1 24 228 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/048612c846fd483c1dd454599f83e5f2.mp4 87974356147a5e1ddd2c88b8072fdaeb https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/1c88fe6418709defa015a9db22cf2f4e.pdf df3fddc5e18129de56b6e874d3d6cf82 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] SA: I flew for Eastern Airlines for a while, got out of that and I was doing - there were a hundred things to do up there. I told you I went to the University of South Carolina. I had a pretty good athletic background. The thing that really got me interested in flying was an engineer I was working with on the roads. I had one of those easy, so-so jobs, $100 a month which was a lot of money in those days. But this guy says, "You know I have this book here you might want to read," and I says, "Sure". That was a book about the early days of World War I, by Elliot Springs who later became a [?]. People kept asking me one after the other. I said one time, I said to this engineer, I said, "I read this book and I've contacted a friend of mine who has gone through this things, and he said it's a real tough deal to get into flying these days because there's no money and this is the words depression we've ever had, and all that stuff, and I just happened to get in, and to get in wasn't just a simple thing. You had to go to your Congressman, write to so and so and so and so, and I did all this and the guy in – I joined a bunch of other people about ten people down at Montgomery Alabama for a test, final test, examination and if you passed that, they had some pretty good … So I …you don't mind me saying "hell" do you? Sure enough, I was two of the ten who got through - I was on my way then. I had a friend who owned the [?] and he was a fine person, lived in a little, small town, his son was going to Tulane and he said, "Skipper, I know you from way back and you're the kind of guy that will go to a dance and get drunk and everything else and teach Sunday School next morning. If you pass this thing, come on down to New Orleans and we'll help you celebrate and he'd pay the bill. And he did, and I did. And that was a great idea - and Mardi Gras, that was really something, something fine, and for a man who likes to eat as much as I do, and occasionally drink - but I thought it was a good idea, and I got in. [?] …it wasn't easy in those days, but I got in. And the first thing you know, the Commandant, pulled out a long list of names, A-A-A, obviously he's going to start with 1 �the names [?] this little fellow was - I've forgotten his name but he was ahead of me …all right Mr. so-and-so, you're designated. He started hemming and hawing and said, "I can't do that and do this", and he went down the second name, "Skip Adair, Brian Adair, are you willing to accept the responsibility in this, you'll be the top dog in this whole class?" I said, "Yes sir" because I never turn down an opportunity to prove myself, and that's what it amounted to, I understand. I was looking at the best line instructor in the air force to teach me. He did a good job of teaching. FB: Once you followed through with that… SA: What do you want to put in the year book? I said, "Travel" because that's what I wanted to do, and I said "Okay". What was the original thing we were talking about, I've forgotten. FB: After you were finished up, you were training under one of the best trainers in the air corps. What happened after that? I got through class, two of them, and after graduation, I was sent to this place in Virginia - Chesapeake Bay, a fine place to start out for a young officer. I did that and Chennault came by one day and he just came in - he was visiting. I didn't know him from anything, and he had a couple of friends - that I had - joint friends with him. He said, "Come on Skip, we're going out on Chesapeake on my boat, and Chennault's coming along too." So we did, and that's the only time I met him so I doubt very much whether he'd remember meeting me. But things were different when we got into China, very different. For some reason he seemed to take a … he said, "This is the kind of guy I want to do this and that and the other". He never told me about it, we'd go hunting together, shoot those …drink bourbon, not to any excess but we did. That was pretty good, good deal. What else do you want? SA: FB: When did you - the first time that you went to the Gulf? SA: [?] Stratton, a good friend of mine from Texas, the classmate of mine, I wrote him a letter that I would like to come out there - they don't have a job at the moment and what do you think? He wrote back immediately and said, "Yes, you'll be perfect for this job." So, we'll send $1,000 check from the Bank of China for this thing and you just come on out here when you want to. So I went. 2 �FB: What were they asking you to do? What were your duties to be for this $1,000? What were you supposed to do? SA: Teach the Chinese, as simple as that, that was the only thing. Not a fighting deal or anything like that, that's all it was. What else? FB: Why did you want to go to China to begin with? SA: Because I got $500 a month. Was that a good reason? In a time when I never made more than $100 a month. Okay? FB: What did you know about China at that time? SA: What did I know about it? What I learned in school and studying. I'm pretty good on geology and geography. I had no particular preparation for it. I couldn't speak Chinese, nobody could. We all had to use interpreters. FB: Where did you go in China? Where were you actually stationed to teach these Chinese? SA: Kunming, Kunming was the first place I went to. They sent me up to a little place called Yunanyi and they had about six Americans there. Some of them had been there two years. I'd been there ten days before Chennault flew up from Kunming to Yunanyi and said, "Skip, the Chinese want you to be the boss of this outfit," I didn't know whether that was true or not - whether he wanted me to do it, I don't know. He said, "Are you willing to take it? It won't be any more money." I said, "Yes sir". I'm the kind of guy that - I've always done that - opportunity to take responsibility, I took it. In this case, it worked out pretty good. FB: What did you find at first in Kunming and then later on? What was the state of the Chinese Air force at that time? SA: Practically non-existent. We had one outfit with about ten bombers in it. They had a long history of being taught by Russians and by the Germans and one thing and another, but Chennault went over there about first two years before I did, and he was unbeatable in a fighter plane, he shot down half a dozen of those things - just like shooting ducks in a pond or something. What he was doing was running an outfit and improve the character 3 �of the Chinese pilots. We were not supposed to teach Chinese students, instruct and check on them, and be sure they were worth having, which is what we did. So that was that. Now what? FB: The Chinese Air Force at that time, what kind of airplanes were you training in? What were the facilities like? SA: Very obsolete planes, one seaters, as a matter of fact, the same type of plane that some of the classmates of mine flew. I didn't ever fly them except as occasionally out of interest. What I had was the best planes, newest ones, and I was taught in that. We were the subject of a lot of derision by other students, who said, "You've got it easy! You're pushbutton pilots. That kind of stuff. Well, that's baloney. But I did get to fly the best planes they had at that time. FB: Had you decided to ask your wife to come out to China, or was that later? SA: A lot of pilots had wives out there already and I said, well, I may as well have too, so I go to Chennault and he says, "Yes, go ahead, bring her out". Well, she came out - and out of Hong Kong, and one of my friends, Madam Chiang, - personal airplane, - she flew in from one place into Kunming up to the place where I was. By the way [?] which was the first and most lovely home and nobody in China had a home like that, the rest of them were just junk. You'd pull out the gun and shoot rats off the rafters and things like that. This was a good place and my wife was flown up in this beautiful C43 by an American pilot with the permission of Chiang Kai Shek, isn't that so? Anything else you want to know? FB: We're going to change the tape now… 4 � 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_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 1 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses his background before becoming involved with the American Volunteer Group and his first meeting with Claire Chennault in Chesapeake Bay. 