete came in and threw his flaps down full, you come in full and throw your flaps all the way down, he had a failure of the hydraulic and the whole cockpit filled just like that with oil spray hydraulic fluid, fogged up his windshield, goggles, and just before landing, he figured it out right, he landed and was on the runway but he couldn't see and rolled off the runway still going real fast and hit one of the cars with his wing, not the body of the airplane. Well, Merritt, he was one of Shilling's best friends and he was asleep in back of this car and when I got over there it looked like a rag doll, but it was Merritt, he was all chewed up. And that was the end of him. But Pete got out without a scratch. So after that we gave up those experimental tactics. The gain wasn't worth the [?]. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. I was born into this group of aviators. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 First AVG Réunion we as children were old enough to attend for us Lockes, was Ojai in 1957 Jane Mansfield was miss Flying Tiger and the last year General Chennault was alive. Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 5 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses his appreciation for the Chinese mechanics he worked alongside in the AVG and how Pearl Harbor informed the AVG's work in the days that followed. At the AVG reunion in 1963 we met with Dr. James Turpin from Coronado who ran an NGO medical missionary outfit called Project Concern. He said that Project wished to expand back into South East Asia and Vietnam. The entire Locke family was in Vietnam from 1963 to 1970. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Vance Locke son of Robt. P.(Burma Bob) Locke Descanso California. Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b04fea689d71e41a638aba6148b533be.mp4 8e05e25f7d52f8382716c7487d6e45b2 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bec2618ad87c2827f216b7a7203f8179.pdf fe1291a975f74c51d33e173a13a86426 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] FRANK BORING: We are trying to get across the whole difficulty and danger about the whole training part which we never really got. So that's really what we're looking for. CHARLIE MOTT: Relative to Armstrong's crash I received a compliant actually within the week before that that the Army was pressing it too hard. It was all right to be realistic but not too realistic and he was just the guy, I'd seen it before his target fascination I've picked up squadron mates actually died bombing they flew right in to the target. So it can happen and it happened in the case of Armstrong. But getting back, I'm talking really here my own personal views of the P-40, I'm also talking as Operations Officer of the 2nd Squadron. But here is an interesting story here relative to the formation of the squadrons. Now how is it for example that the 2nd Squadron was almost all Navy pilots? It wasn't accidental. What happened was upon the arrival Chennault and I had a talk and Chennault wanted experienced fighter pilots, I was a dive bomber pilot. And he asked me for nominations for squadron commanders. He said, Charlie you are going to get the bombing squadron when it arrives and even then he told me second AVG and the first AVG was not the end of it. I said, "Well, Colonel why don't I nominated and you select and then select the personnel from the squadron including the enlisted men. We don't we do it the good old American way, we throw up a bat and grab it and the last guy �holding on to it gets the first choice. Yeah, sounds good. And so I nominated Olson, Jack Newkirk, who had fighter experience, and Sandell, who certainly looked and talked like he had experience and Chennault went along with it. We then tossed up and selected one for you, one for me, eeny, meeny, miny, mo. That's now the squadrons were formed. And that's why the 2nd Squadron with very few exception, was Navy people. We used port and starboard, flat hatted and all the other good Navy stuff. Actually I think we were free of a lot interpersonal problems that the other Squadrons had because we had been aboard ship where you lived together, eat together and you don't whistle down blowing, and tear down the gate in the convertible. So we had a very compatible bunch. Really no problems, disciplinary problems, except for the radiomen. That's a long story. But even they, Mickey Mihalko was one our radiomen off the ship and Mickey was real pain until the balloon went up and then Mickey became a hero. Just idle you know. On the average in the pilot category we had in the 2nd Squadron a well-qualified group. Almost all of them had one, two, sometimes three years aboard a carrier. If you screw around on a carrier on a dark night without the benefit of electronics aids a P40 in daylight is a cup of tea, no problem. There were the big airplane guys, the bomber types, the Army bomber types, and the Navy patrol types and these guys were a real hazard. But there weren't too many of these. FRANK BORING: Why do you say that these guys were a hazard? CHARLIE MOTT: Well, we just washed out airplanes. FRANK BORING: Give us a background. CHARLIE MOTT: They landed, these people, that had experience in large airplanes, they landed different, they handled the airplane different in almost every respect and so they had to make a very distinct transition, particularly in the landing, because a big airplane you don't come in in a carrier approach, you come in greased it all and about that �time you run out of runway you land 15 to 20 feet in the air and drop it in. The P-40 landing gear incidentally wasn't too bad. I got a little sporty at Rangoon one day and I was just dragging around and I forgot I hadn't burned up much fuel and she stalled on me about 40 feet in the air and I said oop here we go and leveled off and pulled up sharply and boom and it was like somebody dropping a dumpster, but it took it. One individual in particular, Ricketts, he washed out 3 airplanes. We were having a lot of trouble in spare parts. It seemed that anything that happened to the P-40 got the propeller. Next it got the landing gear, then the wing if you ground it. At this point, it might be interesting to you to talk in terms of logistics support of this operation. I mention earlier that there were no regular officers assigned. Chennault had to live off the land and that's where he picked up Carney and Greenlaw. Chennault was not permitted to recruit regular officers and this is why he picked up people like Greenlaw and Carney. Williams was a competent staff officer who came in in Communications and he did a lot for us. In the supply area, why I met this odd character with a Harvard accent, of course I graduated from Penn, so it wasn't all the strange to me. His name was Joe Alsop. Before the war he and his brother Stewart had been leading columnist here in Washington. They wrote Washington Merry Go Round., naturally syndicated. What people I think don't appreciate is that that Joe and his brother were very patriotic guys. I took a couple of long walks with Joe and most of group thought he was kind of strange, he had a big nose, intellectual, and spoke with this accent. Chennault made him supply officer. Now he was actually a reserve officer in the Navy in India. He was a paymaster. He somehow heard about the group, he actually was a cousin of the President. Kissing cousin or what degree. He was definitely well connected. Joe got himself transferred to Chennault and became supply officer. He did some good work with the Philippines, he got some tires flown out on Pan Am. We were always running out of things like solenoids for the gun. Radios were chronic repair problem. Props and tires were really short. When the Japs attacked on the 7th of December. They attacked Wake and the Pan Am clipper was �loaded with tires for us and it turned around and went back the other way. Now Joe himself was attempting to get back from Manilla to the group and he flew to Hong Kong and was going to get CNAC to take him to Kunming. CNAC was operating out of Hong Kong at night they'd take off you know. He was captured when Hong Kong fell which was shortly after Christmas as I recall. And so he was in the bag. Joe Alsop was very persuasive and somehow he worked it so he came back to the States first class not as a POW, but as a repatriated diplomat. It was systematic of the kind of help that Chennault recruited. Along these lines, and here I'm jumping back, I had almost 4 years. When I got out it was in Calcutta there was a lot of Army criticisms of Chennault. He had been relieved a few years earlier, before the war ended. The unspoken charge was that he was a poor logistician. Well, if you define logistics as getting along with very little supply he was a genius. Chennault made me group engineering officer and I went up before the group went to Kunming and looked into Chinese facilities for support of the group. The oxygen compressors, for example, they looked like an old volunteer fire company thing that you pump it, you know with one on each handle and blew up… it took about 2 hours hard pumping to blow up one bottle, 1830 lbs. I went to the prop shop, prop shop was in a former temple out in the boonies away from the field manned by, you know there is a type of Chinese that is big, robust, big heads and their hair seems to stick out at right angles, Mongols. A lot of Mongols there and they were in charge of the props shop and they demonstrated how to repair the prop. The way they repaired a prop, they took the blades off it and looked at it and if it was bent the wrong way they hit it with a big wooden hammer and if there was a hole in it they filled it with magic gunk and give it a coat of paint, no dynamic balance just run it down a knife edge or a mandril and another good prop and that was it. I also got involved in the gun sight problem. Now these P-40B were actually given to the Chinese via Lend Lease by the British, the British excepted trade for later models. They were not completed either in radio or gun sights. They were designed actually for British gun sights which was not furnished. Somebody �didn't understand the problem completely sent us the sight which went down below, but there was not reflecting glass, no [?] glass. So the job was to somehow rig it up so that we had an effective optical sight, which means a lot in aerial combat. Actually this was the one time that I disagreed with Chennault. He didn't think we needed it. He was an old [?] post guy you know and that's all right for crude work you know. Get behind them and hose them down, but not for accurate shooting. I discovered if I took the armor plate put it a light film of oil on it I could get rid of a double reflection off the front and rear glass and so Chennault authorized me to go to Rangoon to see if I could find something permanent besides oil film. I took him out and there was a telephone wire running by the headquarters there and showed him how to get rid of the double reflection that you take a little film of oil and then you can only see one wire, which surprised him. The idea was to use the armor plate, the glass armor plate, as the reflecting [?] sight. But I couldn't find any substance that was available in Rangoon that would do this. So I had to come up with making a reflector sight. I want to talk about the gun sight problem. The proper gun sight, effective gun sight in those days, was an optical reflecting sight, where the image of a receptacle, the ring, pipper [?], was projected up on a called a combinating [?] glass you look through it and you see the target and you see your receptacle. This is also used to determine that you are within firing range, circles are generated such that the airplane you want will fill a particular ring when you are looking at. You know that you are within firing range. Because it is very easy in aerial gun to open fire too early and there is a limited amount of ammunition you carry. Now this is one of the few cases where I disagreed with Chennault. Chennault thought we didn't need optical gun sight that the old ring and bead and there's another here you can see in the pictures of the P-40 a ring, a couple of rings, you look thru there and you hose them down. Well, this is all right in World War I stuff but it does not give you the accuracy you needed in combat in those days. So the idea was we had to find some way of finding a combining glass up on the windshield such that we had an optical sight. At first I thought we could take �one of the double images off the armor glass up there. You get a reflection both from the back and the front so you see two rings if you try to project against it. I found with plain lubricating oil you can get rid of one of them and I convinced Chennault I had a good idea by taking them out, taking one of the armor glass and showing him, look it there, see that telephone wire, you see two telephone wires, yeah, now magic, now how many do you see? One. Went down to Rangoon to see if I could find some magic substance that could do that that will last. So I went down to Rangoon and I found that there wasn't any such substance. I tried a number of things. So were constraint to take a sight which in essence would not work, but could be adapted. I made up a combining glass with a couple of brackets which I had locally manufactured and we could put these in a couple of brackets and we could tap into these just right. So the problem was solved that we had a reflecting sight, but the trouble was the rings were wrong. We wanted a sight which would tell us we were within a 1,000 feet which was our bore sight distance on our guns they were converging at a 1,000 feet and we were within range, it was a very easy way to use up all your ammunition firing too far out in aerial gunnery. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 4 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses the difficulties the AVG experienced during their training period and the formation of squadrons. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/847e587c74246ac25ab75c6e15b928a6.mp4 c2e92c83d60c1229900890f7f4e695fb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/45f300b7308c56a499ae79d8a9f13701.pdf 1b7eb2ffb295d376c1cda106f114231f PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] CHARLIE MOTT: Backing up a little bit when we arrived in Rangoon the understanding was that Keller who was an senior Army Air Corps type take over however, it became apparent Keller had other ideas in fact he was one of the ones that left group early and so I just carried on until we got the guys aboard the train and up Toungoo. Now Toungoo was been written up as anywhere from a jungle camp to something just a cut above a Louisiana swamp. Actually the airfield wasn't all that bad. It was new, built by the British, as a strategic airfield, its name was Kyedaw airdrome. There were two kinds of buildings, permanent buildings there, teak was the lumber of choice. One group had galvanized iron roofs the other type had what they call in that area palm leaves. The palm leaves tended to leak, but were cool, the galvanized iron buildings, which includes [?] spaces, were dry but they got hot. So you had your choice, we had electric light it wasn't like the U.S. of A plumbing, the water that was used was pumped from a well with a cooling [?] that worked the handle. It went up to a tank - 30 or 40 feet and if somebody used too much water the tank got empty, that didn't bother the Navy type who were used to taking a Navy shower, you wet down, you soap up, you wash it off, but it sure in hell bothered some of the people. The food was quite indifference and we didn't have airplanes, there was too much time, too much booze, lousy food and grumbling. Shortly after we arrived Chennault arrived on the scene. He had been busy up there in China doing some �arranging for the group up in Kunming [?]. I had been appointed acting adjutant by virtue of my sterling performance abroad the ship. And so it was my duty as adjutant to greet him and I had set up a mass meeting in the general mess to give the Colonel a change to address the whole group. This was not a good scene. We had all these guys sitting around at a table, and, of course I proceeded Chennault and yelled "Attention" and about half of them stood up and the other half "what's this, grumble, grumble, I left the service to avoid this stuff you know.” So Chennault was right behind me and he observed this and I never heard him talk or speak as loudly as he did that time. He looked around at them and yelled "Attention" and they all stood up just like you know they all of a suddenly recognized their master's voice or something. So then anyhow Chennault made a little talk not a great deal, he was not a spell binder, he was not a great orator as a matter of fact you might classify him as rather quiet taciturn guy. But I enjoyed working for him for a period of about 6 weeks. The job of adjutant is a combination of administrative and personal officer in the Army. So you get all the problem areas. But it did permit me to get to know Chennault. And he was never the type that invited propinquity. He was the regular Army officer. Some of the letters he wrote which I screened which were very interesting. For example, in August 1, 1941 he sent back to the War Department the complete specifications of the zero. The performance of the zero came as a big surprise to the Army and the Navy. They didn't believe these things. They were the same specifications that he outlined in his lectures to us. For example, the thing could climb at 3200 feet a minute. Whereas, we could just barely make about 2200 - 2300. It had a radius of 1200 miles we could maybe if we were lucky make 400. It had 2 20 millimeter cannons plus 30 caliber. We had 2 50 calibers, 50.5 inches, which is smaller than 20 millimeters. The matter of turn rates and ceilings are not in the same list. We did have diving speed and something that we intuitively used, but didn't really know it at the time. High roll rate, in other words you could do this and pull and we were gone before the zero could react. I want to say something about the zero �because some people have raised the question. The AVG in fact did not meet the classic Navy zero [?]