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/1512ee98c41af140741c3444d053fa5f.mp4 19f645a4bd9bf113c640644559fb0b0f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/e7abf957ae3c9216db82932f4b7bd7d0.pdf b5007fc480f6e5de532070199ae4f55d PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] FB: Did you ever witness him (Chennault) fighting the Japanese? SA: No, I never witnessed - but I've seen and read so much about him, and I knew so much as a matter of fact, he was head of the air force, fighter division, down in Montgomery and when he first went out to China, he took off and did a one man air force. According to what I've heard, I didn't see it and I didn't see it, but I know he shot down at least a half a dozen of them. But when I arrived on the scene, he said - I don't remember now - I'll tell you he - there are so many things, I'm trying to pick out the important things, the things that will be interesting to you. FB: Whatever you want to talk about is fine, but what you're talking about I think, is what we were talking about in the kitchen, when he said, "Skip do you want to fight in airplanes? SA: Yeah, that's one of the things. I asked him point blank what that was - "Are you and I are going to fight in this war," and he said, "No, nobody, not you or I either. We've got our own jobs and somebody's got to run this outfit." The implication was that either one of us got hurt, it would be a blow, which it would be. FB: Let's go back to the early days in Kunming in China, can you tell us about your observations of the Japanese bombings? SA: Yeah. We'd go out and sit on a hilltop somewhere and watch them. We always had this warnings, we knew they were coming, then we'd spot them in the sky. They'd be up maybe 20,000 ft., something like that, and they'd start dropping these bombs and boy, when they hit you could see them hit, big explosions all over town and it kind of made us 1 �mad, naturally. Chennault and myself and everybody else connected with this thing wanted to see what could be done. I guess the most harrowing experience I've had was, I was up in a brand new little fighter plane, we'd just got it into China. I was trying it out, sat in it and one thing and another for half an hour. I had sense enough to come on back then, pulled the plane up and went along into town where my house was, and you know what? The Japanese came on that thing and just [?] the hell out of that airplane I'd been in just a few minutes ago. I was just lucky that I wasn't sitting - there was nothing I could do about it but hide and run. That was the closest I've ever been. FB: Why would you say the Chinese were not able to defend themselves against the Japanese? SA: That's a leading question I would prefer not to answer. FB: At this time, the Japanese had a lot of airplanes, they had a lot of investment into the military. They also had pilots that were very well trained. You were just training the instructors who then had to go out and train - it was a long process just to learn how to fight. SA: You might say that until the AVG days - we're talking about before the AVG - that's nothing, there was absolutely nothing you could do about those Japanese. They had a field day. It's simple! I can't think of anything easier. Nobody shooting at them. We had a few pilots, some outstanding fighter pilots - they were capable of doing something, but they didn't have the equipment or anything else. FB: Skip, my intention was not to give you a leading question - I'll tell you why I asked that we've already interviewed some of the Chinese that were those pilots and they basically said that there was no way of stopping them. SA: I don't remember that, but I have never known any of them to shoot one of them down. I'm sure it must have happened, but I'm not aware of it, certainly not while I was there. FB: Were you a part of the discussions with Chennault about the difficulties he was having in training the Chinese and what alternatives you had to fight against the Japanese? 2 �SA: To a certain extent. I don't think I had a great deal. He had his own ideas made up and there was nothing I could say or do to him about it. FB: When did you first hear that he was going to start up an American Volunteer Group? SA: I guess it was about the time I left China, somewhere along about that time. We knew it was going to happen, and the reason we knew it, he and I in the States had made a $50 million loan and that was the purpose of getting some airplanes. It was all a secret thing, nobody ever put in the paper or said anything. No. Everything I did was quiet and absolutely no ………I got on the boat to China, you think I said I was going over there to fight? Hell, no! I was a newspaper writer I think, yeah, that's what I was. Later on, when I was recruiting these boys, we all gave them a sign, some kind of identification. That's the way we did that - we were very quiet. So, one day, all hell broke loose as far as I'm concerned when this joker from Florida who was probably a pretty good friend of Roosevelt, Franklin D. Anyway, he was testing the wings, when he said, "This AVG is going to be …Blah, blah, blah, let the whole goddam thing go". Well, before that we had nothing, absolutely nothing. We kept it shut and quiet, the whole way, that's what we were supposed to do, otherwise the Japanese would sink every goddam boat [?]. We signed nothing. So even then I was mad at Chennault and everybody else the matter had become public, that it was going to happen. Everybody I hired, and I hired a lot of them to everyone I said, "Don't say anything about this". FB: Let's get to that point then. You returned back to the United States after training the Chinese - you decided to return to the United States - why did you then decide to go back to China? SA: I was going back I think because everybody knew the whole deal was over. When I got back - Chennault and I, besides playing a few rounds of golf on the course there, he said, "I want you to meet somebody," and I met T.V. Soong, Dr. T.V. Soong. He was the money man of [?] at that time and Mr. Chennault said, "This is Mr. Adair and we're going to use him to recruit," and he just nodded his head. That's about all there was to it. He didn't ask me any questions. Chennault wanted it. That was it. FB: What were you told to tell, or what were you looking for when you went out to recruit these various people for the AVG? What were you told to tell them and what did you actually find when you went out looking for them? 3 �SA: I wasn't so much told what to tell them, but in general I said, "We're building up a group of fighter pilots to defend the Burma Road." The Burma Road was the only lifeline, you understand that? All right, that was the whole deal. That's about it. Anything else you'd like to know about it, I'd be glad to answer it. FB: Of these men that you were going to recruit, when they came in to see you, can you give us some idea of some of the personalities of some of the people who [?] you or …? SA: That's a – of what I thought, and I had had enough experience all the way in the air force one way and another, about 5,000 miles in the air. I had all this [?] I didn't have to do anything. I didn't make up any lies or anything, I told the truth. As a matter of fact when I got back, I said, "One of these guys told me, he surprised me, he said, "You're a soft sell". I don't know if I was a soft sell or not but I got two or three hundred people, and I got a few bums in there, but most of them were good. Anything else? FB: Once you had done the recruiting, give us an idea of how you went from base to base looking for - you were travelling across the country looking for people? SA: Yeah - a list, and bases, eight or nine air force bases, and most of them had P-40's or something like that they trained on. I was given a letter identifying me, a very simple thing. "This will introduce Mr. C.B. Adair who will explain the nature of his business." That doesn't say much does it, but that's exactly the way it was. So I went. A lot of these guys that walked into the base were classmates of mine. They all said, "I'm not gonna let this guy go." I said, "You have nothing to say about it." He picked up the telephone and "call Personnel right now if you want to." Some of them did call. I was given the freewheel to go ahead, they didn't cooperate and get a group of them together - I talked to the group. I didn't go one by one or anything like that. I had a long list of requirements Chennault had put up. He wanted a [?] of the so-and-so, all different mechanics. Different phases of it he would go through and spell it out, how much they would get in salary. I didn't much like that but I was innocent more than the pilots. FB: In terms of the pilots themselves, you were looking specifically for pilots that had P-40 experience, is that correct? SA: Yeah. 4 �FB: What did you actually find in terms of pilots? SA: Some of them had P-40 experience and some of them didn't. When I got down to San Antonio when this R.T. Smith and P.J. Green - they were there - they had never been in a fighter plane in their life. They knew what the hell it was all about, they were the kind of guy that I wanted, and I hired them. You know something? They're both aces. You know what an ace is? Five or more. 5 � 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_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 2 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair describes the early days working with General Chennault in Kunming, China and the early discussions of the American Volunteer Group and their recruitment efforts. 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/1d62b95fb0fd3ac5f68505115be35ee6.mp4 4849d5010c18ea8bed33885f423d6604 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/eb0178f6bdd9d4b2a0c34c3d92c983b9.pdf 1d4010a295bcc84361fb9159831fcc7c PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] SA: … maybe someone in administration, Franklin D. Roosevelt, he was a man of his own, he knew what he wanted to do, I'd never make any criticism of him, but guys like the Senator who shoots his mouth off, nobody else did. He might have for some reason in administration wanted to have affirmation to get out, but he leaped out, isn't that what they say? What it was, it was a bad deal for us and them. He was later, can't remember the gentlemen's name, but he was lot's older than I am, and I'm old enough. He just was told to do it - I think that's what happened. But he would never say that, he says, "Do it as a [?].” I know so much about it – this is going to happen – he would never have been fool enough to do that. So I think that's what it was, the way it was. They didn't want all of a sudden this thing to fall on them like a ton of bricks. You know what I mean? That's the way it was, exactly. FB: Once you had completed the recruitment process, what was the next thing that was asked of you? What was the next thing that you did? SA: To be frank I got in one of these airplanes that land on water, Pan American [?]. I got on one - incidentally, I had a card I could fly anywhere I wanted. I went to Hawaii. Gave myself another ten days’ vacation [?] "I'm gonna do it, nobody else can ever - I'm could stay there a month if I wanted to. But I did see a lot of my classmates out there, in the air force. They were concerned, they knew that the Japanese were getting - and I did too. I said, "Jesus, you'd better watch 'em because…" I didn't predict that Pearl Harbor, but that's what happened. I stayed there and this friend of mine took me all over the island, which is a good thing. Then I got back on the Pan American Clipper - that's what it was they take off and land on water. You've seen them I'm sure. I flew all the way in the Hong Kong area. 1 �FB: At this time of the organization, were there ships going over to take them over? Did you get involved in that at all? SA: I had nothing to do with that. CAMCO, which is the Central American Manufacturing Co., run by the Pawley brothers, there were two or three of them and they did a good job of doing what they were supposed to do. Chennault never got along with them very well. I got along with them a lot better than Chennault did. Pawley, Gene Pawley was a good friend of mine. I was walking down the street in Times Square and bumped into him and he said, "Let's have a drink." We were that way and I used his office which was up there in the RCA building - I think it was about the 70th floor, it was way up there I can tell you that. I'd never do all the paperwork for him, I'd send it in to this and that and so and so and so. FB: Once you had completed the recruitment process, what was your next duty? What else did you do for the AVG? SA: I got to Rangoon which was the place where we started. Above Rangoon about 120 miles was a little British airport that the British weren't using. We got permission to use it as a training center, which we did. What else do you want to know about it? FB: What was the next responsibility? You'd finished with the recruitment part, now what did you do for the AVG? What was the next step? SA: The next thing? Just about what I told you, except for the time before. Chennault and I were just like this. I didn't have to ask him a damn thing, I just went on and did it, and so forth and so on. Only upsetting thing about the whole process as far as I was concerned was, I got malaria. Now malaria over there is a killing process. It was a good thing we had a couple of nurses, two females and another male, a doctor and everything else and they were using the finest things in the world on me. I was 104 temperature. They put me on a slab, bald naked and ice all over me. These nurses all got very familiar with me. They didn't really think much of me because I'd [?] One morning, while I was there, still in the hospital, Chennault came by - he usually came by in the morning to tell me what was going on [?] I said, "What's new this morning?" He says, "Nothing much. The Japs have bombed Pearl Harbor. They're next door to us and they could be here in another twenty minutes." I said, "Nurse, bring my pants." That's exactly what I said. So, I got 2 �the hell out of there and he said, "I want you go on up, when you get the chance -after you get through - send these people and all these spare parts, motors and everything else we've got to go. I didn't go with the experts. I had a little guy that was a supply clerk, and I says, "Listen, you have a responsibility. You've got ten trucks, new trucks, and millions of dollars’ worth of things. You know who's going to be responsible for it, who's running that thing? You! That usually set him up and they did it, like I did a lot of things. So that's the way it was. We've got to give them credit for moving more material in the fastest time than anybody else - it had been routine army joke that it "had taken forever", but they didn't do it that way. He just said, "You, that's your job and you're not taking off tomorrow, you're taking off today." FB: That leads me to another question. What would you say were the differences between the way the military did things and the way the AVG did things? SA: A big difference - based on the same thing, but I would say we had more freedom, we could do it if we wanted to. We didn't have to go right down the line and do everything one, two, three and so forth. We could use our own discretion and do things like that. The army could never do that. They'd take a month to get ready, and we'd be already up there. Did that get through you? FB: Part of the energy process - sometimes we have to ask you - but the part that you talked about when you had malaria, and you were laid out and Chennault came in to tell you about Pearl Harbor? Could we have you repeat that again? If you could start with the fact that you got down with malaria and they had to lay you out on the ice and then Chennault came in as he usually did and then …? SA: While I was in the hospital, we had a good medical staff of our own. I'd had nothing to do with hiring them, Chennault did most of that. There was a doctor and nurses and they were very good. They kept me alive because that type of malaria they had over in Burma, that was a killer. Our doctors had as good a knowledge of it as anybody, better than most. I didn't have no trouble out there. I got out, and that's it. After sending a few more people up, we had a little transport [?] by ten people, two engine airplane, I'd flow in one a lot of times. We just moved on up to Chunking with that. These pilots had been trained down there in this place, and they had done a pretty good job of doing it. They had to land on real short runways, some of them were busted up. But in general, they were pretty good. We saw three organizations, squadrons, many [?]. 3 �FB: Could we get back to …? SA: He never was kicked out, he [?] or nothing, he didn't get that way, he wasn't that kind of a guy. He said, "How are you feeling"? I said, "I'm feeling better, I'd better get out of here." He said, "I hope so, I want you to go on up to Kunming because the Japanese have done just what I said - bombed Pearl Harbor." And what's the name of that little kingdom - the Japanese could go anywhere they wanted to go - they were there. And that's about it. I got out and never had any recurrence of that thing, malaria. FB: How long did you stay in Burma? You went almost immediately to Kunming, didn't you? SA: I don't know how long, but it wasn't a short period of time, it was a matter of a month or so. FB: So you were there during the training period? SA: Yeah, that's right. It doesn't sound like much, but that's exactly what it was. Do you know what "supplies" meant? Everything! They couldn't move without it - can't do anything. So, I hated the darn thing. I told him "I don't know a damn thing about supplies, and you know it." It doesn't take that kind of a thing, it takes someone with a few brains to do it, to take advantage of opportunities, and go ahead and do it with limited facilities." Got it? FB: Could you tell us a little bit more about what the supply situation was like. What kind of problems did you run into? What did you have to do? SA: The guy, as I told you, was a tough man. He walked into the room and you wanted to walk out the other side, because he had a body odor that'd kill you. But he was the best I had. You couldn't tell him to go back to the United States and send over somebody else like that. So, you've got to go. I had about three or four others, we had clerks who had probably more experience in supplies that I had, but I couldn't have gotten to where I was in the air force without knowing a lot about supplies. Does that answer your question? FB: What we're looking for is - as if we know nothing about this. I know the supply situation was very difficult, that you were running out of supplies, it was a constant problem. 4 �SA: We didn't have any corner drug-store or anything like that. FB: This is what we need on camera. We need to know what kind of problems you ran into and what the supplies situation was like. SA: I'd pick a telephone and I'd call Rangoon - I'm way up there about 120 miles away, and I say, "Send down a box, we just lost another pilot," or something like that. I had to do things like that all the time. I'd use the telephone, and who would I call? CAMCO. A lot of people don't know anything about CAMCO, but they were pretty important. 5 � 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_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 3 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses hearing the news of Pearl Harbor while being treated for malaria, in addition to the supply situation during the training period in 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/f6d59698cb93f6a01e27ebcb6e3e32e7.mp4 744bdee38daafbf216237eae1a1dad47 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/84b13ce4f8f02d0e9e5a25f29187f9e9.pdf cb76b13ce4185f1598c7b9f97e784a22 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] FB: Can you give us an idea of what it took to get equipment, and to get it to the crews? SA: I'm going to say that that was something that CAMCO did - airplanes, spare parts, they would do it. All that stuff was arriving in Rangoon, and one of the brothers - I've forgotten whether it was Gene - but we would receive these crates, a shipment. I'd open them up and - they were P-40 airplanes - we'd put them together the way it has to be done. In case you don't know, a crate comes in, it's not an airplane, they put it all together and a lot of people spend a lot of time working on it. Once it gets together, then they call somebody - maybe me - and say, "We've two or three more planes ready", so we'd send down some pilots and they'd fly them back, just like that. That was supply. We weren't in the business of buying things, but you've probably heard of a guy named Joe Alsop. He came out there and got in the organization, and we were getting to be friends. We would send him on [?] and one time when he was - some guns and some small side arms you might call them. He went all the way to the Philippines and bought a bunch of them and came back. Another trip he was out there getting something like that for us, is when the Japanese folded up Hong Kong, and so what he had to do was claim he was a pilot at the embassy, not a part of AVG, his life wouldn't have been worth a nickel if he was that way. You understand that? Well, that happened. Joe Alsop was later friends later on after the war in Tex Hill, and I used to go up to that place and have dinner. He'd apologize because he didn't have so much money, but all these people would bring him delicious fish and stuff like that, and he'd say, "I apologize for the fish," but it was real good stuff. That's the way Joe Alsop was. 1 �FB: It