. What they did meet was the Army version retractable carriage KI43 Nakajima. Now this (I think 43 is the right number it may be wrong), but this airplane was a better dogfighter than the zero. It wasn't as big, it didn't have the range, but it was a better dogfighter. It was similar to the zero in the sense that warmer and it burned nicely. So we met certainly the equivalent or the superior in some respects. Another point has been brought out recently is that the Jap Army concentrated against us the cream of their forces. The forces that the Army Air Forces that had fought the Russians in Manchuria, the Chinese in China, the ones that had been in Philippine campaign and decimated the American forces there the ones that drove British completely out of the sky in Malaya and sank the repulse in the Hood. They weren't very active actually in the invasion of Indonesia, this was a Navy operation, but this was a superior airplane flown by experience and dedicated pilots. They were all brought in at one time or another, against the Allied forces in Burma. So this was no side show for us. FRANK BORING: Let's stop here. CHARLIE MOTT: I'd like at this time to talk about my personal feelings-- about my wife, and in a way, her feelings about me. We had been married, in fact I was married illegally by Navy terms. You were supposed to be bachelors for 2 years, but when I finished flight training we couldn't stand the idea of me being on the West Coast and her at home in Alabama. So we got married and proceeded to have a honeymoon by going out to California and reporting to the ship. I discovered that although there was a regulation on the books it didn't mean a great deal to the skipper, the squadron, or the exec. In fact, the exec try to rent me an apartment he knew about he thought it was just what I was looking for. But, anyhow, we were very close, very frank, and we had agreed this was indeed the thing to do. It did not prevent us from both having feelings of separation. And when I got back, and this was rather unique, I had a wife. �None of the other people who were prisoners of war had wives. They had former wife, but my wife was a very level-headed, family-oriented woman. She went back to her family, she had 4 sisters, no brothers, and got a job, actually with the Army and worked thru the war and salted it away so that when I came back we had the means to go ahead and resume our lives, buy a house, and all the rest of it. During the period, this is kind of jumping against, but it is consistent, continuity, during the period when I was a P.O.W., some 3 1/2 years, cause I was caught in January 8, 1942, she received 4 postcards which were permitted by the Japanese, and you put checks, in the check block you put " I am a prisoner of war" (check) " I am ill in hospital (check) Not in hospital (check) I am working for pay, not just working your ass off, you are working for pay. And then there was a 2 line place where you could put a little message. I put "please take care of bag ears". Which is sort of my teasing name for my wife and she knew it was then authentic because these things had to be printed they couldn't be longhand. But she was very faithful, she understood it is a matter of a short term sacrifice for a long term gains. Didn't follow that we didn't miss each other, we did, but the world revolves. FRANK BORING: Let's go back to… CHARLIE MOTT: Well, I don't think that this is particularly to the point. I mean if you love someone, she's your wife and you miss her and that's it. I mean some people do something else in that circumstance, but my own life went on and we waited for the reunion. One of the things I did later on in Rangoon I was able to make connections with one of the Indian jewelers and I bought her a magnificent star sapphire which got home. And also a white sapphire right out of the Buddha eye. And when I was shot down somebody pilfered this. Still looking for him. But anyhow, we are, were at Kyedaw airfield. The Colonel had arrived and we started a regime of keeping busy. He started his lectures, they were very effective. I mentioned that Chennault is not a spellbinder, he is not a great orator. Chennault �actually started out life as a schoolteacher in Louisiana before his commission in the Army in World War I. And he remained a teacher. And he had patience, patience for maybe dumb questions. He sized up students and just put his point across. He was a thinker, the tactics we worked out were unique to him and subsequently were used by both by the American Navy and the British. He took strong points of the zero and avoided them. He pitted the strong points of the P-40 against the weak points of the Zero or the [?] in this case, lack of armor, it really didn't have the fire power that we did. Because it didn't have 20 millimeter guns [?] 303. Strike, get out, climb back up, and come back in. Now there's a big question in everybody's mind, that is, if there is 2 airplanes up there and they are hostile, what happens? Pretty obviously you turn towards each other because if you try to run away, you present a tail. And what happens when it develops into a head on? The question is what happens tactically when a head on situation develops? Now there are a lot of stories about the Jap pilots that like to die for the Emperor and all the rest of it, but that wasn't true. No body like to die, despite the Kamikaze. I've read the book of the foremost living Kamikaze, they like life, too. In the case of the Japs they would turn. The normal turn of any aviators is to the left, that's because of torque in the engine. So when this situation developed it would not necessarily be direct head-on, but be some like a head-on why the Japs would not necessarily press on to destruction. We had some pretty determined guys, too. Our first casualty was Armstrong. Was killed in a dogfight. Now I mentioned the adjutant job, one of my other jobs was Operations Officer of the Second Squadron, which was Navy Squadron, (I'll tell you a story about that too), but as Operation Officer I made it a point to check out all the pilots in the dogfight and the P-40 had a bad reputation for inverted spin. You were up there and stall out and come down on your back. In fact I got in one one day and I decided to see what would happen if I let go and sure enough the big, heavy nose dropped and I got enough speed to roll out and fly away and reengage. But, anyhow, Armstrong and Gil Bright were up there one day and you develop a thing called scissors. Scissors �you go this way and turn and go back and forth until somebody managed to get an advantage and gets on the tail. But Armstrong thrust home the attack and he and Gil Bright actually collided. Gil Bright got out but Armstrong didn't and he was out first casualty He's buried in Rangoon. In the service inhibitions about dogfighting we had some too, but in the regular service if you scratched airplanes you were doing bad things. There were restrictions about what you could do. These were all waived. It wasn't that we were going to dogfight with the Japs it was just a matter of airplane handling. I recall one note in my diary I dogfought with Ed Rector, and Ed's pretty hot. He made me feel humble. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 3 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott discusses his first impression of the airfield in Toungoo and General Chennault's arrival, in addition to the backstory of his marriage with his wife. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f554e75b6303f766583987f5043cf8b9.mp4 8524d742009991c9e7a4491720eaa4a4 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c986bbb3ec73ea96875734bb9fb9df34.pdf 51ca9f7c5a0a50aed5b1168da6ad824a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] CHARLIE MOTT: Colonel Aldworth explained his selection to me very simply, you're the senior Naval officer, and I was an ensign just coming up for J.G. So we were all not only young at heart, but young in years. This was rather, it gave me a rather humble feeling because it wasn't a question of my buddies the pilots, or the Army Air Corp pilots, it was a question of some of the enlisted men. And in particular, I won't mention any names, a couple of them that I knew were just bad apples, because they had been in the Squadron and they had been bad apples since I first laid eyes on them. Here for the first time they were out from under military discipline, they had more than enough money to get drunk. Colonel Aldsworth's choice of me as leader of this group was simply because I was the senior Naval officer. I was an ensign and just coming up for junior grade lieutenant and that was enough. Of course he sized me up and noticed that I was clean cut, nice living, well-mannered and all these other good things. That night we were invited to dinner by Dutch skipper his name was Braugher [?] and we had our first exposure to a proper Dutch dinner. It was rather amusing. They Dutch always have a first course which is not just a salad and something like that it is something substantial like fish, boiled potatoes, maybe a little sauerkraut. Enough for a meal for anybody, but that is only the beginning then some the entree. We enjoyed it very much we were also introduced to a terrible liquid known as Dutch gin. Which has a cheesy odor and is sort of like cough �medicine consistency. I also developed a healthy respect for it. Anyhow, one of the things that concerned me about assuming this responsibility was that by the end of my previous naval work I had been assigned to Admiral Halsey's staff, ComCard1, he was commander of a carrier division then. I was only too aware of the fact that were 5 identified German raiders in the Pacific -- active. And the Dutch were belligerents. I expressed that reservation and Aldworth said well, I'll see what I can find out about it. Anyhow, we all convened aboard the ship and there had been a mad scramble the first one took the best cabin. I then and there decided that there would be some semblance of responsibility, rank and all the rest of it. So I reassigned all the rooms. This was not necessarily a good step, but a lot of people think that the American Volunteer Group was a bunch of rabble. We were very friendly, very American, but there is also an unspoken deference to responsibility. In other words, the squadron commander was the skipper and the fight leader was the flight leader and so on. The chief ordnance man he ran the ordnance effort and the same with chief radioman. This rank by responsibility prevailed. It took us just under a week to get to Hawaii. The only real critical decision to make was to close the bar. There was a faction that thought it ought to be open 24 hours a day every day. This wasn't producing good effects. One of the men, for example, he had his dinner, all his meals in his cabin, until he got to Hawaii because he came out of the Navy you know, my god, this is really traveling first class and we had these Indonesian stewards and they deferred to you and he was suddenly facing the life as he would love to live it. Anyhow, we got to Hawaii, running short on beer and we pulled into Honolulu overnight and I posted this sign by the gangway it said "Liberty expires at 0900". I maintained the presence on what the Navy would be to quarterdecks as the guys left and I kept hearing "I thought we had dropped all that", "what's all this liberty crap". So they all went ashore that wanted to go ashore and there weren't many people left on the ship and they had a good time on Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. We took a muster and discovered at 9 o'clock when we were to get underway that indeed �there were 3 former officers who weren't aboard. Captain Baugher asked me what to do and I said get underway. So the tug came and pushed us away from the pier. I noticed a commotion on the pier, taxi arriving at high speed, 3 figures got out and starting waving going down the channel. I put the long glass on them and there was a water taxi there and they hired the water taxi and took off after us. We had the pilot on board and we would normally would stop and drop him off at the pilot boat. They were gaining on us and I told Baugher to put on a couple more turns. Anyhow it made them really chase us down and they discovered what liberty [?] men. We stopped and we parked the pilot, we took them aboard and they were somewhat chasten [?]. That night a hard eyed guy came and introduced himself. Officer Naval Intelligence. I said well, I'm former Ensign Mott and I'm concerned about these German raiders, I know they are in the Pacific. He said (whispering) don't worry about it. I said what do you mean don't worry about them what do you know about them? Don't worry about it. So I proceeded to worry about them. Anyway we got underway and headed for Australia, Thursday Island. Northeast point. The next morning I made it a point always early in the morning to go up to the bridge with the captain and exchange a few words. He spoke very good English. Dutch are great linguists. There appeared over the horizon, two cruisers, I was able to pretty well recognize the class. I borrowed the long glass and put it one them and they were the Salt Lake City and the Northampton. They proceeded to take position on the bow off to one side and they sent us a blinker. The blinker said that this was the Salt Lake City and the Northampton and they requested permission to put a signal party aboard. So we heaved to and dropped a ladder and they sent two sailors over, signalmen and we had our signal party aboard. We could have signed up those sailors too if because it was a hell of a lot better living on a cruiser. Anyhow, we picked them up and those two cruisers escorted us all the way to Thursday Island which is the land fall. When I typed it, it is said don't worry he was right. The two cruisers went on then a paid a protocol visit to Australia. At Thursday Island another strange cruiser I couldn't �identify fell in with us and the skipper informed me that that was the Dutch cruiser Yaya? She had a very interesting arrangement of guns, later she was sunk when the Japs invaded Java. But she escorted us to Surabaya where we had no opportunity to go ashore which pleased me and we put into Singapore. At which point the skipper informed me that his orders were to debark us. Here I was you know with one ticket and 125 passengers from San Francisco to Rangoon. What do you mean you don't have orders to take us to Rangoon? Oh, he said, I've got a cargo of fish and it's spoiling. Finally I asked in the American Embassy and a representative came Commander De Wolf I think was his name, his son's in the Air Force, I've never met him at the time down at Langley. It took a day, but working the protocol he managed to get the ship ordered to take us to Rangoon. But we did have 2 nights of shore leave in Singapore and of course everybody went to the watering spots and stretched their legs. Then everybody was back aboard and we set sail for Rangoon and made the run up the Malayan Peninsula arriving at Port of Rangoon in the morning. We walked into the pier and there we were met by Boatner Carney. Chennault was up China and unable to come down. We all debarked there was a hell of a of hassle army's government authorities, British about the guns the guys had brought, almost everybody had a sidearm. That was strictly a no-no. The reason being of course the British policy in the colonies was that nobody carries guns except the British, armed organized units. Finally we worked that out and go ashore and we were buffed up to the Silver Grill for breakfast. There was considerable pent-up emotion, I can remember that Dr. Richards was writing an article and Dr. Richards was leaning out the car making like a siren, and a sundry [?] other horseplay. But we arrived and had breakfast and by that time the daily mail train was ready to leave so we went directly from there to the mail train and we were on our way up to Toungoo Airport. FRANK BORING: Reconstruct the difficulties of discipline on the ship. Difficulties in keeping this unit together? And any incidents that may have happened that stick out in your mind. �CHARLIE MOTT: One of the more gratifying things about that trip was the fact that it became clearly evident that we had very high type of individuals in general. There were trouble makers and the trouble generally originated amongst the drunks and this was never completely controlled. Normally aboard ship or aboard an air base you have your air police or our master alarms to take care of people like that we didn't have any and didn't need it. I never really felt that I lost control. At the same time we organized activities, bridge on Sunday. Hanks was a lot of help in this respect, Dr. Gentry, we had church services and non-denominational. One of the things that I introduced, it took a while to sink in, aboard ship when you had church services the smoking lamp was out, on cigarettes, no smoking, because the theory is the whole ship is at church. Well, that announcement was made immediately identified the troublemakers because they all lit up. With appropriate persuasion, talking to them, they became conformists. We had Chinese lessons - we had a group of Chinese, very highly educated, Dr. Tong was the leader of them, and we had Chinese lessons on the way over and we all those in the class learned some very useful expressions, like [?], which translated is “We are Americans, we come to Burma Road, to fight Japanese.” Actually “dom” means attack in Japanese. And a few other things that made your life more comfortable in a Chinese restaurant. And we had continuous bridge games going, continuous poker games. There were allegations in the poker community that certain people were cheating. So, just for the hell of it I appropriated on deck of cards one night. Took them into my cabin and put them under, I had a little eye loop, and they were marked not once but with five identifiable systems. There was a continuous poker game going on, craps was not a problem, didn't seem to be very popular. There were complaints that certain individuals were cheating at poker which I personally subscribed to so I confiscated a deck and looked at it under an eye loop and found out that not only one, but five identifiable systems of marking the cards, including shading, little dots, and crimps. They �are big boys and they can handle that themselves and spend their time out cheating each other so it didn't bother me. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 2 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes his experience as a Senior Naval officer and his journey from San Francisco to Rangoon to join the AVG overseas. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2765b03be94d08634116cd01b0c3b2b5.mp4 9ac36722aaa0ca15de2bfd0d9c076bc1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f3f0588b2caa551424559aca74119707.pdf 6961cd7b4d3c750ebd8be9e17b8ce16a PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles “Charlie” Mott Date of Interview: 05-16-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] CHARLIE MOTT: Recently I had occasion to look in 1940… in 1940 Claire Chennault retired. Army Officers submitted a plan relating to the use of American air power to contain the Japanese. This plan was submitted to the joint board. Now the joint board was a predecessor to JCS. It was reviewed by the joint board and approved by the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of the Army. The President was aware of it although there is no piece of paper that I would find which said I approved of this. Commencing then in late fall 1940 the AVG then started to be organized. A bird dog of the President, Lauchlin Currie, was the principal agent for coordinating matters and introducing the President's views into this. The result of this was the allocation of lend lease funds approval of a general plan to form an air force, American airplanes, manned by American pilots to be used to contain Japan using interdiction techniques and attacking some of the installations on Japan proper. Over the objections of certain established officers in the Army and Navy some retired officers were authorized to visit the bases and my particular contact, first contact, was San Diego, North Island, when a retired Commander Irvine appeared on the scene, set up shop down in a hotel in Coronado and interviewed prospective volunteers. There I was one of a number of pilots and enlisted men who volunteered for service. Now this we're talking about took place in April and May 1941. We, of course, were unable to resign our commissions on �whimsy there was a moratorium on resigning your commission even though we were finishing up our four years of obligated service in the Navy. But we were permitted to submit them and they were accepted by the government at the convenience of the government whereupon we became free agents and signed a contract for CAMCO. About 2 weeks leave and my wife and I, we had no children, spent it taking a tour of California and generally getting ready for a year's separation. The rendezvous established was San Francisco and on the appointed date, some 125 of us arrived at the hotel in San Francisco on this secret mission. FRANK BORING: Your education? CHARLIE MOTT: By education I am a civil engineer. Graduated University of Pennsylvania, worked in civil engineering world for a year and then got the flying itch. It was springtime in Philadelphia. It was May and a friend of mine passed the word to me that all you had to do was sign up and go down to the Philadelphia Navy Yard and you get your necessary hours and become an aviator. So I quit my job which had been as a junior engineer in a field company and I went down and signed up as a seaman second class U. S. Naval Reserve at the Naval Reserve Air Base. I received orders to report and we took what in those days, and later on, was called Elimination Training. Before you were sent down for the big expensive course there is a screening process