was once stated that you and Chennault had a conversation in which they said he'd never last 15 days - that the AVG would never last 15 days without parts. Do you remember that conversation? SA: Uh, Uh. But it could be very true. I'm not part of that, but anybody that knew anything about military, knows damn well that supply is - without it, you're dead. Even though I thought, "To hell with it," I didn't want the damn job, but it seems it hounded me later on. [?] said, "That's the only job I've got open, supply". I said, I don't know a damn thing about it but I'll take it. That's about the way you learn. FB: We need you to give us your personal opinion, your personal observations about some of the people that were in the AVG. We have a pretty good idea about the pilots, the mechanics, but none of them knew the staff. You're the only one we've been able to talk to that actually had real contact with the staff. So I'll just ask you a few questions about people, and if you could just comment on those people. Chennault had an interpreter the whole time he was out there named P.Y. Shu. Did you ever have any contact with him or do you have any …? SA: I just freewheeled, just as I … I'm 82 years, I don't remember things like I used to, hells bells! But these Chinese were indispensable, as interpreters and otherwise. I'll tell you one thing, these Chinese people - I don't know how to put it but they'd do the best they can with what they've got, but you can't stack them up against Americans who were educated, and that's the truth, no way. I had lots of things that astound me. I'm just like you or anybody else. You know what? This Tiananmen Square, where all the massacres of students took place? I don't know whether it took place or not but that's beside the point. In China, you can't come out and say offhand that somebody's bad, somebody's good - you can't do it. FB: Let's talk about some of the people on the staff. SA: Williams - that's a good one to start with. Williams was a [?] officer, and I had problems with him. One time, we moved out from Kunming? up to Chung King, and as much as we may dislike it, we had no niggers in this outfit, that's one thing, and another thing what the hell did I start to talk about? FB: Williams. 2 �SA: He was a radio man, he was very important to us because he set up this bunch of radio stations and early warning things - it was very [?] but we had to have it. You couldn't sit on the ground and wait for them to [?] you had to know they were coming - did it by airplane communications. We did it that way. We didn't take anything from him, he was never an officer. Our system was based on what the navy had. We had different bars, different dining rooms. You might say, how can you be so snooty. Chennault set it up that way originally and I had to carry it out, and I didn't like it that way but I did it. For example, we moved up to Kunming and I sent Williams ahead to prepare, to do certain things before I came up and the rest of it. I got up there and I got so goddam mad, I went and blew my top. He had set everything all together, strewn everything out the window, and that wasn't the way we operated. His mentality and the way he went - he said he couldn't see anything different about it, but goddam it, I could and everybody else could I gave him hell and immediately changed it myself, but he called me a "son of a bitch" and everything else. I didn't give a damn. He goofed and he didn't ask anybody for information, he'd just go ahead and do it that way. Now Williams, I like, he's older than I am, but that doesn't mean he was in the AVG so long. I don't know where the hell he was before that but all I know is, he's older. And the one reason I know he's older, one day I was talking about someone - how old I was - and he say, "I'm older than you," I says, "You are?" It surprised me, but he was. But Williams was a tremendous person. It just so happened he never was an officer, and we had so damn many good'uns - crew chiefs and [?] personnel - no use laboring the point, but in this case - I could have gone along with it, with the same damn thing, you see. But it was absolutely - didn't jibe at all with what we'd set up. FB: How about Harvey Greenlaw? SA: He was a no-no. I don't know why Chennault ever brought him over there but he was an old friend of his. He hadn't been in the army or anything else as far as I know, but he was supposed to know China, but he didn't know much. He had a wife who didn't know much either, so I heard. FB: Can you comment any further about his duties or what she was supposed to be doing? SA: He didn't do much of anything. They got credit for that [?] but he wasn't. 3 �FB: How about Boatner Carney? SA: He left for the [?] Another thing, Chennault always told me, if you want to get rid of somebody, you do it. Well, I had to, I said to him "That's a tough job but one of the things I have to do." [?] FB: Can you comment on that - on reasons why some of the AVG were fired, or any in particular that you remember? SA: I was having lunch with some friends of mine - I don't want to say friends, maybe officers - a Chinese waitress came up and said, "Somebody at the door wants to speak to Mr. so-and-so. Mr. so-and-so was one of our pilots, a good pilot, but he'd had an operation, a double hernia, so we'd taken him off until he'd gotten over that and somebody - I didn't do it, but I guess somebody had sent him to inspect the barracks, so to speak and look for drugs and things like that. He went round and he must have upset somebody but they came - two of them - big s.o.b.'s - big boys - and this pilot went back to the door to find out what they wanted, and they started pounding on him right and left, and boy, you're talking about somebody getting mad. I let them both have it! Right and left! I let them know I was there. I didn't knock them out but they were so goddarned [?] that I couldn't do a damn thing else. My reputation was made! They went, "Christ, that Skip can really do it"! But I'm not the kind of a guy that can sit aside and watch somebody be slaughtered. Are you? What else? FB: You were talking in the kitchen about the incident in which Boyington, Pappy Boyington. SA: Pappy! Chennault hired him, he can't blame that on me, I didn't hire him, but Chennault did. It was a mistake and he'd admit it. I like whiskey, but I'm not a drunk, [?] but this guy did. He was a good pilot but, hell, who wants a good pilot, someone who's drunk and going to taxi around and crack up some of the airplanes. That's what he did, one after another, that's a bad damn thing. He'd do that and he'd ignore it. He was supposed to be such a hotshot - I don't know how many he shot down, if any, I don't know. I'd like to repeat it, I don't care who knows it, when Madam Chiang Kai Shek was on my arm - I was escorting her and showing her what a fine set-up the Chinese had provided, the Chinese had always provided these things, we didn't do it. Things like hotels and food and whatnot, [?] going through and there was this Boyington, goddam! I had no idea he was there or I wouldn't have took her in there, but he staggered up to - drunk himself and 4 �that's what - he had done, he had busted into the van, the liquor van and which is safer than ??? Nobody thought he would do a thing like that. I told Chennault, I said, "Listen, you probably know what happened, but this is what happened, I'd bash the hell out of - I don't see why the hell we need a guy like that around." And he said, "Skip, get rid of him." Even though he hired him. So I called him in, I says, "Boyington, you're such a nice boy, really nice, I like you, but things the way they are, we're just going to have to let you go". I let him down as easy as I could, that's the truth. He left and he went and got to Hollywood and started making films and whatnot. In my opinion, he was a no-no. 5 � 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_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 4 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair describes the supply situation for the AVG and his personal observations of some of his fellow members including Harvey Greenlaw, Boatner Carney, and Pappy Boyington. 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/8417780cf02f38072ab639b010d03d98.mp4 07149302a0ac09c3838759e4b53399e3 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/36de568561fef919c189c128ea19a7ed.pdf 2b800fbf4c463a8a6ca22d3a99b6b0bb PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 5] FB: In the kitchen, you had talked about that incident where you were escorting Madam Chiang Kai Shek and then Boyington was in the - you sort of set it up in the beginning fine, and you told the ending fine, what we need to edit it in, is what you said … you hurried her past? We need a little more detail on that? SA: There was a table with a sort of [?] on it. This guy was sitting at a table but when he saw us enter the room he realized that he was in the presence of somebody important - she was certainly important, she was chief of the air force. So I just maneuvered her away from that and I didn't stop or make a comment. She probably knew exactly what was going on, just as I did. But things like that are upsetting. When the President of the United States should come down and give the one squadron outfit like we had in S. Carolina a party or something like that and you don't even bother to go? What kind of a guy are you? FB: Let's talk about somebody that you liked a lot more. Give us your impressions from your personal perspective, your impressions of Claire Chennault. SA: He was a maverick. He had infinite skill as a fighter, he knew exactly - he was perfect with the Chinese, and that was one of the smart things they did, to get him out there. That's true. I had numerous occasions to know him. As I told you, I went down to [?] way ahead of home, and he had nine children down there, and that's enough for a baseball team. He didn't ask me down there just because he liked me, a lot of people that way, he just probably wanted to tell me something, I don't know. I'm not just saying, but afterwards, after the AVG, he would come right here - he would send me a telegram saying, "I want to stop here for a few minutes, come out and see me again." We did, and 1 �left when this was going through. Another time, I was in a pretty good position and General Haynes had been good enough to give me a job on his staff, and we had a house on ??, a beautiful house, and all that stuff, and Chennault came through one day, and came in and he said, "Skip, I'm going to be here - I'd like to see you." Once the General said I could use his table to eat on. And I said, "That’s something else, something more important than that. General, some people back in New York have been badgering me over and over again, saying that I should get Chennault to come to this celebration and whatnot, so he could be the fall guy and I had this worked out - and I told Chennault, and [?] on my part because he wouldn't like it. I said to him everybody's going to be there, what are you going to have, everybody's going to be there, the mayor and - and a lot of AVG people are going to be there so we want you to show up and they'll get up and say the usual bad things about you and funny things too, and he'd just take it with a grin and let it go at that. And that's what happens. What's the name of that governor - the mayor of New York, Italian gentleman, everybody know him …………and then we got a baseball guy from - one of the [?] club. He said, "Get get a good game on this afternoon, I'll get everybody in that wants to", and [?] said, "The only problem is getting there and I'll have all the motorcycle policeman and escorts and everything else, and I was sitting next to General Haynes, in the same car with him, we were going out to the - we were going so fast and screaming, you'd think that we'd be killed ten times, it would go through everything [?]. We all got there, but I said to Haynes, "I've never been through a god dammed thing like this before, in China or any place else, because it scared the hell out of me.” FB: SA: Let's go to China again with Chennault, what was your impression of Chennault during the AVG period of time, what was your own personal observation? He was my boss, he was the best boss I've ever had. He was a guy who knew airplanes and I had a tremendous respect for him and I don't think there's anything I can say that in my opinion he was one of the finest people I've ever known. FB: If he was in the room when you walked into a room and Chennault was there, what did you see? SA: When I walked in the room - what room? FB: Any time when you walked into a room - if I was there, what would I see? 2 �SA: I don't know exactly what you mean by that? FB: Just in terms of his look. How did his looks strike you? Some people talk about his piercing black eyes, or his leather face. What was your impression? When you looked at Chennault, what did you see? SA: He was an individual and it was a hard thing for him to get anywhere in the military because as I said before, I always thought of him as a maverick. So many generals get to be generals by smoothing in this and that situation but I don't think he had an idea of going back to the United States and becoming a general. He got to be a general because Madam Chiang Kai Shek put the heat on with [?]. The regular people out there, Stilwell and his group were telling a lot of people that they don't understand this AVG, Flying Tigers and stuff, didn't understand that at all. One of them called me, waked me up in the middle of the night, one of the colonels, waked me up and got me out of bed. He said, "Have you got an airplane you can send down to rescue General so-and-so." I said, "I don't have one but there's one here. I'll tell him that you want it done and if he does, that's fine, but I can't order him, because he's an American, not an air pilot and I'm reserve officer and out of it." So that's the way it happened. And you know what? This guy got to the airplane down there and landed at dawn and General Stilwell decided, that no, he was going to walk out. He was going to walk out, that we could take the nurses he had and put them on an airplane, but he was going to walk out. That saved his neck I think. He walked out. There were a lot of things like that. FB: Did you ever meet Stilwell? SA: Yeah, I just told you. Not only that but Madam Sun Ya Tsen invited him and his aide and me and her secretary to play bridge, not once but twice. I had respect for him as a general and all that be had was not my idea of Chennault. Now Chennault and Stilwell would get together and say, period. Stilwell - Chennault, the guys in the trenches are going to win this war. Chennault - there ain't no damn trenches. That's about the way they got along. That's the truth I think. FB: How about Stilwell's aide, Bissell? SA: Bissell was just the opposite of what I said. He was an over the line military man. Nobody liked him, not particularly me. He was the kind of a guy that didn't give a damn 3 �about anybody. He would say, "I guess we've got to adhere to the line and do exactly what the army says. He couldn't really last for a minute the way we could. So why in the hell would he have to call me, a guy that wasn't even in the army, middle of the night, to bail out Stilwell from his own goddam stupidity? I don't know. I think Mrs. Stilwell must be gone too. I don't think any of my friends are still alive, not many of them. Some of those pictures you showed me - but they're younger. I took one of them - this is a good story. I think one of them came from Las Vegas and I met him in the lobby at one of those conventions we had, and I said, "I understand you've been raising horses. Come up to the room and have a drink of scotch or something, I've got some good stuff up there." He said, "Okay, we'll do that." He gets up there and he says, "Skip, when I first saw you, I thought you were as old as hell. Now I don't think so any more." Now things are different, he wasn't a kid any more either. FB: We really need to get better understanding - for the documentary … SA: You might say it was nil. When I started to do something when Chennault wasn't there, I did it - that was a staff meeting. Did I call everybody together and say, "Can I do this?" No. We didn't have staff meetings as the army and air force has them. Didn't do it, or anything. So we used the word "staff" - I've got a book here somewhere that lists all the names over everybody, what they did. But it's the best book that's ever been written. There have been a hundred or so of them written. Half of them are spurious. FB: In terms of Chennault, he had a very bad case of bronchitis, give us an idea of he would get sick, who would take over and how did he communicate with the pilots? SA: I don't think he was eve to that point. He had this throat condition but it didn't amount to anything. He never said anything about who was going to take over if he died - I don't know, I suppose I'll have to. 4 � 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_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 5 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses his impressions of General Chennault as a maverick and admirable boss, in addition to General Stilwell and General Bissell. 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/635f460a791a12ac6ec75a73a9a74913.mp4 17925ae6d9930a4882ed50ecb4b5691e https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/533f0d56e8890057a8ac3f95722706bb.pdf 1644e4a6671822c7d2040d95568cecd0 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 6] FB: I'd like to ask you about the bombing of Kunming and the AVG on the 20th of December fought against the Japanese and was successful, and actually the Japanese never even came back again. What was your reaction and what were you doing while that battle was going on? SA: There wasn't any big deal about what I was going to do. It was a difficult thing to pick out these Japanese as they came in. Although we were getting information on the radio they were so-and-so and at such and such a time. Also our pilots in the air found them took advantage of it and knocked down a few. We had some other places too, small places, it wasn't just Kunming - down the road - I know I was down there one time, my teeth were bothering me and - you'd never believe it - we had a dentist, Milt Wilton. He said, "You've got an impacted wisdom tooth. I can do it but it's not going to be pleasant because I don't have the proper elevators - you know what that is?" I said, "Go ahead and do it." While that was going on, the Japanese were swarming in from nowhere and we had guys like Tex Hill - as a matter of fact, it was Tex Hill and his outfit were there, and they had a battle pretty much, all over the damn place they were. I went out to see these Japanese airplanes that had come down - Tex Hill had shot them down - and Tex Hill jumped out of his airplane and walked over there to him, kicked the corpse - I think it was a corpse "Hey, you son of a bitch." He did something he didn't like, anyway, he didn't feel sorry for the guy one bit. That's what you've got to do, I think. I've never shot one down though. FB: I guess what I was looking for in the question, Skip, was - before December 20th, the AVG had never encountered the Japanese. They had been training but had never encountered the Japanese. Kunming had been bombed without - as you said before, there 1 �was no defense, so when they actually shot down those airplanes, what was the reaction from you, from Chennault? SA: That was tremendous, you can't describe it. The Chinese all were - something from heaven - they just couldn't - it was just one after another - these AVG people are just tremendous. We had a Governor out there in that province - did I ever tell you about him? Long Yuen. He put on a party for us out there [?] and all that stuff and wines of all kinds, and I had to get up and respond and do this and that - I hated it that stuff, but I still had to do it. But it was a beautiful place. The Chinese - I don't want to get into anything about what I think of them and all that, but the governors had unlimited power. You can't say "Chiang Kai Shek" - but each local governor - they're the ones that are - and of course, they