in which you got enough hours to solo and they got a good look at you and if they didn't like you, you never got to Pensacola and vice versa. But, anyhow, I settled there and then after about a 6 week wait then received order to go to Pensacola , completed the training there. It was very thorough, we got to fly all kinds: airplanes, fighters, patrol boats, scouts as well as the old pearls. I was ordered to the fleet aboard then the Ranger which is CVA4, the first carrier designed from scratch as an aircraft carrier. She was a bargain basement ship, she was only about 14,000 tons, small flight deck, but I managed to qualify aboard her and shortly after the qualify, we shifted to the Saratoga and became, Bombing 3, the Air Group �3. There was a very rigorous training program in the Navy for aviators you had to qualify with bomb scores and if I recall the qualification score then was on your qualifying run which is 5 or 6 bombs was 55 feet .from the pin on the average. This paid off later in the battle of Midway when we rung up 1 out of 3 direct hits on carriers with dive bombers. Followed three years of very enjoyable, busy, work aboard carriers, qualifying at night without the electronic aids, it was very, little [?] at times, but at least you felt you could handle any situation. This was my personal situation when Commander Irvine retired. Appeared at North Island with this announcement that indeed Reserve Officers and only Reserve Officers were authorized to submit resignations in order to accept a contract with Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company, which was a corporation set up to administer Lend Lease funds and pay a group to fly American airplanes. My application was accepted in April. We rendezvous in June in San Francisco some 125. A mixed bag, a lot of friends of mine from the Saratoga signed up. There were people like Bob Neale, Fritz Wolf, Hal Weston was actually in the [?] squadron, Bob Powers, Mickey McBarr. And we had quite a little clique. I had always been interested in the Chinese, back in University we had a number of Chinese students, most of them attending the Wharton Business School. They were quite active in the church, Christian association. So we got to know a number of them and was struck by fact that they were intelligent, civilized and sociable people -- I liked them. At the same time the American public, in general, and particularly people like me who were interested in China were aware of that was going on in the Japanese encroachment, the Marco Polo bridge incident of 1907, the attack on Shanghai, there is a film which the Chinese put out which I think had a tremendous impact in this country. The Chinese didn't put it out, they helped, it was one of the newsreel outfits put it out It was entitled "China Fights Back". Very powerful movie. My wife and I made it a point to see that before we left, because I was trying to buck up her morale, too. So it was an adventure. One of the things that really distresses is the idea that the American volunteer group was a bunch of mercenaries, quite �the contrary. We had two of the pilots in our squadron actually were sons of missionaries in China, i.e., Jim Howard and Tex Hill. They were dedicated to helping China. Some people, I won't mention any names on this, were unhappy in a current situation and were trying to change the environment and strike out anew in a new direction. In the cases I can think of they weren't able to change the spots on the leopard they made a mess out of it again. There were those who the pay was adequate certainly and this was the motivating factor, but most of all, you were engaged in your profession and it was an adventure and if you didn't have these elements you were unhappy. FRANK BORING: Charlie what was the conversation with your wife and your family? What did you tell them? CHARLIE MOTT: My wife and I had several long talks about this. We both felt that in the Navy we were at the end of an era. We were Reserves. My wife and I had several long conversations about it and we actually had a meeting of the minds. When it came to the decision to leave the Navy, my wife and I had several very long conversations. And we were of a common mind. We had no children. We were both you might say free in that respect and we agreed it was time for a change we had been in the Navy for 4 years and we thought in terms of career in civil aviation. It was in fact an opportunity to leave the Navy and after a year to come back, professionally improved and also as a free agent. Now I mentioned that there were a number of pilots in my squadron who had signed up --some five. We had skipper whose name was Blick, Whitey Blick. Whitey was the sort of fatherly type he made a special trip back to Washington to look into this to make sure it was as the Australians would say "thinkem McCoy". He did. He came back and Whitey called us in and said I been back and been assured that in your jacket there is a reference a paper in the personal safe of the Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, who handled personnel matters, who was then Chester Nimitz, and piece of paper says that when you come back after a year you will be re-instated in the Navy without �loss of rank or [?] regardless of physical condition. With that assurance that sealed our views on the matter so I signed up. My wife and I had a sort of a second honeymoon - we toured California when California wasn't so congested, rendezvous with the rest of the party. We were actually the second party, which left from San Francisco aboard the Dutch ship, motor ship, Jaegersfontein. Where was this large disparate group and naturally what happened was people were attracted to people they knew and we were a clique and we pretty well stuck together and the former enlisted people were the same way… not only did they stick together in general but within their rate, the radiomen stuck together, the crew chiefs stuck together and ordnance people stuck together and there was not a great deal of cross fertilization. We had dinner there and then a retired light Colonel by name of Aldworth, sought me out and said, "Charlie, I want to talk to you". I never really, I met him casually, but he was not one of the recruiters that was recruiting in the Navy. So we went into a side room and he said, "Charlie, you are going to be in charge of this group". And I thought hum, I got to take this bunch clean across half a globe, aboard a foreign ship, it's going to take about 6 weeks without benefit of articles of the government or the United States Navy or the War Department. I said, "Where are my orders?" He said write them out. So there was desk with some hotel stationary there so I sat down and wrote out my orders. I had them around the house for a while, but they are lost somewhere. But basically what it says is you are hereby appointed as the leader of the American Volunteer Group/CAMCO aboard, sailing about the motor ship Jaegersfontein for Rangoon, Burma. Paragraph 2: You will take such steps as you deem necessary to maintain order and promote the efforts of the group. Signed, Richard Aldworth. So with that why I enjoyed a special status and was invited to the special dinner the skipper of the Dutch ship, his name was Braugher. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Mott_Charlie_1991-05-16_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Mott, Charles D. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-05-16 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Mott interview (video and transcript, 1 of 9), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charles Mott by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles Mott was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." Recruited from the U.S. Navy, where he served three years as a Dive Bomber pilot, he joined the AVG in 1941. During a mission over Thailand, he was shot down by ground fire and captured, severely wounded. He was placed in a POW camp along the River Kwai railway for 3 1/2 years and repatriated at the end of the war. He was the sole survivor of the four AVG pilots captured. In this tape, Mott describes his background as a civil engineer before becoming an aviator in the Navy and later joining the AVG. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/79536a198e19d217a03db63021e53c7e.mp4 d555b75b206b745697a96057b4e2f321 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/c081a02bc839124feb9f0cf7497cc4ca.pdf 0e028ace15fda8adbdfe13f69abccd06 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 11] ROBERT MOSS: Now then, I’m ready for that one – the one looking back. That’s the easy one. FRANK BORING: What do you think the AVG accomplished in its brief one year? ROBERT MOSS: I think the best thing that the AVG accomplished was that we were the one source maybe of good news during most of that period of time in the United States, although we didn't know that we were the good news, when the good news was happening. I think maybe looking back is it maybe we might have caused the war to last longer. I don't think that we helped very much determine the outcome of the war, but I think that the spirit that we gave to the people of the United States at a time when they were getting kicked in the teeth in every direction, may have been worth the price that we paid to go. FRANK BORING: What effect do you think it had on the Chinese? ROBERT MOSS: The effect that we had on the Chinese in my opinion was to the people that we were near and could make them feel a little more safe or would allow them to open their store in the daytime instead of at night and sleep at their house instead of in the mountains and slit trenches. I think it was a matter of comfort to them for us to be there. However, I think that sooner or later approximately the same �thing that did happen, would have happened and if it had happened earlier, I don't think the average Chinese would have been any worse off by it. I don't think we changed much for the Chinese and I also would like to say that I think that the Communists, when they took over, did a lot of good things for China as well as all the bad that totalitarian governments do when they're in command. But they quit having to eat stray dogs. A Chinese man or anybody in any country will go if he's hungry where he thinks he can get the best food and I think that is what moved the Chinese population in the direction that they were moved. I think they went where they could get the best food and maybe if they weren't going there they might have got killed for not going and it's two damn good reasons to go in that direction. FRANK BORING: Final question… (break) FRANK BORING: That's what I want… ROBERT MOSS: I think I've been to China 3 or 4 times. I've been so far back in the boondocks they hadn't seen a Caucasian, ever, this generation of people. Walked and spent time and they maybe have heard of that war, but back in those places nothing much has changed by their way of life or their style of existence. I think when they ordered everybody to catch so many flies a week and turn them in and I think when they started having to buy flies from a neighbor that happened to catch more than their share and they couldn't catch theirs, I think it's a wonderful thing. I think that they got rid of a lot of bugs. I think the idea that they don't have people own, the government payroll, that sitting and doing nothing, they'll have a job. They sweep the roadways through the countryside early in the morning to get all the sand off the pavement. It gives those instead of being on relief, it may give them a feeling that they're earning what they're getting for doing that. I think one of the things that America and our people and my children and grandchildren need �to know, is just because it's American doesn't mean it's the best or either that it's right. But I know that we crucified and our soldiers did, the people where they came into port, the Americans took all the women. They had all the money. The Dutch had their meager allowance and they almost may as well have not gotten off the ship, so we got our head up like a charging bull and go through all these countries making them - try to make them feel inferior whereas the Chinese, for example, think there's a real art in knowing how to eat and we just try to eat instead of knowing how to eat. It's not real important to most people here. So I think that anytime that one can travel in time of war or in time of peace and understand that it's not necessarily right because it's the way you do it. I think that's a real lesson to learn and I didn't learn it very soon in life. But I think I've recognized it by now. (break) ROBERT MOSS: I don't know why, but a lot of us figured it was a matter of time that he would have to be escorted out of mainland China or being held as prisoner there. He was in a poor part of China. He'd been pushed back, so to speak, into areas of China where people were destitute and they didn't have much to go on and the Communists had taken over the rich areas of China where they would have funds to get rid of anybody they wanted to get rid of or pull in anybody they wanted to get rid of. That's an opinion, that's not a historical fact. FRANK BORING: Last thing that I have to ask. You mentioned as you were getting off the plane in Rangoon, you said that Peters this… ROBERT MOSS: When we arrived in Rangoon on this Blenheim bomber with this Sergeant pilot flying the plane whose name was Peters, he shut one engine down as a courtesy for me to get out without being blown too badly and as I climbed through the cockpit from the turret gun post, I told him that there wasn't any way that I could express how much I felt or how much I appreciated him volunteering to come �over into enemy territory, pick up a pilot that he never knew and never seen before. (break) FRANK BORING: Start again from arriving in Rangoon. ROBERT MOSS: After we arrived in Rangoon I told him it was no way that I could… (break) FRANK BORING: Start from the top. ROBERT MOSS: After being brought by the underground to Moulmein this British pilot by the name of Peters, in a Blenheim bomber dropped in on the runway to pick me up, asked me "Yank, can you use a turret gun?" I said "If it's got a trigger on it I'll try to use it if we need it" and he said "Good" and he headed down the runway and took off downwind and all the way to Rangoon I don't think we got over 15 feet above the water. He was trying to stay on the radar level. When we arrived and he taxied up to my alert tent, I told him "Peters, there's no way that I can show you or tell you how much I appreciate you risking your life to come for me, a pilot that you had never known and never seen and may not ever see again." I said "It's an extraordinary thing to do and of course I would be grateful every day of my life and I thank you so much." FRANK BORING: What do you think you personally accomplished during that period of the AVG and what did it do to affect you the rest of your life? ROBERT MOSS: One of the things that I think that I learned in the AVG was to gather enough courage to overcome fear, at least partially overcome fear and to think clearly in a time of stress. I think that I brought that back home with me and have used it repeatedly in life and in advice to my own children and to my family and to the �young people that I deal with on a day-to-day basis. It's to know that it's all out there just beyond the horizon, it's there for you, but you have to overcome the fear of the unknown to reach for it. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v11 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 11 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss discusses the accomplishments of the American Volunteer Group during their brief year of service and what their work meant to the Chinese people. He also discusses his personal accomplishments and how his time as a Flying Tiger had a profound effect on the rest of his life. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/34276c9fb00707dd5cf56cb3134ef5e3.mp4 d96ffd9bfb4cce9a143e58b1df828818 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/3e2ab5ece284d6894a257bdd687c7e97.pdf 4ec3be016769dcc6687d067586eeda06 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 10] FRANK BORING: Why do you think Chennault called on you to - as you put it- cry on his shoulder? ROBERT MOSS: Chennault seemed like - always made me feel that he was close to me because he challenged me to pistol duels and I was one of the youngest kids there and he had hunted a lot when he was flying in the United States on a little team that he was flying. His mechanic lived about 50 miles from here and he taught me about the quail hunting and he knew I was raised with a shotgun in my hand and I guess we maybe felt a little close. And you know, just walking away, something can hit a man that he feels like spilling it right there and those words might not be his exact words, but that's about how I remember him saying it and he said it to me walking in a hall into a room - of course it wasn't long till there was a bunch of people in there - but as I said it's the only time I ever saw him with tears in his eyes. I know that he was hurt, permanently hurt. He was hurt even worse when MacArthur sat still and let them destroy all the air power in the Pacific waiting for somebody to declare war before they'd protect themselves. That hurt Chennault. He said "How are you going to cooperate with somebody that won't protect themselves?" He said "How do you, when you don't know what he's gonna do next?" I have to agree with that a lot, that's the way I feel. �FRANK BORING: You were a very young man at that time and he was a much older man. How did you look at your relationship with Chennault? I realize he was your leader and all that, but personally what did you see as your relationship with him? ROBERT MOSS: Well he had a knack of bringing the two together. He had a knack of getting to your level. I know it was pretty hard for him to get down to my level, but he had a real knack of making you feel comfortable with him and I think he could do that to heads of state or to a sharecropper's son. FRANK BORING: If we were able to look through your eyes, if we were looking at Chennault, what would you see? ROBERT MOSS: I would say that Chennault was a man of vision with some well thought out wisdom to go along with it, but I think that vision and the belief in the future and the non-give up attitude that he had all his life - I know he had it all his life - because he talked about when he was a boy and what he did. He is just one of the people that I admire greatly that I don't think history will be able to show, to give him his fair place. I don't think that history knows enough about - knew enough about him personally, that they can place him correctly in history. And he only wanted to be placed in a very narrow range. He didn't want to be thought of as a great public speaker, he didn't want to be thought of as anything except a tactician that was able to search out the weaknesses and coach a team that could defeat the enemy based on the tactics that had evolved from his experience and knowledge of the equipment that they flew and their own personality - and the personality of who was flying had a lot to do with it. FRANK BORING: I realize that anyone that was either hurt or died in the AVG would affect every member of the AVG, but was there anyone in particular that sort of brought it all home to you? One that affected you more deeply, one that you perhaps suddenly realized about your own mortality? �ROBERT MOSS: I think in terms of stress and emergency, combat, death is possible. I think that it's sad when someone has to die because of something of which he had no particular control and I think that I was hurt as much when our own plane flew into the Studebaker that killed a Texas cohort. He was in there sleeping and I understand perfectly why the airplane veered because couldn't see. But it's real sad for someone to lose their life and had no possible chance to gain anything by losing his life. We were over there, if we would have lost our life - I'll say one thing that I said in combat, talked out loud, in the heat of combat. I said "The little bastards will never take me alive." I don't know why. And it just came to me today and now, I said that out loud and I woke myself up and was surprised myself at hearing myself say that. But see, he didn't have a chance to get anything back for giving his life and those are the things that to me are the saddest. And of course all those that didn't come back, they paid the price, not the ones that are here. FRANK BORING: The First Squadron and the Second Squadron, there was Bond, Boyington, Rector, Keeton, yourself and this is when McGarry was lost. I wonder if you could recall that day? ROBERT MOSS: I don't think that I was on the mission. I'm not sure, but if I was, I wasn't flying in the same flight with him. I know that. But I don't think that I can - maybe the hurt or the fact that I was a classmate all the way through and he was such an unusual individual. He didn't fit anyplace you put him. He didn't fit in our organization, he didn't fit in college, he should have not gone to war, he should have gone to church. I never saw where he fit, but wherever he was, when the grades came out, he was top of his class and that's so unusual. I never met a character of his sort, he never fit, but he was most likely the best there and he apologized anytime he whipped you at anything. He made excuses for you. FRANK BORING: Do you recall an incident in which some of the pilots were upset over certain missions that were being assigned. There was never an �example of a pilot shirking responsibility of going into battle, but there were morale missions that were being asked to just show your face, so to speak, at a low altitude over the Chinese troops to show the Chinese troops that there was an Air Force out there. But the problem was there was a grave danger in the Japanese ground fire and air attacks and at one point Chennault was actually presented with a petition stating that they didn't want to do that, they didn't think it was fair. Do you recall that at all? ROBERT MOSS: Yes, I recall that. I was at Loiwing at the time. I don't know any of the details because the radio conversations went on with the Squadron Leaders and the people receiving the messages. I believe that that was Boyington, I believe I'm correct. Boyington was there with us. I believe that he had a fairly sensible answer if the question was correct and the way I understood it, he personally did it - was the final straw for him. Let's make this off the record, then if you see anything about it that you can put back that you think will help, we'll try to do that again. FRANK BORING: ……this fellow friend from Doe Run? ROBERT MOSS: Well that was the 32nd orientation for the Chinese. But I don't know the details but he was shot down FRANK BORING: The very beginning of the story you talked about this - you were on your way out - that's all we want - you don't have to go into the whole after part, but please make sure that you were on your way out and he was on his way in and the fact that he was somebody from… ROBERT MOSS: He was a personal friend of mine. We went through high school together. (break) �ROBERT MOSS: After we disbanded and I was on my way home through India, at the airport I ran into Clyde Slocumb from over in Georgia and I had known all my life and he was a part of the 14th Air Force coming in to fly with Chennault. He asked me to give him a little advice about the Japanese and I think I told him that - not to try to win the war all in one day and don't try to win it by yourself. Try to fly in such a manner that you can come back home and fly again tomorrow and if you do that it'll be a lot better than trying to do it all at once. FRANK BORING: I'm going to ask three more questions. We’re finally down to the last few. But these three are… � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 10 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss describes his close relationship with General Chennault and his ability to bring people together as a man of vision. He also reflects on the losses he experienced as a Flying Tiger and how it affected his work. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ffdb2b3306587c1f1ee880da07e3194c.mp4 ef895cb1c2616c92b6b144f1a143a844 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e370deba96fe1b4140f50087359fc834.pdf 85619201c12629c836cbb273e2d42d83 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 9] ROBERT MOSS: Do you want me to say something else about on the ground at Magwe? FRANK BORING: Yeah. What we'd like to talk about is, if you can begin it at the point where you had gone to lunch. You were on duty, you had gone to lunch and then you came back. Start with - you were on duty at Magwe, then you went to lunch and go from there. ROBERT MOSS: I was on duty one day at Magwe and had gone to lunch with the other pilots that were then on duty with me. As we returned from lunch and got on to the field, we noticed our planes becoming airborne, and we rushed on up to the shack to find them and what information that they had received, and by that time, someone sighted the enemy planes, so we felt that we didn't have time to get us off the airport, so we just dived into the slip trenches that were there for that purpose, right by the alert shack. As I remember, a wave of fighters came in first and strafed several British planes that were on the field and loaded with bombs and sit wasn't long ‘til those that were on fire started to have extra explosions from the bombs exploding. Some of the people tried to get off the field, but about that time, a wave - as I remember - a wave of Japanese bombers came over and did attempt to bomb the airfield and maybe some more of those planes they couldn't see that were on fire. In attempting to get off the field or change slit trenches while �the bombs were falling is when Forth was killed, also a pilot died… FRANK BORING: Swartz. ROBERT MOSS: …… During this raid, when the people on the field felt that the raid was over and tried to move to greater safety is when Swartz was injured severely and later died in India as a result of that injury and when Forth was killed almost immediately. Later on as we tried to leave the field, the bombs and the bombers were continuing to go off, causing a lot of distraction, and some pilots on the edge of the field were trying to survey the damage and while a bomb would go off and they would crawl back to the slip trench like a snake crawling so as to stay below the flack. FRANK BORING: What happened to Olson? You had mentioned that Olson had apparently gotten into a jeep and had gotten shot at? ROBERT MOSS: Yes, he did, Alan and I had to bring it in, but he… FRANK BORING: I think you might want to start, when you first talked about… ROBERT MOSS: It was a hell of a loss, anyway, see there's one thing for a plane to explode, but then when their bombs go off, you don't know whether they had a personal bombs or what on them, and you could hear that stuff whizzing across that airport. And they were British bombers. If you're ready to take on, [?] say something else you might keep. And during this raid as when our Group Chief Olson tried to leave the airport, on a jeep and the jeep was stripped and damaged badly, although Olson was not hit, his camera is said to have had a whole in it. FRANK BORING: Give us your idea, you had mentioned about to take off in a P-40, this is later, I guess, it was stripped? �ROBERT MOSS: When the Japanese, came close, [?] to Magwe, some of the mechanics said that if we could get a pilot to stay an extra day that they could probably have a P-40 ready to go to Loiwing. And I volunteered to stay over and fly that plane over to Loiwing which was our next base. I had no idea that all the flight instruments would have been robbed out but since it was day light, I had , didn't have much choice, I made it alright to Loiwing with that plane and they gave us another plane in the [?] - I was happy to do so. Two plantations in northern Burma and Northern India are quite the same. They were all operated by English people that were sent out to represent the large tea companies. They had pretty strict regulations. They never had their scotch until after 6. They had, during this war, they had been moved out and evacuated and sent back to Europe and these two plantations manager's homes were places where we had the finest opportunity to have housing that would have mosquito nets and cooking facilities so we took advantage ad we evacuated to find the biggest and best tea plantations that were closest to our air strips and we utilized that. FRANK BORING: You had mentioned when the camera was off, that it took a humorous, a certain sense of humor to get through all that. I wonder if you could comment on that again. ROBERT MOSS: I don't believe I can. FRANK BORING: Just don't remember it or? ROBERT MOSS: Oh, well, I don't know if it would try to set me aside of being a different kind of person but I think there must be a thread of humor to make the unbearable, maybe bearable. FRANK BORING: Toward the latter part of the AVG's existence, when the Japanese were coming closer and closer and you were moving from air base to air base, what would you say the morale was like amongst the pilots and the crew as equipment started to run out and the �airplanes were getting worse and worse shape, you were being kept awake by night bombings and the fighting? ROBERT MOSS: In the later stages of my employment in northern Burma, when we were pushed out by foot soldiers, instead of being defeated in the air, I feel that the morale, the pilot's morale, of the crews, remained extremely high, feeling that although we were backing up, we were still being effective in what we were put there to do. I didn't ever feel or see as a general thing a lowering of morale on maybe until the time of the disappointing species for the offer of induction back in to the military forces to the United States. FRANK BORING: Let's go to your , what was your hearing, what were the rumors that were going around about the American Army Air Corp. going to actually take over the AVG? Did you hear any scuttlebutt or… ROBERT MOSS: None. FRANK BORING: OK. When did you first hear that the Army Air Corp was going to be incorporated into the AVG? ROBERT MOSS: Maybe 2 or 3 days before the Air Corporation, maybe a week, I don't know, I can't remember. FRANK BORING: Do you recall the meeting that was called together by Bissell? ROBERT MOSS: I think that I was there. FRANK BORING: OK. Can you tell us what happened at that meeting? ROBERT MOSS: The meeting that was called to offer the organization an opportunity to come back in to the services of the United States was held by a Gen. Bissell who apparently had very little knowledge of what we knew about publicity that we had gotten in the United States. He started off by telling us very early that he had, the previous day or so, had seen a couple of victory roles over �the field, when we came back into the service, the United States of course, would be court-martialed if we did that. That we, the publicity that we had gotten in the United States as heroes, that we could do no wrong, but the, they wanted to remind each person there that they would be on strict orders or U.S. military from the day that they signed. We didn't know that we were supposed to be heroes. We just knew we were tired. We knew what our release from the armed forces said that we could do, we had a choice. He stated that as soon as we hit the United States, if we decided to go home, then we'd be drafted, well I knew better than that, because I had it in writing that I wouldn't be drafted as soon as I hit the United States. The only time I ever saw Chennault shed a tear, ever, was after that meeting. He said, Moss he's ruined me. And five I believe is the number that joined. The rest decided to come state side. And on the way out, 17 of us stopped over for the money involved with CNAC. And I was one of the 17. And Duke Hedman and I matched to see who would have seniority. We were both ready to check out the same day after the first time we'd ever been in motor engine equipment, 2 weeks and 1 day, we managed to see who took off first, who would have seniority - and I lost. So Duke was the only one senior to me in that organization - in that part of the organization. FRANK BORING: What you said about the conversation you had with Chennault, did you talk to him in any detail after that meeting? ROBERT MOSS: I didn't talk to him in detail, I furnished a shoulder for him to cry on a little bit, person to person he just felt like he'd been castrated. He was hurt deeply because he was planning to rotate these people home and give them a program of rotation and come right back, knowing they'd be ready to come back as soon as he got a break of any kind, and all that was eliminated in Bissell's speech. And it hurt him. He never got over it. FRANK BORING: What was your personal...? � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 9 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss discusses the morale within the AVG during the latter part of their existence in addition to the meeting with General Bissell and how it affected General Chennault. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d0b5402ff4215c5467a117cf116d8552.mp4 2202e7cde1d922cbf7f9dfb3c0bee576 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/083541e3d9186cbfa2008cc63f7bb72f.pdf 98179e301e6d85099988c730dd6b08b0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 8] FRANK BORING: And once again, if you don't remember a lot of it, you can just describe what you just said about the battle and your hands are full. ROBERT MOSS: I was flying on Charlie's wing on mission to strafe [?] in enemy territory and we located the airport, caught the planes on the ground and started making runs and had made several runs and billowing smoke from more than one aircraft and began to seize a few tracers, and then I believe on the next run, Charlie was crippled and he pulled up and bailed out. It's pretty hard to remember all the details because of how busy you are. You're trying to establish what your next run will be, most effective run and knowing that you had ground fire, you were either hoping to make a run to stop that or to evade it. It's pretty difficult to remember details when you have a lot of work to do. FRANK BORING: Were you present at the fall of Rangoon? You were one of the last ones to get out of…? ROBERT MOSS: I think so. FRANK BORING: Can you recall any of that - the fall of Rangoon? ROBERT MOSS: What is the name of the hotel, the main hotel in Rangoon? �FRANK BORING: Raffles, Silver Grill? You could just say the main hotel. ROBERT MOSS: Yesterday I could probably have told you the name of it. That's where everybody stays when they arrive and that sort of thing. When most people had already left and those that hadn't were trying to leave, I tied a water buffalo in the lobby of the main hotel in Rangoon so we could have fresh milk for the last morning's coffee before we left, and I went and milked this water buffalo and had fresh milk for our coffee. FRANK BORING: Do you know where Kitten, the snow leopard came from? I've seen pictures of it - of you with it. ROBERT MOSS: I don't know where it came from. FRANK BORING: How did you react to that cat - having that cat around as a mascot? ROBERT MOSS: I think it's more in history than in actuality. It were young enough to take some pictures with it but it didn't stay around a long time. I don't think anybody kept it, brought it home for a pet. FRANK BORING: Burma Bob did, Bob Locke. He took it all up and down the Burma Road. So you just basically posed for a picture. What was your impression of the supply and the repair situation during these wartime - you'd come in, they'd fix up your airplane, then you'd be able to go out again. What was your impression of the supply situation? ROBERT MOSS: I thought that the mechanics were very innovative, they did a tremendous job on keeping the planes in the air. I think when one plane was washed out, they went and covered it immediately and removed everything they could possibly reuse because supplies are something - was almost unknown. They did a fantastic job in that area. �FRANK BORING: What was your relationship with the ground crew? You had George Bailey at this time? ROBERT MOSS: Yes. FRANK BORING: Give us some idea of what it is that you two talked about. Did you come in and say, "George, I have a problem with this, or I have a problem with that," and you'd talk it over. What was that relationship like? ROBERT MOSS: George had tremendous pride in keeping my plane, what he would consider being the fastest in the group, tremendous amount of pride. The waxing and polish jobs that he would put on it. At least, he would tell me that this will have less friction. So we had a rather fine relationship. FRANK BORING: Did you two tease each other, or kid each other about the condition of the airplane you'd bring in or something? ROBERT MOSS: He'd just give me plenty of hell, if I came in with four holes in an airplane or six, that he was going to have to sit up half the night and work on the skin on it. FRANK BORING: Can you do that again? Make sure you mention George's name because we'll probably play this for him on the 4th of July. ROBERT MOSS: Our relationship as pilot and crew chief cannot have better, but there were times when I would come in with what he considered an extra few holes in the plane. He'd stand up and really give me hell because he was going to have to stay up at night and get that skin fixed right back on that airplane. He had a lot of pride in the way it looked and the way it flew. FRANK BORING: Forgot to mention George again! I'm sorry! We've got to have a context of it being George that you're talking about. �ROBERT MOSS: George Bailey, my crew chief and I had a very close, personal relationship as well as a working relationship. So he felt at ease to just stand up and give me holy hell for bringing a plane with a few holes in it that he would have to be up all night getting that skin patched and fixed and be ready - have it on the line next day. FRANK BORING: That was good. ROBERT MOSS: ………… I don't believe I understand the question. I believe that was the field that Charlie Mott and I… FRANK BORING: In February, a banquet was thrown by Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Do you remember that banquet? ROBERT MOSS: Yes. FRANK BORING: Could you describe for us the banquet itself and your impressions of Chiang Kai-shek and Madame Chiang Kai-shek? ROBERT MOSS: It's been quite a few years since the Madame went to school here in Georgia. She kind of picked me out as a person who was from Georgia and I don't know if everybody was honored with a scarf from a T shirt with some kind of [?] on it but I got one. I don't know which girl got it but I received one that night. The dinner was wonderful Chinese chow as I remember, but as far as remembering details of what might have gone on or what the speeches were about, I have no idea. FRANK BORING: What was your first impression of Chiang Kai-shek? ROBERT MOSS: I always felt like that Chiang Kai-shek was a war lord, fighting for survival, and that's as close - and I got little rumors through the grapevine in as much as he didn't talk to anybody in English that I remember. FRANK BORING: What was your impression of Madame Chiang Kai-shek? �ROBERT MOSS: I think she didn't differ very much from women all over the world. In my experience, although meagre, I find that women are really the power most of the time instead of the men, in all ages that I've had a chance to read about. FRANK BORING: [?] was one of the pilots on that. Do you recall that at all? They came in and they did a run and everybody had to fall flat on the ground and then they finally did escort them out. They lost four of the airplanes, they got lost? ROBERT MOSS: I'm not sure that I remember that at all. I do know that one sort of exhibition that Bob Laird came over the field a slow roll and went down behind a rock wall that wasn't really high and went out of sight before he came up to show himself again and everybody thought he was gone. I don't know whether the time that you're talking about or not. FRANK BORING: What was your evaluation of – personally - of Boyington? ROBERT MOSS: I hate for you all to put something about that on my - I'm giving you my personal evaluation but I don't want to make it for the record. Cut it off and I'll tell you what I think about him. In Magwe where we had a jeep strafe trying to leave the field and when the Japanese set fire to some British bombers and they all exploded on the field. When this was all over and we went back to our chief plantation, cook or some of his help had stepped out the back door and stepped into a jug and the back of the glass came up and hit his heel string and almost cut it in two, and the scenario is that Doc Rich finally got him up on the kitchen table to clean the wound and see if he could repair the damage. Prescott was holding the light, the flashlight for Doc Rich to do the operation, and I was standing right beside Prescott and somebody came in and told Doc Rich that the boy that was in bed in the next room was dead now, that he wasn't breathing anymore and Doc Rich said, well, there isn't anything that we can do for him now. I'm working on this. If he's �already dead, we can't help him any. So in just a moment, the lights kind of wavered, and Doc Rich said, "Moose, don't you jog Prescott into asking one more time and make him shake that light. It's hard enough, trying to do this with a flashlight, and somebody back there playing. I said, "Doc, I didn't touch it." "I know damn well you did." In a little bit, it waved again, and he really got down on me that time, called me things he shouldn't have called me. I told him I hadn't touched him at all and, before he get through cussing me, old Prescott went, "Wheeeew". He hit the floor, he'd fainted from the odor and the smell of that. It took Rich ten years to apologize to me for that, but finally came back and apologized, fifteen or twenty years later, but he was so angry and it was so much like me to have been doing that he just knew that I was doing it to worry him. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 8 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss discusses his impression of the supply and repair situation during wartime and his relationship with the ground crew. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/96f0727079012e25873c9717084399c3.mp4 b5babc2d9d53fb3130765c0762dcbd85 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f1476a9fc571349d8b9138d5afb82693.pdf b54d04e10aeadd413f6d2dd7a2f0cdd5 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 7] FRANK BORING: The actual battle part, what we need is an explanation of - your airplane is now shot up and as I understand it, you're close to the ground - let's start from that point, then take us into the parachute coming off and - is this common that a parachute will do something like that or…? ROBERT MOSS: It's pretty rare, I think that it's pretty rare. Shall I start at when I bailed out of the airplane? FRANK BORING: Also give us an idea of the fact that you were very low to the ground, I don't know how you'll do that and how you survived… ROBERT MOSS: In my attempt to bail out as low to the ground as possible, I was having to wait and having to fly with the canopy open on account of hydraulic oil in the cockpit from the hydraulic line being shot in the combat. And I was fortunate enough that I'm assuming that the Japanese pilots had seen by my actions that they thought that I was just going on into the ground and not bale out, but I had enough control that when I got real low to the ground I had to shut my trim tight to keep the nose up when I rolled over on my back and to drop out very low to the ground so had one been right closely following, he would have had to have been very low to have dumped my 'chute. But when I did drop out and pop the chest pack, a shroud line caught me under the chin and took a lot of hide �and skin off my neck and all round my chin, out to my chin, and broke 17 teeth when it opened. The doctor said they didn't understand how I could take that much shock on the neck and chin without breaking my neck, but it happened and it was fortunate I just lost a bunch of teeth. The airplane fell within a 150 yards of where I did. I walked over and looked at the hole in the ground before anybody came up, and they appeared to be friendly and I just followed them since I didn't speak the language and they started on a program that appeared to me they were going to try to get me back through the Japanese lines to our side, and on that ride, the head man of the village took me on a bull cart loaded with wheat, straw or hay and took me to the next village. He would turn me over to the head man of that new village, he would put on two new oxen but kept the same cart, and we did this for two or three days until we got to a river. I was transferred to a boat and taken down the river 'til we stopped very near the airport at Moulmein. FRANK BORING: What were you living on? ROBERT MOSS: It was so difficult to swallow, I didn't try to eat anything. I drank milk - buffalo milk with raw eggs, and I was just barely able to swallow that, but I think that that gave me plenty of food for sustenance. FRANK BORING: I assume that the AVG thought that you had been shot down. What was the reaction of your pilots, or what was your reaction upon returning to AVG? ROBERT MOSS: I think when the message arrived at Rangoon for somebody to come pick me up that they must have called over at our alert shack and said that he is alive. They had already come to my house in my parent's home and told them I was missing in action and, of course, they couldn't say - that was all there was to it, and the politicians in the local area had already interviewed my parents to want to know if they objected to changing the name of Spence Field, this local air force base to Moss Field, so she was ignorant too. �FRANK BORING: I want to hear your mother’s part of this story, this is great. Start with the politician - you've got to get your mother's comment in here - this is great. ROBERT MOSS: When they approached my parents about naming - renaming Spence Field, they weren't overly exuberant about it, but they said they would have no objection. However, my mother told them that she thought I was a big boy and I was pretty capable of taking care of myself, not to rush things up too much, and she believed that way, and said it made it easier for her, because she believed that. She was right, and she got lucky. FRANK BORING: One thing that I didn't quite grasp when you were describing the one of the things that Charlie Bond has told us about and Joe Rosbert has told us about, the Japanese head was calling a beehive thing and if you get caught in the middle of that, you could really get yourself hurt. ROBERT MOSS: That's exactly what I got caught in. FRANK BORING: From your prospective, can you describe this beehive thing. We've got it from three different pilots now. ROBERT MOSS: First you've got to have somebody hold you in the circle, that's the man on your tail. Then they fly off of the circle and across the circle and either the man will turn inside you - of course, if you can you want to snafu and spin out and get down but when you get pretty low, you can't do that, and sometimes you might think - you don't know how high the land is under you - hill country, 3,000 ft. 4,000 ft. things like that, and it takes a good little bit to pull out in a P40 out of a dive. That thing back then was fast - it would red line at 480 is where the red line was on it as I remember. �FRANK BORING: In these kind of battles, Chennault's whole tactic of two's, was this something that sort of broke apart at this point? You guys were all on your own? ROBERT MOSS: There was a time you had to be on your own because the P40 had the ability, if you had the altitude, to break away from the fight, and that was when you were on your own. FRANK BORING: When this was over with and you had returned back to base, what actually occurred between you and Newkirk? ROBERT MOSS: I never, ever saw him again. FRANK BORING: ……… full description of what happened to Charlie Mott. ROBERT MOSS: I'm the only one - I don't even know how to get - I've never heard his description of it because when he came back with me in Calcutta, we didn't talk about that. We talked about coming home and those things and he did tell me that he dared the mosquitos to give him dengue fever, or any other kind of fever, - malaria. He said the mosquito might get malaria biting him but he was absolutely immune. He did talk like this, he said the first time - and he may have mentioned this in the interview, it would be interesting I think. This may be something that you won't want to put down, but you can ask him. He told me that once he had malaria fever. He said he thought he was going to die - as sick as a person can be and not die. But he wasn't able to get any medicine. He said in a given number of weeks, whether it's three or six or nine or whatever it is, he said he had it again. He said it was real bad, but it wasn't as bad as that first time and he said he kept on having malaria. I don't know whether it was the incubation period or whatever when you get over it or not in your system but he kept having it and he said, finally you just have the chill, small chill and maybe a fever for half a day, and he said within six months or a year and a half, he didn't remember time, he said he never had it again, and he said he woke up realizing that he was immune, that �nobody could give him malaria. He said when he got back somewhere into a hospital, they started giving him [?] or something that turns you yellow and supposed to get it out of your system. But he said that, I'll tell you, while we're off the record, Sully told me that the bravest people that were prisoners that were brought in with them were the Australians. He said that the Australians, a lot of them died, got killed trying to escape. He said a lot of others wouldn't try to escape. He said the Dutch tended to commit suicide instead of trying to escape and he started playing what's the name of the card game that is very popular - started playing with the guards and earn their cigarettes, planning to just barely - what's the name of the most famous card game in America? Anyway, he was playing this card game with the guards and he was trying to arrange it where he would wind up winning one or two cigarettes a day at the most, playing to lose, but he noticed that the competition changed guard and it got a little rougher and he told me that he finally found out that they had sent some of their best players from Japan as his guard and it was really rough for him for to not lose that cigarette that he was using for money to gamble with. Did he tell you about those games? That's something that I felt sure he would tell you that, because he had a lot of time sitting to think. He told me about all that when he was at my place in Calcutta, and I believe he said he made a [?] for a railroad out of a piece of teak wood. Did he tell you about that? � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 7 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss continues the story of the time he bailed out of his airplane after being caught in the middle of a beehive flight tactic and the reaction he received upon returning to the AVG. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/98678e22e34bf621340a87febfa58c23.mp4 6673216f322d7270e6bc1b47d02b76e6 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/d077956217eed2221934d2272ec737b7.pdf 7adaa062f813004f71f09d45e39d812c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 6] FRANK BORING: The fact that - some of the interesting things that you've gone through are horrendous and granted they’re painful memories, but I really think the world should know this, the audience should know this, people should know this, but you tell it your way, in your own way. ROBERT MOSS: You know that memory and time and when you intentionally - I've never discussed anything like I'm talking to you, any of my children or any of my family in any way, or any of my friends, and when we go to reunion, we don't - I never have had a conversation about an engagement, but I'll go along and if something that I haven't tried to remember, and I haven't tried to remember any details and it's very possible that I might be incorrect on something, and I really don't want to do that, and I know that if I don't say anything, it won't be incorrect, but I'll do - I can maybe give a little - some insight. FRANK BORING: Over the next few days, there was a great deal of - a hectic pace if you will, this is war now and you were sent on various missions. Can you give us an idea of - an example - perhaps a very dramatic example in which you had an encounter, what happened and what was your personal dealing with that? How did you deal with that? How did you deal with that kind of stressful, intensely scary situation? �ROBERT MOSS: I believe that two weeks from the day that Charlie was shot down Charlie Mott that is - that six of our fighter pilots were to escort a few Blenheim bombers. I don't know how many, three or six or something like that, bombed strategic areas, mainly I believe being a Chinese airport, I mean a Japanese airport. Apparently the net picked us up about the time that we were to arrive over the target. Two of our planes - our six fighter pilots were in pairs and at different altitudes. I was flying in a top cover, and when I spotted the fighter planes, they were well above us, so they had had - the net had picked us up and the pilots had been able to get up and be waiting. So I spotted - waved my wing very quickly to indicate to my leader that I spotted the enemy, and I just pulled up real strong on a head on run and I assume I froze at the controls because when that plane exploded, part of - I could see on the leading edge of my plane that I had either been hit by oil or some debris. I didn't feel anything - didn't feel a jar, but I could see that. I pulled up, and as I turned I got another plane on my sites, and I knocked him down, then I was immediately engaged with four planes, one keeping me in a circle, and the other three shooting across the circle, and as we worked our way down, they finally got me, and I was able to bail out low enough that they didn't follow me down to that height to dump me in the parachute. I was a few days behind the Japanese lines, carried from village to village by the head man of the village. He kept his team with him and I noticed that I stayed on the same bullock cart, covered, and I assume it was because the head man of this village would - it would be not uncommon for him to be seen in the next village, but if he was seen in two villages away, he might be in some suspect, so in each village I felt a bit - he appeared to be taking me to the Japanese, and if they could get through the Japanese lines, they got lots more money if they could deliver me to our side, and the first day of the trip, I could tell where the sun rose and set that I was going deeper into Japanese territory and thought maybe that they were taking me directly to the Japanese because we were going in that direction. But I decided to - since I didn't have too many choices - although �nobody had a gun that I knew of - that I'd better take a chance. We finally arrived at a river and I was put on a boat and covered with grain - wheat or rye, or some kind of grain, and the people that paddled the boat on the river - it was against the tide part of the time - it was still downstream. They hugged the edges of that river so closely that I knew they were professional oarsmen, that's what they did for a living. We arrived at Moulmein and it had been totally evacuated. Some official must have known that I was going to arrive there because he met the boat at the dock and took me into the alert shack that the British had had at Moulmein. When I got there, the two people on duty said, "We're leaving now," and I noticed that they had some bloody parachutes that they had brought into the alert shack. On the day that I was shot down they Japanese had caught some British planes on the ground and some taken off and shot them all down. I believe one of them told me it was six that they had shot down and I could see the results of that. They had a Studebaker car that they were leaving there and wanted to know if I wanted to go with them. I told them I wasn't going with them because they weren't going to get out, because they were going to have to cross the lines where they were going, that all I wanted them to do was radio Rangoon if they could. They said they would send that message before they left. They radioed Rangoon and a 19 year old sergeant pilot, by himself, landed a Blenheim bomber. I was standing on the end of the runway when he arrived and when he hit the other end of the runway, I made myself clearly visible on the other end by being out on the end of the runway. He taxied up and turned around. I opened the hatch. He says, "Hi?, can you use a turret gun?" I said, "I never have used one but I'll certainly be willing to try if need be." I climbed in and strapped down and he took off downwind on that Blenheim bomber and we flew across that bay from Moulmein to Rangoon. I believe 12 or 15 ft. may have been the height, altitude he was going to stay at below radar. His name was Peters. He landed on my airport, I guess it was Mingaladon, I believe that was it, and didn't get out, dropped me off, took off again, and landed on the British airport. So it was several days waiting to get some teeth �worked on so I could swallow, and it wasn't but a few days before my squadron had to transfer back to China and another squadron came in and I asked to be transferred to the incoming squadron, so that I could get - I felt like about being out that I hadn't had my pro rata share of time on the front, and so they allowed that transfer. And then I was there at the total evacuation and as we went on up through Magwe and Loiwing and on out through Burma as troops pushed us out of Burma. However, when we got to Loiwing, and started to evacuate Loiwing, I had an opportunity to go across the Hump with a convoy and since there were enough pilots there to fly all the planes back and somebody had to go by convoy, I decided I'd like to see that route, and I went back to Kunming by convoy from there. FRANK BORING: We'll talk about the convoy trip in a minute…and what happened was this when you bailed out? ROBERT MOSS: The sidelines caught me on the chin way down here low and took all the hide off and broke 17 teeth. FRANK BORING: Could you begin at the point when you - this is right when you were baling out, right? ROBERT MOSS: That's when I had a chest pack when I bailed out, and I didn't have time to wait and get in the right position, I was so near the ground. As soon as I cleared the airplane, I popped the chest pack and the sidelines caught me on the neck and on the chin and that's when I mentioned that buffalo milk and raw eggs… FRANK BORING: Okay, we don't have any of that on tape, right? I really am sorry to put you through this, but I think it's a very important part. This is what you lived on? If you don't mind… � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 6 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss touches on the painful memories of combat and shares a memory of the time he bailed out of his airplane and withstood a facial injury in the process. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/dde23bb9bac759d882adc8f78b8d677d.mp4 7e0ab1cccc2845a3e1b329cabdc669ae https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/22bee6bd9873d6bd6da4350fe1453272.pdf c6ef9f618997699ebd1f7996c4d5ed7e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 5] FRANK BORING: But if you could also incorporate that you didn't have the saluting, you didn't have the marching in place, if you will, that is important perhaps in the formative years, but then… ROBERT MOSS: Give me the question again. FRANK BORING: The military has certain regulations and certain things that they do, such as saluting, marching in place and whatnot, which they claim is necessary toward the building of a proper military unit, yet the AVG was a very successful military unit without all that. Your response was that it's important in the formative years to develop that discipline, but once you have it, the military still keeps it up whereas the AVG didn't. ROBERT MOSS: I think the main difference in our organization as a military unit and a standard military unit in one of the services is that although we originally had been associating with, and accustomed to, the kind of discipline, then once we learned that discipline, then in the AVG we were able to dispense with a lot of the formalities, still maintain the correct discipline where discipline was necessary. It made it a lot easier to live where nobody saluted someone else, but we had that respect because of position and authority and mutual respect. �FRANK BORING: Could you give us some idea of what your duties were in December before the first contact. What was the routine like? ROBERT MOSS: Our daily routine was if we had gasoline available to fly some, stay making the equipment feel like it was an extension of our body, feeling completely comfortable in the equipment. Other than that, we didn't do anything that I remember particularly to maintain an edge. FRANK BORING: What were you doing on your off days for example, cards, or baseball games, or trips into town? ROBERT MOSS: On my off days in the AVG, I used to take side trips to get closer to the people, to find out how they made a living, watch their arts and crafts, and try to find out how those people were living and had lived before we came. FRANK BORING: What were some of the observations that you made on these trips? ROBERT MOSS: I never knew that saving face anywhere in the world was as important as it is in China. I can give you an example. I was in a jeep going on a little side trip in the morning and I met a truck load of workers along a slick dirt road. I stopped to wave the truck by and he bowed and wanted to wave me by, but I felt that the one that went by would have the greatest chance of slipping in the ditch, so he waited for me and I waited for him. They finally ate their lunch there, but when it got to be quitting time, the workmen on his truck kept all kind of noise going and I could see all day that it was a face saving situation, and I just wanted to see how long that it would last, so they finally put enough pressure on him late in the afternoon when it was time to go home from work, to pass me on that slick road rather than for me to pass them. I just wasn't going to lose face, I was going to out wait him, and I did. But they put the pressure on him - there about 12 or 15 on that truck, and they were wanting real bad to go home, so they just kept - and �when they finally passed me, everyone bowed from the back of the truck. FRANK BORING: Can you think of any other situations like that on your trips out, how you got know some of the Chinese people, or their situations…? ROBERT MOSS: I don't recall anything especially interesting off-hand. FRANK BORING: You came from a very poor environment in the United States, hard-working. What was your observation of the Chinese, the poor and the kind of city environment that you were looking at in Kunming? ROBERT MOSS: I think it's quite difficult. You can tell a good many things from observation, but it's pretty difficult to know much from a real lifestyle point of view by meandering among the people. You can get some ideas, but I think you have to go a lot deeper than that and I wasn't in the position to do that. FRANK BORING: How about in terms of what you saw in Kunming? You had come from a country background, and this was basically a city in a sense. What did you observe and what was the city like? ROBERT MOSS: I think that I was able to adjust quite well because I was associated with people who spoke the same language that I did, and we were an autonomous group there that independent of the social aspects of the Chinese people, although I enjoyed and watched people practicing public speaking, it would be kind of embarrassing in Boston or Atlanta, I assume, to get out on the street with a new audience and try to see if your voice would carry one block or two blocks and make a speech for an hour and a half without an audience, but that's just some little differences. I knew when they come to our country, that we do things that would appear extremely odd to them. �FRANK BORING: Did you witness the bombing of Kunming? Did you see or hear…? ROBERT MOSS: I don't think anybody there ever saw or heard a bomb hit Kunming. FRANK BORING: Just before you arrived though, there was a bomb attack. Some of the guys did see that, but did you go into the city and see any of the damage? ROBERT MOSS: Yes, I saw some of it. But it was done before we arrived, not after. FRANK BORING: What did you see in terms of the damage in Kunming? ROBERT MOSS: The frugal Chinese picked up everything from the bombing that could be salvaged almost immediately, so what we saw was either a hole in the ground or a building that all the materials that could be reused had already been moved. FRANK BORING: You mentioned that on the first day that the battle actually occurred, you were actually not on duty. Were you on the field, did you go to the field after they came back, or were you - where actually were you? ROBERT MOSS: At the hostel. FRANK BORING: What was the reaction, what was your reaction I should say, when they came back after the fight? ROBERT MOSS: It was of course, thrilled that we did as well as we did and didn't lose a pilot. FRANK BORING: Was there a sense of exuberance going on? ROBERT MOSS: Yes, of course. FRANK BORING: Give us an idea of what it was like, now that there's a first engagement. �ROBERT MOSS: One of the things that maybe I was a little surprised - that most of the comeback from discussing the mission happened at very close range instead of 500 yards that our guns were both sited to coming in on, mostly a hundred yards and less, so we changed both sites of our guns to a much closer distance. FRANK BORING: What was the reaction of the Chinese people? Were you present at the awards and the banquet and all that? ROBERT MOSS: I don't remember anything about that. FRANK BORING: What would you say was your next - the next step - where were you transferred to, or did you remain in Kunming for an extended period of time? ROBERT MOSS: I was in the second group that went to Rangoon? - the first group may have been there two weeks or something and I was in the next group. FRANK BORING: So now you're - this is to relieve the 3rd squadron, right - that had already been fighting there? Okay. If you could describe to us the this is when you first saw battle, is that correct? Okay. I wonder if you could give us a sense of that first time that you had to get into an airplane that you knew that you were going to be going into battle. ROBERT MOSS: You never know for sure if you're going into battle, but if you take off and there's a warning, naturally you assume that the enemy is approaching your area unless you're going on offensive mission, at which I believe the first two of my missions were that rather than meeting an enemy coming in, and so you know what the plan is and what you hope to accomplish. FRANK BORING: What did you feel like when you took off - this is very different from training, very different from just getting into a P40 and, as �you say, feeling one with the machine or whatever, this is real battle? ROBERT MOSS: I don't think one thinks like that. I think like this is something that you've prepared yourself to do, and now's the time that you go about it, and you just try to make it happen it was planned. I think that maybe I was no different than most under the circumstances. FRANK BORING: Describe if you will, in as much detail as you can, the first encounter you had. ROBERT MOSS: Those are areas that have not been real fond memories. The first mission that I flew with Charlie Mott was strafing mission on an airport over in French Indo China, I believe, or it was at the time. Charlie was shot down, but militarily is to the number of planes destroyed and that sort of thing, it might have been considered a real successful mission, but of course, there's nothing real successful if you leave one of yours on the other side… You were going to not go into combat and I would like to steer around combat. FRANK BORING: I don't think I was here when you guys were talking about - you don't want to talk about any of the combat at all? � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 5 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss discusses the differences he experienced between the AVG and a standard military unit and his impressions of the city of Kunming. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a8583f292abe841ee9626996ad477990.mp4 03f993e8a570693fcc98ede37f3b7a5f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e413d1d81e9d8c21e864dac617dd3bb5.pdf a35febe4b1500c56da824d222de2df8e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] FRANK BORING: ………… would land 30 ft. in the air basically, that's what I'm talking about. ROBERT MOSS: ………… a lot of good reasons, even the navy training might have been superior to air force training, we don't even know that. FRANK BORING: I'm not trying to get a comment on that, and I'm not commenting on their abilities as fliers, what we're talking about is that difficulty from going, from your observation… ROBERT MOSS: It's as simple as this, I had to become accustomed to flying an airline plane, which is - the cockpit is a lot higher from the runway than a P-40, so you're tending to come in - and you hit the ground before you think you're going to hit the ground because you're accustomed to being 6 ft. from the ground when you make contact and you're 13 ft. from the ground, and those guys on the PBY's were higher than that, so they leveled off that P-40 up there at about the same place you'd level off the PBY and when it stalled out, it should have been a quarter of an inch above the ground and it was 16 ft. above the ground, and it was a hell of a whop when it hit. I can't say it any other way. That's right. FRANK BORING: That's exactly what we're looking for, it's from your observation point. Now we've got it, that's perfect! We have to try and �communicate with an audience, Moose, we have to show an audience that doesn't know a thing about it. ROBERT MOSS: But I shouldn't be criticizing… FRANK BORING: Were there some pilots that could not get used to the P-40 and they turned into ground personnel or anything like that? Did you observe that? ROBERT MOSS: Yes, there were several people in the checkout stages in the AVG that became ground personnel, assistants and office people because Chennault figured that - we knew that we would not be having a lot of new P-40's coming in, and we were losing too many P-40's in the checkout period, and he just had to stop that, because we wouldn't have been active if we'd used them all up trying to get them adjusted back to the height that you should land in a P-40. FRANK BORING: During this period of time in training, you'd already established some contact with these guys from all over the country. Were there any in particular during the training period that you became closer to, or ones that you got to know, or even ones that you felt - that you didn't like? ROBERT MOSS: Of course, you find out more closely about your common interests if you're rooming with someone, if you're put together with them on a day to day basis, and I felt that - out of one or two - that it was generally known that were despicable characters and didn't last very long. I thought it was really an interesting group because one thing of the geographic distribution from whence they came, and about their personal lives and the lives of parents and friends being so different than mine. It made them an interesting group to me. FRANK BORING: Your background in terms of your schooling was in a small one room schoolhouse. Chennault had taught in a one room schoolhouse. What was your impression of Chennault as a teacher? �ROBERT MOSS: I think one of the first things I noticed about Chennault as a teacher, he didn't play around the periphery. He came straight to the point. He was one who immediately took the wheat from the chaff, and whatever he did - was immediately let you know where the point was, and the reason for going straight to it. I liked him. FRANK BORING: On that same line of thinking, you had been trained as a pilot, as a fighter pilot for certain tactics that the military at the time considered to be the tactics. Now as I understand it, Chennault had some radical concepts that were somewhat different than the training that you had had. Can you comment on either the differences or your reaction to the differences between the way the military taught you to fight and the way he was telling you to fight? ROBERT MOSS: I had for one had not been in the military long enough in a fighter plane to be well versed in gunnery or in military tactics. It may have made it even more interesting for him to come up with specifics about when a situation came about how to handle that particular situation and if we saw a certain picture emerging, what would be the next thing to emerge from that same picture in combat. For example, he would say that when you meet three planes, you should expect them to react in a certain way, and then your defense against that should be this, and so on. But he discussed tactics and not flying ability. FRANK BORING: What were your first impressions and any comments you might have on the British at that time? ROBERT MOSS: Some of our boys wanted to have little sham dog-fights with the Brewster's, they did, and I don't remember really anything about how they have come out. What they wanted to do is to check and see about the turning radiuses and how quickly we could get to the red line on a dive compared to their planes and we were not located on the same air base and we didn't get to know those �people very well. However, we do know that they had some pilots that were not officers and all of our pilots were officers in one of the other forms of service. FRANK BORING: What was your impression of Chennault's staff? Did you have any contact at all with people like Harvey Greenlaw or Boatner Carney or Skip Adair, any of this group? ROBERT MOSS: I knew them all on a personal basis but I had no way of knowing, or making a judgement as to their ability and the job that they were hired to do… I know that Olga, Harvey's wife was a very, very lovely lady. FRANK BORING: Can you comment any further on that? ROBERT MOSS: I don't think I should comment any further. FRANK BORING: Give us your first reaction to the events of December the 8th, when you heard about Pearl Harbor. ROBERT MOSS: When the news came to us that Pearl Harbor had been bombed, we started getting directives immediately and it was just as if you've had your practice, now the whistle is blowing, it's time to start the game, and that's how I remembered it. FRANK BORING: Did you notice, yourself specifically, but amongst the group itself, was there a change of attitude - I know you were still in the learning process of the airplanes and there was getting the equipment together and all that, but it was all sort of gearing up for this big event. Did you notice any change in the attitude in terms of the event is now on? ROBERT MOSS: Not that I recognized. FRANK BORING: On the 10th of December there was an alarm - the first alarm - a warning that the Japanese were coming. Can you comment on that �feeling of - before an actual attack - what it felt like, the waiting for the attack to happen? ROBERT MOSS: I wasn't on duty on the first contact, it was my day off or I was not at the airport, but I do remember very distinctly that everything downtown was closed all day during the day because they were being bombed. But I was - and business was carried on in Kunming, China after dark as a normal routine. But after the first contact the Chinese immediately believed that there would be no more bombs in Kunming and they started opening their places of business immediately because it was really a shock to them and a wonderful, I'm sure wonderful, surprise, not one bomb fell in the city limits, not one - letting one plane arrive. So they felt like that they were safe from then on. That was the big change. FRANK BORING: Let's talk about Kunming then. You were sent to Kunming - did you fly there first of all? ROBERT MOSS: I flew. FRANK BORING: Could you describe to us your first reaction, your observation of flying into Kunming? You had been flying in Toungoo which was one atmosphere. What was it like in Kunming? ROBERT MOSS: Well of course the difference in the altitude made you land a lot harder - thinner air, but the runway was long enough to land there, so, nothing that I remember specifically. FRANK BORING: (Inaudible) ROBERT MOSS: On our flight to Kunming, only the flight leader had a hand drawn map. We were able to fly over underneath all the top cover, no maps necessary, and it was strictly a cross country, uneventful trip other than, in the distance we could see, snow-covered mountains, and it was very beautiful, but very different. �FRANK BORING: What were the conditions in Kunming different from Toungoo your living quarters, for example, or the food? ROBERT MOSS: The food in Kunming was not a great deal different than it was in Toungoo, as much as we had our own cooks and the people to prepare the meals. The housing in China - we were in hostels that had permanent roofs and normal buildings for that part of the country whereas in Toungoo it was temporary thrown up barracks. FRANK BORING: What would you say was the difference between your experience of military routine and AVG? ROBERT MOSS: There was not a great deal of difference between that except that in the AVG we cut out a lot of the boring and monotonous things that you had to do just because you were in the military. Those just kind of faded into the distance, and we didn't have the formalities, that sort of thing. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 4 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss describes the P-40 flight training and how Chennault's teachings compared with his prior military training. He also describes when they received the news of Pearl Harbor and the days that followed for the AVG. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/15224d7a4cbd8cb1a3137c4d387c47af.mp4 1567bfd4162581b144eb95364d2dc8bf https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/02bbc6309c976e3ed1560a6d173cf7cd.pdf 6256aafd530ae344b9987d3ce988e9f3 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] FRANK BORING: Could you describe - I'll tell you what I'm looking for… the arrival in Rangoon? ROBERT MOSS: When we arrived in Rangoon and got off the boat, we were confronted with these strange looking little people that were riding bicycles and pulling rickshaws and I could see immediately that they had a total different way of life that we in the United States had been accustomed to, even though in the United States the way of life varied a lot from the city to the country, I knew that this was going to be another step in a different direction because I was seeing people walking, and found out later that they were religious people that didn't touch money, that had a bowl that they always went to get food and were allowed in every home to get meals, and so it was a real education. Some of the basic things remain the same all over with people in the military and virile young men they started looking to see what kind of women were going to be around, and they found out that there were enough foreigners there that we had an ample supply of girls that could speak English, although we always appreciated some of the pretty little Burmese girls. FRANK BORING: When you arrived in Rangoon, what were the next process? You eventually got into a P-40, so if could you explain that - how you got into the P-40 to fly it over. �ROBERT MOSS: Before we get to the P-40, in Rangoon we were there for a few days, going through some paperwork for CAMCO, signing up where you wanted your paycheck sent and that sort of thing, which was really important, and it was a bit of orientation there that we appreciated, because those people lived in the Orient for many years, and they could advise us what was best not to attempt to do, as well as some things that might be acceptable. Most of the people got on trains intermittently going to Toungoo, but word came out that they had a P-40 that was assembled. It hadn't been test flown but it was ready to go. So Roger Reynolds and Chennault were down there and they said, "You people are the pilots, why don't you just fly this P-40 up there?" I said, "Do you have a map of how to get there?" They said, "No we have a railroad." FRANK BORING: This part is very important - the P-40 and not having a map and all that. Let's start from the beginning then of you stayed in Rangoon did you know there were other P-40's being assembled at the time? ROBERT MOSS: I had not been to where the planes were being put together and readied for us. However, when I went out to get into the P40, I noticed that the mixture control, instead of pushing it forward to make it rich, you pulled it back, and I began to ask a few questions and they said, "You know, these planes were designed to go to Australia and they have a British cockpits that prop pitch control and the mixture control are opposite, and the lights on the side of the plane - flying lights - are different than they use in the United States, so you're going to have to adjust yourself to the reverse prop pitch control and that sort of thing. So Roger Reynolds and Chennault were there, they said, "Even though you don't have a map, you can fly formation on us after you get to Toungoo." I didn't know that the planes they were flying were about 40 miles per hour under the cruising speed of a P40. So I circled two or three times in order to stay in sight of them rather than get hanging on to their wing, and each time I'd circle them, I'd try to get slower, I would let the wheels down first and, of course, that slowed me �down a lot, and I'd let the flaps down about 30 degrees, and used a prop pitch that near take off pitched, so that if I began to stall out I could have enough power in my hand to get flying without stalling out. Even at that we got out of town about 20 minutes and the ceiling kept dropping and dropping, and I lost them and I followed a Y in a railroad track ''til I saw where I was going 180 degrees almost from the direction that we'd been flying, so I stayed down on that railroad and flew back and found the intersection where I'd taken the wrong track and when I arrived in Toungoo, they were taxiing up to park. I just landed right on behind on them and taxied on in the park also, but I never did let them know that I had been lost. I didn't want to embarrass them - be embarrassed by telling that on me at that early stage. FRANK BORING: Can you recall any of that, that you signed some papers and there were some warnings of what you should do and what you shouldn't do? ROBERT MOSS: I remember what the CAMCO people that they asked us to sign a will and I do remember that the witnesses on that will that I signed were from three different areas in the United States, because they put their address down when they witnessed the will and they were all from different sections of the United States, and I thought that that would look pretty unusual in a court anywhere in the country, to read a will that the witnesses were all from all parts of the country. FRANK BORING: What was your first impression of Chennault? ROBERT MOSS: When one meets Chennault, they readily recognize an aura that tells you that he's a winner. There's never any question, in athletics, on the softball field, Ping-pong, he was the worst loser of anybody you could ever imagine, and if he couldn't settle it any other way, he would challenge one of these young guys. If they teased him too much about him being an old man, he'd challenge them in physical areas just to prove that he was still much of a man. He was �definitely the finest quarterback that any organization could ever have. He had the information to disseminate that would save lives and make you a winner. FRANK BORING: Once you arrived in Toungoo, if you could, describe your living conditions. Give us an idea of what the field was like. What were your impressions of the air base in Toungoo? ROBERT MOSS: They had prepared a macadam landing strip which was better than a lot of places that we flew out of. We flew out of leveled rice paddies at times which still weren't too bad because they were they type of aircraft that would take a little bit of beating and still do the job. But of course, I'd never lived in huts that the roofs were made of rice straw, but it's quite fine insulation and the mosquito nets and the people that had prepared us a place to stay knew how the easiest way to overcome hot, humid conditions, and we were fairly comfortable even with the outhouses and that sort of thing. Chennault indicated that he had told some of the people that were recruiting pilots and ground personnel that he knew that the lifestyle of southern country people might fit better - temperaments of that type might fit better because he knew that in Burma and China, there wouldn't be any paid entertainment. He needed a person that could sit under an oak tree with a pocket knife and whittle and hum and be comfortable and not have to have bought entertainment, and I think it proved to be true. I think that the people that needed bought entertainment were not as comfortable as some of the rest of us. FRANK BORING: What was the - give us an idea of the sleeping quarters, the situation of the mosquitos, critters, snakes and things like that, any stories that you know of? ROBERT MOSS: In my shack, I was rooming with - one of the people that I had for a shack mate was Joe Alsop. He had a lot of good stories about Washington, and he had just gone to Duke University six months ahead of that had about 100 lbs. of fat taken out surgically, and he �had the belt there that he wore before the operation, and it would reach around me twice, so it was pretty unusual for me to meet someone like Joe Alsop and his background, and I found out later that maybe one of the reasons that he might have been there, that he was, I believe he said, a third cousin to the current President of the United States. FRANK BORING: Let's now talk about the first training experiences in Toungoo. In your case, you had already flown the P40, you were fairly familiar with it even though you had to do things backwards in the sense of the British version of it, but what we'd like now is your observation - as a pilot who already knew the P-40's, of the training that Chennault gave you in the art of flying this airplane. ROBERT MOSS: In Toungoo I don't think that we discussed and talked that much about the skill of flying because we were supposed to have those skills. I think, if I remember correctly, what I remember most was tactics that he said that would work against the Japanese that might not work against the Germans, things that he knew and that you could depend on, the Japanese pilots attempting to do and what his strategy would be to turn all of their advantages into disadvantages, and utilize our plane's best tricks, and a perfect example later on when the British that were in Rangoon with us, a group of Brewster Buffaloes, they were all shot down very shortly. They weren't there any more after a couple of engagements in combat with the Japanese. They didn't have any planes - they were nonexistent, and we were still flying. FRANK BORING: You had a background - your schooling, if you will - was from a small one room schoolhouse… � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 3 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss discusses the AVG's arrival in Rangoon, his first impression of General Chennault, and the living conditions upon their arrival in Toungoo. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/640a4be80f53100981f2ebee86d6be1f.mp4 215449c6196ae654a31dfad63e035357 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0b31f15be1d9c65942dea5aba844824a.pdf 599feed852f6d87ec8f140216cc4d8f4 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] FRANK BORING: Can you recall the meeting with Skip Adair and the group and what was told to you? What you were expected to do? Or did you get more details later? ROBERT MOSS: I remember vaguely some of what would be required of us if we were accepted. We were told that we would have to resign our commissions because a member of the armed forces of the United States could not be in combat in a foreign country under someone else's insignia, and of course, we were all concerned about that, but they said, you will see with your resignation, it will be at the pleasure of the President of the United States is how it will be written, and you can come back into the United States services any time you wish at, at least the rank of your contemporaries. I had a good feeling about that. I didn't feel like I was getting so far out on a limb that it might be cut off. FRANK BORING: When they told you that they would be sending you to China, did they also say that they would also provide transportation back home after your year's contract. ROBERT MOSS: I don't remember whether they gave - it's been so long ago that I don't remember many details of the mechanics of how the overall thing was handled. �FRANK BORING: If you could describe the process of resigning your commission, was there any difficulty from your Commanding Officer that you were leaving or was it a smooth transition to sign out and then join with CAMCO? ROBERT MOSS: The paperwork for our getting out of the armed forces of the United States was handled in a very smooth manner and you could readily see that the United States was acquiescing in this and making it easy to do because they wanted to check out some of our equipment against that of the Japanese. FRANK BORING: Once the decision was made, you'd signed your papers and everything, what did you tell your friends and family that you were going to be doing? ROBERT MOSS: I told my parents that I was going to Burma to try to protect the Burma Road which was the lifeline to China, and they agreed that they thought that it would be a good idea and that I would have a great time. FRANK BORING: Did you give them any impression, or perhaps did you have any impression that you would be in danger. ROBERT MOSS: I think that when you have power, danger is always involved and when you have power and gunfire, even more danger is involved. I don't think anyone of us overlooked the possibility of not coming back, and when we got there and talked with Lloyd's of London about insurance, we found out that they felt that we had at least a 10% chance of not lasting a year based on the premium rates for insurance that they were asking. FRANK BORING: Could you relate to us your experience in talking to Black Mac McGarry family. ROBERT MOSS: Black Mac and I went all the way through flying school together and since both of our last names started with M we were tent mates �at places and we were sent to Mt. Clements together and Mac was one of the most unusual people that I had ever met and real timid and he didn't want to tell his parents that he was signing up to go to China, so I went ahead of him to Los Angeles and met with his family, all his family, and told him of Mac's decision, and I had a pretty hard time telling them that I didn't have anything to do with his decision, with his making the decision, that they only thing I was doing was telling them about the decision that he had made. But I don't think that I got them ever to believe that. FRANK BORING: Soon afterwards, you then went to San Francisco I believe. ROBERT MOSS: No, we met at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles, that's where we assembled to make the trip, so in the Jonathan Club, the first night I thought someone was playing with me. I heard a knock at the door and I opened the door and no-one would be there and the second time, I would open the door and no-one was there. I said, "Well, I'll catch them, I'll stay at the door and as soon as they knock I'll undo the door." I did, and there was no-one there, so I decided that something might be happening to me upstairs. I was on the fourth floor so I called out to the front desk and they said that we're having an earthquake, and said what you hear are the window weights and the windows rattling - getting the vibration that's causing it to sound like somebody's knocking on your door. So they said, if it gets any worse, get under the bed. So I just waited it out and it happened to be what they consider in California, I think, a mild earthquake which is totally foreign to somebody from South Georgia. FRANK BORING: We had a chance to talk a little bit about your background and the fact that you did come from a very small area - from this area. What I'm looking for is your first reaction to this group of guys that had assembled there in Jonathan Club from all over the country, you're all going for the same basic purpose. You said you had no illusions about the danger and whatnot. What was your first impression of this group of guys that you met? �ROBERT MOSS: My first impression of the people on the group that were - we were going to travel to San Francisco and get on the Jaegersfontein, and my passport said that I was an agricultural adviser, that's why I was going, and I assume it's because they knew that I had a rural background and if I were questioned I could talk maybe fairly intelligently about agriculture, so they wrapped that I thought pretty nicely. The group that they put together, being four years or so in the service, I was fairly well aquatinted with the fact that a lot of service people tend to close the bar-rooms wherever they are, whether it be in Los Angeles or whether it be in Rangoon, Burma, so I wasn't too surprised at most of them being completely free and full of spirits. FRANK BORING: You mentioned the passports, was there a level of secrecy that was required of you? Did they ask of you to remain secret about this? ROBERT MOSS: Not that I remember. I don't believe that they warned us about saying where we were going and what we were going to do. However, we were isolated most of the time. You can't talk much on a ship at sea, it doesn't get farther than the ship. FRANK BORING: I'd like to return in a sense to the question that I just asked and carry it on to the trip itself. This question you'll find popping up as we go along because what we're really trying to do is get a personal view of the AVG. So I had mentioned what was your first impressions of your group when you were in the Jonathan Club. Now that you've boarded the boat and you're on your way, what were your impressions of your fellow travelers, not just the AVG but the other people on the ship and the interaction between them? Mainly what I'm looking for is your impressions as you're starting to get to know more of your fellow travelers. ROBERT MOSS: As far as I knew, outside the Jaegersfontein, the AVG people were the only people on the boats. I don't remember anybody else. I think that we were the only passengers. �FRANK BORING: What were your impressions of the AVG? Who stuck out, if you will? Who were the ones that you started to develop friendships with? ROBERT MOSS: Since there were only two women aboard, they naturally stuck out, and they may have not been so popular back home, but they found out there they became immediately popular on the boat and all the time that they were in China and Burma. FRANK BORING: Can you give us the stories or any remembrances you have that may have stuck out on that particular trip of any of the people that you knew? ROBERT MOSS: On the boat we had to cross the International Date Line - was one big party with all the tricks that they'd play on those that had not crossed. The other thing that we noticed that a group of young people like that, that are competitive in every way, played games aboard ship and we even had boxing gloves on board and I arrived in Rangoon with a fractured bone in my hand from boxing on the boat. It healed on its own but we x-rayed it and saw it had a fracture in the bone, and it happened with Ken Merritt from the University of Texas who was supposedly a good boxer at the University of Texas. FRANK BORING: Who were some of the AVG people that were with you on that trip besides Red Petach and Josie Stewart? Can you recall anybody else that was on there? ROBERT MOSS: I'm really embarrassed - as soon as we got to Rangoon we were back together again as a total group and I'm just not able to tell you now offhand how many and the names of the pilots or crew that were on board. FRANK BORING: Did you ever witness - at that time, Doc Rich was also on the boat - one of the things that they talked about was the dancing - that �there were dances there and Doc Rich and Red Petach, at that time Red Foster, were dancing. Do you recall that at all? ROBERT MOSS: I have known, I guess, as long as I've known Doc Rich that if there happened to be music and a woman, he was dancing. FRANK BORING: What were some of the stops along the way like? Do you recall any shore leave, or were you allowed off the ship at all? Can you recall any of the stops on the way? ROBERT MOSS: We had a stop and were allowed off the boat shortly in Australia. I don't remember any more detail than that - can't afford to. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 2 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss describes his first experiences and impressions of the American Volunteer Group and their journey overseas aboard the Jaegersfontein. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/ea5d302d97df655c9a985f29f06c4819.mp4 0c733b14ed27efc4dff97d239fe1e0f2 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/54ef89e65036276a2d52aaff76f7f5f0.pdf b5e0a308828ba9b010cd3c7ab519143d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert C. "Moose” Moss Date of Interview: 06-09-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] FRANK BORING: Moose, if we could begin with how you actually got involved in flight and airplanes. ROBERT MOSS: The way that I became involved in flying was by accident. I was in college and a boy rooming next door was from Pensacola Florida and he said to me, that the reason he was at school was to earn enough college credits to be able to become a cadet in the navy without having to take the mental examination, and he told me what fabulous pay rates that you would get when you finished your flight training and that made me interested in flying because the money was a big thing at that time because we were just beginning to come out of the depression. The valedictorian of our class the previous year got the highest paying teaching job in the state and his starting pay was $125 a month, so this kid told me that if he finished flight training, you could get $240 a month and I said, "Well, that's worth looking into", so it wasn't long ''til I had requested that through a friend of mine that our Senator give me an appointment to go to Randolph Field and I was accepted, and that was the way I started. FRANK BORING: If we could continue on with your experience on at Randolph Field and your subsequent transfer to Mount Clements. �ROBERT MOSS: Randolph Field was the basic training place for all cadets. Later on they had fields in California and Montgomery, Alabama, but my class which was 40H, when we went through the flying school, Randolph Field was the only flying field available at that time, so when we graduated from Randolph Field, the pilots being young shave-tails all put down choices of where they wanted to have their duty, so you had three choices. So my choices were anywhere below the Mason Dixon line, so I was sent to Mount Clements, Michigan. So it worked out that I believed that they purposely sent you where you didn't want to go. FRANK BORING: What was your experience once you arrived in Mount Clements? ROBERT MOSS: When I arrived at Mount Clements, it was a different vehicle than I started in because I had never driven on snow and ice and when I got to Detroit, I piled up five cars in the middle of downtown Detroit, so they had to usher me to Mt. Clements, which was about 20 miles out away from Detroit. FRANK BORING: Once you arrived in Mt. Clements, what was the training? What were you training on? ROBERT MOSS: When I arrived at Mt. Clements, it was the base that had the 23rd Pursuit Group, and I was attached to that group. I was so surprised, I had never seen fighter planes that had 35's and 40's there and the first day or two after I arrived a Major Doolittle came flying in a P39, all silver and sleek, but what impressed me most, I think, about getting out of a basic trainer and into a fighter plane was the amount of torque on the takeoff, and we had one boy that couldn't handle the torque and he left the runway and cut down a few planes and wound up half way in the back of a hangar because he couldn't handle the torque on takeoff. FRANK BORING: During this period that you were training on the P40, can you give us an idea of your first experiences with a P40? �ROBERT MOSS: My first experience with a P40, I guess, didn't differ much than the other pilots. We were told that this P40D was quite famous for its ground loop characteristics, it had a real low tail wheel that I think may have been corrected later, but basically I still think that the P40 was one of the finest combat planes. It was a plane that would take a lot of punishment and proven in combat, an aircraft that would bring you home. FRANK BORING: Any details that you can give - if you can't give details that's fine but, give us an idea of flying the P40 for the first time, when you were at Mt. Clements. ROBERT MOSS: When I flew the P40 the first time, I was amazed at the power over which I had control. It doesn't sound very fast now to talk about aircraft, but at that time it was the fastest plane known in America. It was the fastest that we had, its rate of climb we considered excellent. We knew that it had great diving speed, that was one of its real plusses. It allowed a pilot in combat if he had any altitude was break away from combat and come again which other planes didn't have that privilege of doing. FRANK BORING: When did you first hear about the opportunity in China? ROBERT MOSS: There were rumors at the 21st Pursuit Group that they were forming a volunteer group to go and protect the Burma Road and that there would be someone there in a few days that would interview people who had enough fighter pilot time to qualify to join this particular group. I knew that since I had been in the last graduating class that I would have the least amount of P40 time of anyone. However, the fact that they were requesting pilots that had flown an inline engine as opposed to a radial engine might give me the advantage and I decided right then that I would be at the interview. FRANK BORING: What was your motivation, or what was your interest in this particular endeavor? �ROBERT MOSS: I'd never been outside the United States, I decided that it would be an adventure for me, at least a peak beyond the horizon for a country boy, and I decided right then, if I went, that I wanted my crew chief to go with me. So the next day, I contacted my crew chief and said, "George," his name was George Bailey, I said, "George, if I'm lucky enough to get on this - with this group, would you go along and be my crew chief?" He said, "I'll need to one or two people, but I certainly would like to go." So that was the background there. FRANK BORING: What did you know about China at that particular time? ROBERT MOSS: When we were about to be interviewed, I found that I knew nothing about China, nothing about the Chinese people. We weren't even planning to go to China because at that time we were going to protect the Burma Road. However, when Pearl Harbor was bombed, we went immediately to the offensive and straight to every Japanese airport within P40 range within the minimum number of hours. We could give the Japanese a real blow while MacArthur was waiting to get official sanction from Congress that we were being shot at. FRANK BORING: Along the same line, a question about China, what did you know about Japan at that time? ROBERT MOSS: Having never traveled and was not very good at geography, I had very little concept of the kind of people that we would be meeting, that had different ways of life, and that was one of the things that appealed to me, would be because I get to travel abroad and be able to see some other ways of life other than ours. FRANK BORING: Had you seen in the movies the newsreels of the invasion of China by the Japanese, had you seen any of those - and whatever your reaction was if you did. �ROBERT MOSS: I didn't really know that the Japanese had invaded and I did not know that a war had been going on in China with the Japanese for ten or twelve years. That was so foreign to my background that I was unaware of that. FRANK BORING: Once you heard about the AVG and you'd gone to George Bailey and talked to him about going, what was the next step? Who did you meet to talk to? What was the interview? Was the interview next? What was the next step, if you will, after you made this decision that you were going to go. ROBERT MOSS: I believe that the person that interviewed us - I know that Adair was in the party - and of course one of the most appealing things in the very beginning was that the pay scale was going to be so high. We were going to get more than a Major or 2nd Lieutenant immediately go on a pay scale of at least that of a Major and then a small bonus of $500 for each plane that we shot down, certainly were enticing parts of getting one to go. However, I knew that with the few hours that I had on a P40, I'd be fortunate to go. However, when they were not able to get the number of pilots that they wanted with the number of flying hours, then they dropped down to the bottom of the barrel and allowed me and another one of my classmates or two to come along. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Moss_Robert_1991-06-09_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Moss, Robert C. "Moose" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-09 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Moose" Moss interview (video and transcript, 1 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Moose" Moss by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Moss was a Flight Leader for the American Volunteer Group (AVG) 2nd Squadron "Panda Bears." In this tape, Moss discusses how his flight career began and the cadet training he experienced before volunteering with the AVG overseas. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a74633eafe5771947aa6c482e8900d15.mp4 bf68b0e11b4f9ab13a8e0a9ea0a43ab5 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/2b812cfe5762ebf006753c2fd49fdcab.pdf a3f9acc70072b83d0d8acc4552c9cc1c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Robert “Burma Bob” P. Locke Date of interview: February 7, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 8] BOB LOCKE: One of the things that we seemed to run into in China was, as I said before, the companionship, the trust that we had for each other. We did our jobs to the best of our ability, we were continually recognized for being able to do a job. But you want to realize one thing, this was the first time in most of our military experience and though we were civilians - that we were being paid - all of our salary was going, except what we paid for our food - was going to a Chase National Bank in New York. As long as the AVG was in force, we were working, but in the back of our minds we knew that July 4, 1942 was our final day of our contract. We had done a good job, we knew we had done a good job. The publicity in the States it seemed that the morale was building up in the States. And we were starting to get an influx of prior Army takeover of the group. They would come in, they would be invited - of course we were in the second hostel, the first hostel, we'd hear about the parties that would go on every night, there would be a party over there, they would be toasting some dignitary, they would bring them out to the field or the prop shop and they'd show them around - we're in throw-off outfits, we've been working hard to try to get things done, we've scrounged gasoline, we've scrounged parts, we've used baling wire to keep these aircraft together and some of the pilots went over and got some P-43's. Before they got back, here we were having replacement aircraft, before they got back, the Chinese pilots that were flying them back, crashed them. I mean just stupid blunders. It's such a waste. And this was a waste that we had been �tying things together. Well, this was one of the times that morale went down. Each flight that would come in, they would have American cigarettes. We had been smoking - those that smoked would have been smoking the British cigarettes. The Raleighs that I got at the Go Down all those Raleigh cigarettes, we found out that 3/4 of them had worm holes in them and to smoke them you had to play them like a flute. So morale - when you're left without – but in the back of our mind we knew and we were proud of what we did, the job that we did, not just hearing it. Clair Boothe Luce arrived just before this fiasco on the 4th of July and she was there and she showed us copies of what went on. She showed us proof and she came around and she was just as gracious as anything. Taking notes and asking "what do you do" and "where did you get this cat" and all of these things. So we gave her that information. She was there about 48 hours and she was gone and we liked to feel that eventually we would be given credit, which we were. But as I say, when Bissell whapped us with this one, that was when morale went to the deepest and especially Sandell who was lost there and Imogene Hanks married to him, not knowing that she was at that time pregnant, luckily, that he did have a child. This crushed us. As youth does, I guess, I was close to 26 at the time and I didn't figure too much, I just figured I'm going to be out of a job. There was a lull. Then when we got over to the West Coast of India and were told we couldn't go back to the States and figured how we would get back, these are the things that - well, we fell back into the old position of we're going to have to create for own self, a way to get out of here and we created it. FRANK BORING: On that trip back after your experience with Bissell and not really knowing what to expect, your reaction to the American Embassy was rather novel, going over with the camels, what were you feeling like during that period of time, were you feeling frustrated, were you mad, were you angry? BOB LOCKE: Well frustrated, of course we were frustrated. Really frustrated because to see ships come in, we knew, we had already figured we �couldn't fly back to the States. Pan American was busy and dignitaries and stuff like that. As a matter of fact, I'd already made arrangements, the China Air Lines was gonna fly Kitten, they would fly my cat, before she was killed, they would fly her to Karachi and from there Pan American - I had already made arrangements - they were gonna fly the cat back to the States for me. So this had been taken care of. But to get down there - have you ever walked down to a dock and watched ships come in and unload and then they'd steam out into the sunset - well that's periodically, every day we were watching. Ships would come in, they'd offload and we knew, high in the water, taking off and going out, and we knew they were going right back to the States and we were told "I'm sorry, there's no transportation, none available" continually. This is day in and day out and we found out through the grapevine and through direct orders that about two days before we pulled this fiasco down in front of the Embassy, we found out that Bissell had put the orders over - no military personnel would give any assistance to the AVG group, no way. The can come onto the base, if they come in to eat, they pay for it, if they do this they pay for it, if they want transportation, they pay for it. There'll be no staff cars given to the pilots, there'll be nothing. You'll be given nothing. Cause I'm gonna have their butts right back into the military and I'm gonna have them over here. And that's the word that got out. FRANK BORING: What was your reaction to that? BOB LOCKE: The reaction to that was some of the guys quit and went to Bangalore. Some of the guys tried to - as a matter of fact, Bob Blair went down, he was on the same ship but he didn't get on at Karachi. Bob Blair got on at Bombay because he went down to Bombay trying to get out of there. Quite a few of the pilots finagled a group and went down there and they were waiting down there when we came through. Once we got on the ship, though, this ship was going back and the only passengers were about 45 American nurses, U.S. nurses that were, as they say you can't be a �little bit pregnant, but some of them were just a little bit pregnant and different reasons. They psychologically couldn't set up with it and there was a Major in charge of this group and I accompanied her all the way back to New York. So I had no problems really, as a matter of fact I fell into it and came up smelling like a rose. FRANK BORING: I think it would be good if you'd explain about the wedding, the fact that two very close friends got married and then they volunteered to stay afterwards, had a major effect and died. So start with the actual marriage, the fact that they were asked to stay on and they decided to stay on the two weeks and then what happened to him. BOB LOCKE: Well we had two nurses out there and Emma Jane Foster was very friendly with one of the pilots and that was Petach. He was one of the Squadron Leaders and they struck up a romance and one thing led to another and the first thing you know we had a wedding. And as it was our only wedding out there at the time, a lot of the fellows were envious of the fact that there went our nurse because she had always been with the crew as much as with the pilots. She would associate and here's the contact of the female/male contact that it's just nice to have around. But when Bissell made his speech and put the kibosh on us staying out there, we were asked to stay over for two weeks extra and many of us agreed to stay. Tex Hill, of course, was gonna stay there, Ed Rector was gonna stay there, which he did anyway, Peter Wright stayed, Rosbert stayed and Petach had agreed to stay for the two weeks extra. Some of the pilots will have to tell you which flight it was, but the 3rd or 4th, and we heard through the grapevine down in the crew level, we heard that they'd gone on a raid and Petach had been shot down and this was a great loss. P. Green and R.T. Smith, I believe, accompanied her back and I believe they were flown back to the States. Just overnight these things happened in this way. �FRANK BORING: There's one other question that we didn't quite get addressed. What did Chennault look like? How do you describe his face and his demeanor and all that? BOB LOCKE: What did he look like? FRANK BORING: They called him old leather face so I was just wondering... BOB LOCKE: Have you ever looked in the business end of a bulldog? Well that's just about what Chennault looked like. To me you can visualize, here was a rugged jaw stuck out, leather face - I think they used to call him leather face because flying in open cockpits all that time, your face turns to leather because of the weather hitting you constantly. But to me you could sit in a chair and look at him and talk to him, and you could see father, you could see a gracious person, you could see a rigid General, and then you could blink your eyes and look again and it was just like looking into the business end of a bulldog. � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Flying Tigers Interviews and Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Chinese World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Description An account of the resource Collection contains original 1940s films and interviews conducted in the 1990s, documenting the history of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers." The Flying Tigers were organized by the United States to aid China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Original filmstrips were recorded by AVG crewmen Joe Gasdick and Chuck Misenheimer, as well as Chinese Air Force Interpreter P.Y. Shu, who was assigned to assist Col. Claire Chennault as he trained Chinese pilots and established the AVG. Interviews with members of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) “Flying Tigers” were conducted by Frank Boring for the documentary film Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers, which he co-produced with Frank Christopher under the production company Fei Hu Films. The AVG Flying Tigers were a group of American aviators, mechanics, medical and administrative military personnel, led by Col. Claire Chennault to assist the Chinese Air Force in their defense against Japanese air strikes from 1941-1942. The AVG Flying Tigers also flew in defense of the Burma Road, a major Chinese military supply route. The group disbanded and returned to regular U.S. military service after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Boring, Frank Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films Research and Production Files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1938/1991 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Fei Hu Films Christopher, Frank Gasdick, Joseph Misenheimer, Charles V. P.Y. Shu Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4; application/pdf Language A language of the resource English; Chinese Type The nature or genre of the resource video; text Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88 Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant 1938-1945 World War II Relation A related resource Veterans History Project (U.S.) Moving Image A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context RHC-88_Locke_BurmaBob_1991-02-07_v08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Locke, Robert P. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-07 Title A name given to the resource Robert "Burma Bob" Locke interview (video and transcript, 8 of 8), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Robert "Burma Bob" Locke by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Locke was recruited to join the American Volunteer Group (AVG) from the Navy, where he was a Propeller Speciallist. He served his full term with the unit and was honorably discharged in 1942 when the AVG disbanded. In this tape, Locke discusses the final days of the AVG and their difficulties returning to the United States. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Boring, Frank (interviewer) Christopher, Frank (director) Fei Hu Films Subject The topic of the resource Oral history United States--History, Military China--History, Military Veterans China. Kong jun. American Volunteer Group World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, American Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived <a href="https://gvsu.lyrasistechnology.org/repositories/2/resources/540">Fei Hu Films research and production files (RHC-88)</a> Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Grand Valley State University. University Libraries. Special Collections & University Archives. Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource <a href="http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en">In Copyright</a> Type The nature or genre of the resource Moving Image Text Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource video/mp4 application/pdf Language A language of the resource eng