all pretty much think Chiang Kai Shek is one too, but you can't on that. They never liked him at all. FB: What was your reaction and Chennault's reaction to the success? Because Chennault's name in a sense was on the line. He'd been training these guys - what was the reaction you had and what was the reaction that Chennault had to the success over Kunming? SA: I don't know about success - as you say, I can't recall any of us jumping up and down like some people seem to do. We expected it. You go to all the trouble and get the airplanes and get the equipment and get the best mechanics and the best pilots, you got to expect some good things, and it happened. Of course, we were glad. One guy - you probably never heard of Neale? You don't know? Neale was one of the squadron commanders. He's alive now - he lives up off Oregon, one of those islands up the west coast up there. Chennault made him his air commander, as he called him, because he'd shot down about 18 or 20 planes himself, tremendous. I sat next to his wife and talked to him - I never thought he liked me, I don't know why. I never did anything overtly or anything else, but I guess he just didn't express himself too much, he kept quiet.. Incidentally, can I say one more - we had loads of newspaper writers and whatnot come in there, and they would ask one question after another. "How can you tell which is the fighter and which is the ace and which is not?" And I said, "The best way is going and look in the bar and they've got the smallest little guy you could see, and the quietest guy, he's the [?], and that's about the way it was. Don't listen to his bad mouth. Am I on camera or am I not? I am. 2 �FB: What would you say the Chinese role was in the defense of Kunming? The Tigers were fighting in the air. What would you say the Chinese role was in the defense of Kunming? Did they have ground [?] over there? SA: Their role was very important. Just because we had the pilots - every airplane had a bunch of Chinese - if you looked at the airplanes, there was always one American maybe - they had three or four others - but they were tremendous. FB: What was your relationship - this is during the AVG period - how did you work with the Chinese? Were they involved in the supply at all? Were they involved with ……? SA: No, I don't think we did a damn thing with the Chinese. [?] They did a marvelous job, the Chinese, of supply us - a place to stay, the finest quarters, we took over places that had been in the past, probably, schools, houses and whatnot. We had otherwise - we had been dodging it really but [?] one thing that bugged me about our own people - they didn't realize how good this damn service they were getting was - it was nothing like as good as they were getting back home, that kind of stuff, you know. Hells bells, I think it was damn good. How do I know it? Because I had lived in China before and we were damn lucky to have any kind of thing. The only way I looked at it, was - to build it myself or have it built, pay for it, and get a beautiful woman out there to man it! FB: When did you first hear that the AVG was going to be incorporated into the army air corps? SA: It was pretty obvious that. I think I heard it some time, I wouldn't know exactly when but that was - no way we could make a [?] which we did on July 4th. These men could go home if they wanted to go home or they could stay in the army. I was one of the few who stayed, as a major. I went back to the United States, to the Pentagon and some friends got me a job, and that's about the way it was. FB: Skip, what was your reaction to the military now about to come in and take over the AVG? What was your personal reaction? SA: The communists? 3 �FB: No, the American military was about to take over the AVG, what was your personal reaction? SA: It was just one of the things that was going to happen. You don't have to worry about it, whether it was going to happen or not. This was a long plan and we had a long time to figure out - they had an apartment of four or five military officers who had [?] and anybody who wanted to stay in the army could stay and they would consider what they were - so a lot of them stayed in. You know what I mean by that? Everybody knew it was going to happen, and it did happen. FB: What would you say the morale was like amongst the AVG during this period of time? SA: The AVG in general were stupid to always say that the army was a terrible place. They didn't like the idea of getting back in the army, that kind of stuff, on the other hand, they didn't like the way - a lot of the things we did in the AVG. FB: Do you think that Bissell's speech had something to do with that? Were you present? SA: Some people say so - that's the kind of speech I'd expect from him. FB: Were you present at the Bissell speech? SA: I don't think so. FB: …observation at that time. Why do you think most of the AVG did not rejoin with the army air corps? SA: I don't know. I think a lot of them had been in before - a lot of them were navy people and navy people said, "Why in hell should I join the army", - something like that. Tex Hill, for instance, was a navy man, but he came back in. He got a job as a general. FB: What was your personal decision? What were you going to do after July 4th? What did you decide to do? SA: I decided to stay for a while, which wasn't too long, when I went back. 4 �FB: The AVG was promised passage back home in their original contract. They were supposed to be brought to China and returned back to the United States. What was your observation of what really happened? SA: Some of them they did send back, some of them they didn't. Some of these people, I didn't know much about, but they just went out for the ride. As soon as they got out there, they wanted to turn back, and they said, "We ain't gonna pay their way back, hell no. Somebody we fire, we'll see that they get transportation and we'll pay for it." That's the way it was. 5 � 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_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 6 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair describes the reaction to the AVG's first combat with the Japanese pilots after the bombing in Kunming, in addition to the final days of the AVG and the arrival of the American military. 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/eda1ec9bdf158decc3dfcd101f505953.mp4 111855ad61c8ca873b1a610fbbead85d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/158a68fc1ecd0921ee2f0ce92abb4dfe.pdf b8ea7738c91093c363c82fda4785d90b PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 7] FB: ……volunteered to stay on for the two weeks had difficulty getting back to the States, can you tell us anything about…? SA: I don't know anything about that, I don't know. We had no control over the - going into the air force - most of the got away. FB: What did you think the AVG accomplished in that one year? What would you say, from your own personal observation? SA: I think it's a proven fact that they are not just a simple bunch of people together, but they are really unspeakable in the way they accomplished what they did, and I would say they were entirely 100% successful all the way through, and I'm proud of being connected with it. I consider it the best thing that ever happened to me, to be in that organization. Does that answer you? FB: My next question is, what do you personally feel you accomplished during that year, and what effect did it have on your life? SA: I don't think I accomplished much. I might have accomplished a few things but I don't - I can't have missed much. For instance, some friends of mine gave me a job inspecting the problem and I was immediately one of the people to send out all over the United States in a short period of time, say one month, it was terrific. You'd think I was God, because I'd go from one place to another and write a report on the combat people and that, over and over. I didn't like that business of being an inspector, but I had to. Then I got out and with General Haynes and Mitchell Steele? And it was a bomber command, that's what it 1 �was. I was just happy to be - that was a happy thing, I guess. We had this house - we had to lease it. We bought it in '40. FB: Somewhere inside there, is all those friends of yours that I showed you pictures of [?] 5th anniversary, so instead of talking to me, I'd like you to talk to them. Because we will show this - I need you to look right into the camera - get yourself comfortable and look right into the camera. SA: Ladies and Gentlemen: I'm extremely sorry that I'm unable to be with you on this historic occasion, the 50th anniversary of the AVG, but I would like to say, being a part of this organization is something in my life - I'm proud of it, and always will be. There's one thing I would like all of you to know, that I have done the best I could, and I wish that my learned friends would tell me that I was right to go ahead with it. I also would like you to know that I think Dick Rossi has done a tremendous amount of good for the AVG and nobody forced him to do it. I have read a lot of books, met a lot of people, but I have nothing to be ashamed of, anything that I've done. The one thing that I do and hope that you will understand is my tremendous admiration for Chennault while he lived and everything. I also have some friends, best friends I've ever had - still are my friends, and one of them was good enough to say after writing a book, "Skip, I never heard anybody say an unkind word to you." I don't believe that. You can't take on a job like I had without making enemies, and I just want to say, "Hullo and goodbye to all of you." FB: That was beautiful. I want to ask one more question over again, and I realize that perhaps it's a difficult question to answer, but if you could try. We're doing these interviews with each person to get - what do you personally feel you accomplished in the AVG, and how did that affect the rest of your life? SA: I don't know that it affected the rest of my life, I don't know that. It's a question that's difficult to say - but I'll say this, and I mean every word of this. I have never made more than $10,000 in my life. I attended a party recently with a tycoon and at home, and he said, "That old so-and-so never made more than $10,000 in his life," and I said, "You're talking to one right now." Well, I don't still make that much, but I can't complain about my luck at all. I've got everything I want. I've got three children, put them all through college. They've all done much better than I ever did. My wife has been extremely important to me. She's had many, many friends in the upper echelons. I don't know of 2 �anything I can say except I appreciate you fellows coming by here to do this. I hope it hasn't been a bust. Goodbye. FB: I know it’s somewhat difficult to talk about yourself, but if you hadn’t gone around and recruited those people – there would be no AVG. And I guess, what we’re looking for… SA: They probably could’ve gotten somebody else… I don’t know… FB: Skip, we’ve heard what the guys have said about YOU! You haven’t heard that and I’ll tell you something – you’re pretty high up on the ladder in terms of people that they respect. And I know it’s kind of difficult, but this is for the record. There’s gotta be a certain amount of pride in what you did. SA: I have… FB: Please tell us about it. SA: Well, I have a tremendous amount of pride… I've said repeatedly, I think it was the most important thing I've ever done in my life, and I have done, on the other hand, some very significant things. I'm very much impressed - I don't anybody, that I know who has three children who have grown up and been so successful and I even have two great grandchildren, and what kind of life do you think I've done? Do you think I've been busted all the way? No. I don't think so either, and I'm just proud of everything I've got now. There's one little thing. This little house cost us $7,500. Now it's a hundred and some - way up there. They come by every goddam year and say, "That son of a bitch is worth more than that, let's raise his taxes up. He's so and so." Well, I bought it to live in, not trade off and make money out of. But that's what they're doing. They just keep on. I don't know what the hell's going to happen in death. If they keep on raising the damn taxes - I paid $20 a year for taxes when I bought it, now - thousands. That's just the house tax. 3 � 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_Adair_Skip_1991-06-06_v07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Claude Bryant "Skip" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Skip Adair interview (video and transcript, 7 of 7), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Claude Bryant "Skip" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Skip Adair trained as a pilot and was recruited by Col. Claire Lee Chennault in 1938 to serve as an instructor for the Chinese Air Force. During the months leading to the formation of the AVG, he toured Army Air Corps bases recruiting pilots and ground personnel in secrecy for the AVG. As part of the AVG Headquarters Staff, Adair acted as the Operations and Supply Group Executive Officer. In this tape, Adair discusses the major accomplishments of the AVG during their historic year and the tremendous pride he has for being a part of the Flying Tigers. 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/9bde23484c9938a23132fd5b42e9fc41.mp4 81294a96cfba4730d106b840d537bd31 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fb819585952585bd65934bf0cfe0e18d.pdf ffb9e0b1392d6b0421b2711f48d27a97 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Marian "Steve" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] FB: Now is this your given name, or is this a nickname? MA: My real name is Marian Jeannette Stevens. And Skip's sister nicknamed me Steve and I've been called Steve ever since. FB: Steve, if we could begin with when Skip decided to go to China in the first place, what was your reaction to him to go off to China? MA: I knew when I met him that he had planned something. So I was not surprised when he went. FB: Steve, if you could tell us your reaction of him going to China. MA: When I first met Skip, I knew he was planning to go somewhere. He was in between. And it was to China. FB: What did you know about China at the time? MA: Nothing especially, except what I had read in the papers and history lessons. FB: And what was it that you had read or heard about? MA: Well it was such an entirely different lifestyle and people and we were in America. Those people living in China and their beliefs and yet some of their women had been educated in the United States which was very important and since I wasn't 1 �there for this they had gone to the Methodist Church and gone to the Methodist schools. FB: Now when he finally asked you to come to China, what was your reaction? MA: Well because I was really excited and my whole family was excited, the thought of their baby leaving the country and leaving her baby but my family thought it was the thing to do and my mother offered to keep my child and he really had a lot of love and care. My sister, Virginia helped her with care and he's known nothing but love all his life. FB: What did you find when you actually arrived in China, give us some of your observations, your first reactions, if you will. Here you are a young woman, American, you've heard your husband is going off there, you've seen things in the movies, read books, and everything, what did you actually find when you got to China? MA: Well, I landed in Hong Kong when I first arrived all the noise on the street and the conversations back and forth, not understanding anything, the [?] shows, that was fun and the most exciting thing was and upsetting thing was he was not there to meet me. He had had his friends meet me and the young lady that met me was Margaret Potsmith. It was a wife of, I've forgotten her husband's first name, Potsmith, he was a pilot, one of the CNAC's pilots. We became very good friends. They had made reservations for me at the Hong Kong and somebody else had made reservations at the Peninsula Hotel. And it ended up, Skip came in the next day, I think there was a Typhoon and the Indian Ocean I think was supposed to go through Hong Kong to get to Indo-China. And that was great pleasure. FB: Now, where did he take you next, where did you leave, when you left Hong Kong, where did you go? MA: We went by boat to Hathong [?] and then on up the train, a little local train to Mongsa [?] where there was a group of Americans stationed there, what they were doing, I don't know. Part of them eventually ended up in Kunming or had been in Kunming or Yunnan Ning. And became great princes, some of them. 2 �FB: What did you find when you arrived there, what was your living accommodations like? MA: The living accommodations in Mongsa [?]… I was only there a few days but the hotel we were in had been part of the French Embassy. The French had just recently left Indo-China. FB: Where did you go from there? MA: Went on up to Kunming, Baa, the French Railroad and it seemed like an awfully long trip but it wasn't as long as I thought. We arrived and all of Skip's buddies were there to welcome us. And that's all of the immediate reaction, I had to, things happened so fast about then. I have very little recollection of it. FB: When did you first meet Claire Chennault? MA: Sometime later, probably several months, I met Col. Chennault. That's what I always called him. That's what he was when he left the service before and at his own home in Kunming I met him with a group of other Pre AVG's and the CNAC pilots and of the men stationed in China. FB: Begin at the beginning of where you were when you heard the sirens go off and then… MA: Of the first air alert that I was in, was in Mongsa and just doing nothing but hanging around. Everybody said get your things together. We've got to go to [?], so we did, I think about a dozen of us. .When the Nang men went off to Rios together, we really did nothing until the siren stopped and then we got the all clear sign and we went back in. And it was exciting because I didn't know whether there'd ever been an air raid or not, but to expect it. FB: Amongst the Chinese population, either there or later on in Kunming, you had stated that you didn't have too much contact with Chinese people personally, but what were your observations of the Chinese in terms of their daily life or of this condition that they were in, though we saw pictures of goiters and things like that. 3 �Can you give us a sense of what it was like to live there and what your reaction was to the Chinese people? MA: Well the Chinese people that I knew some slightly through Skip's work and through our help, and our house boy they were very cooperative and wanted to help me in any way they could. The boys could even understand my English and I couldn't even understand their Chinese. Which was interesting. One house boy got fascinated because we let him run the Victrola. Played the records and after the machine wound up while he was playing them and he loved the Beer Barrel Polka. And one day by mistake, he got in and found the Begin the Beguine and the young boy was so hacked. Because he liked the rhythm of that Beer Barrel Polka. And the people on the street were in awe of me I think, they were polite and helpful I'm sure, If I had needed any help, mostly I was walking down at the airfield waiting for Skip to come in and walking around behind the hills behind the house and the, and one time, I know, when I arrived there, Skip had hoped to have a home built for me and the rains came and washed away the mud brick. So I stayed in the main neighboring town in a nice two-story complex, kind of a U-shaped building in the owner's quarters. And our house boy, Oscar, his family went over there with us. And it was fun. I finally bought a pair of Cooley shoes because all of my shoes were uncomfortable for walking the Chinese roads and highways and so the Chinese thought my big feet were just riots. They were pointing at my feet and I just laughed. And of course, I didn’t know what to think I just met them flat, didn't make any difference to me, I knew my feet were big. And seriously I didn't have a real Chinese friend and when I was in Hong Kong, I did meet and have lunch with Butterfly Woo. She had heard I was there and heard the girls talking about me and I had tried to play [?] with some of the women, and [?] she wanted to meet an American woman, so Mary Margaret Potsmith and I had lunch with Butterfly Woo. Now the big deal was that Butterfly Woo would speak English to me and would not speak English to anybody of America. And the girls just couldn't believe that she was talking to me in English. But she realized that I couldn't understand her Chinese and didn't want to go around an interpreter. So we had a very nice luncheon and that was my visit with Butterfly Woo. FB: Without trying not to sound too ignorant, who was Butterfly Woo? 4 �MA: She was the young lady that the young Marshall, I think they called him, a Chailor, became involved with and I don't exactly know what the situation was, like everything else, there's stories. But she had quite a reputation but she still seemed to be a fine young woman. FB: Did you witness any of the, what you would call brutality? Amongst the Chinese? There were executions for example, or anything, did you ever have any recollections of those? MA: They were very peace loving people and as far as I was concerned, they are definitely family people and loved the children, they of course, the medical situation out there, it just looked like they let the little flies and varmints eat up the sores that were on the children but possibly they didn't know anything better to do because it was definitely in the backwoods. And there were still women there with bound feet which had been outlawed for some years in China. And they all seemed to have some animal of some kind, following along with them. FB: Let's talk now about Chennault. You had a chance to get to know him fairly well, you got a chance to perhaps see a side of him that nobody else saw. What can you tell us about Claire Chennault? MA: Well, Claire Chennault, I met him first at his home in Kunming. And the group was getting together for supper and he was very friendly and kind and gentlemanly and we didn't have much to say to each other. Being in a group like that, I was sort of on the outside and looking in. I was obviously a newcomer. And then later I got to know him fairly well I think and he got to know me and we had some conversations. From your perspective, as an outsider looking in, what was your first reaction to seeing Chennault? What did he look like? Did he stick out in a crowd to you at all, was he, his face is often described as a leather face and his eyes were piercing black, did you have any of those kinds of observations about him when you first met him? FB: MA: Well, when I met him he was just one of the group. And he was much older than anyone there and I didn't react too much of his personal appearance. I've always been an observer and not a participant. 5 �FB: How about later, when you got a chance to know him better? MA: Oh, we just chattered around, general things, and some things that weren't so general. But… FB: What was your, well I guess what we're looking for is that Claire's no longer with us anymore. And all we have left, or just for posterity sake are just memories of people who did know him. And I'm not looking for you to give away any secrets, or anything like that, but what I am looking for is a personal perspective. You knew him and I didn't. My father knew him and I didn't. I guess what I'm looking for is for you to be able to give me an idea of what you like so much about him. MA: Well, I liked the man because he was quiet and was not trying to impress anybody. He had his own way of doing things and receiving people and handling himself. He loved children and he loved animals. He had a little Dachshund that he had with him for years. And the little dog, he'd say rats and that little dog was under the sofa and everywhere else looking for rats. And he, one of his favorite tales in Hong Kong after Pat was born, this was a year later than, he came by to see Pat have a bath. And I didn't think too much about it, went out to dinner that night and fortunately one of Skip's friends had let me use his house because his wife had been evacuated back to town, to Canada… FB: You're doing fine. The only problem is that the fabric on your pants, when you touched......... 6 � 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_Adair_Marian_1991-06-06_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Marian "Steve" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Marian "Steve" Adair interview (video and transcript, 1 of 3), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Marian "Steve" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Adair, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was the wife of pilot Skip Adair. In this tape, Marian "Steve" Adair discusses her reaction to her husband, Skip, going to China and her first impressions upon joining him 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/a3c384584adf07bb8ef439b766b94ff3.mp4 834772fec0998c4185297962dbc16603 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/704fcff906dc5cf9c1e7111265dd2ca6.pdf 62bb01bfdaf4ff998607ce493e21e15e PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Marian "Steve" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] FB: If we could, your personal observations of Chennault. MA: Well, Chennault to me was, as I say I met him first at a get together at a party. The Kunming, employees, or whatever you call them, that were working with him, were all there and he was just a quiet gentleman, playing host to the group. He was helpful because I didn't know how to handle this food you're supposed to cook like Sukiyaki, except it had a Chinese name. I did it again. FB: I think when you met Chennault at this party and he was very helpful and then go into the story about the Sukiyaki. MA: When I first met Chennault, was at a party that they had a get together of a CNAC and the instructor school, he was there and very quiet, very gentlemanly and very helpful. Trying to make me seem at home in a foreign country. He even helped me try to learn how to make the Chinese version of Sukiyaki which I have still not learned to pronounce. My inflections of the Chinese is not to be admired by anyone so I'll stop trying to, I did learn to count, and I left one number out. I don't know which one it is, like an E or some [?], I get lost in the middle of it but that's just part of me. Dead ears I suppose. Then later, he used to come and see the little girl that was the daughter of the common dot in Yu Nang Yee when he was up there, she was somewhere about 5, 6 years old. And he always came by and spoke to her, he seemed to enjoy knowing her. And one instance, he had come by, this was a year later, had come by to see my baby Pat, the redhead that was born in Manila, and he wanted to see that thick of hair. And so, he came out and Mama was giving her a bath and he just had more fun watching that little baby, probably about 3 or 4 weeks old and that evening I went out to supper with the gang to McDonald's and I 1 �guess I'd been living with the one that was the hero of kings. Had an apartment together and had us over there and he had arrived before I did and if there wasn't anybody else. Most of the people had arrived. He had been telling them about he had seen the redhead take a bath and of course they lived in what was called a fishbowl in Hong Kong, all of the apartments you could see from one apartment to the other. And so they were all trying to decide which redhead had not drawn the curtains, and when I had arrived, they found out that he talked about my baby Pat. But we got along fine. And he liked having his little jokes. FB: What are some of the things that you recall about Chennault's personality - in regards to you in terms of when he would talk to you? Did you feel like he was listening to what you had to say? Did it seem like he was interested in talking to you or was he just very much a part of the group? MA: When I was around him, the most, it was… the conversation was that he was talking to me and felt like I was a good listener. You probably can tell by the way I'm talking now, I'm not much of a talker. I guess when I get excited. FB: What things would he talk to you about? What kind of things did he talk about? MA: Well, one things about all the wars going on in the world and the standings of the Russians and the English and the Chinese and the branch - it was just astonishing some of the things he would come out with that I thought, my goodness, but I never did repeat what he said to anybody because he was talking to me and nobody else. FB: Did he tell you what he thought was the danger from Japan, that China was in danger? MA: I think so, that could have been included in this conversation he had with me. I mean he was just talking to me. I've forgotten we were going somewhere in a taxi, there were 3 of us in a taxi and he was on one side and I was in the middle. And it seemed to be very serious to me what he was talking about - his expressions of what was going on in the world. FB: What did he look like when he was happy? What would his face look like when he was happy? 2 �MA: He was just that relaxed little grin, with a few more wrinkles showing when he was happy. I never did see him when he seemed to be exuberantly happy. I don't think he was the type of man that would express his feelings too much. FB: What other kinds of emotions did you see in him, when he talked to you and he was maybe very serious about something? How did he look like to you? MA: Well, when he was talking seriously, he was very somber and was really concentrating on what he was saying, he was just not talking off his head to make conversation with me. He was expressing some deep feelings of his that would not be repeated and he knew it. Now I don't know that I ever had any reason to have conversations with him - he would visit us in our quarters at Mitchell Field later after Skip had gone back into the Air Force and brought his little dog with us, and his little dog chased the rats. Had fun and wanted to see the redhead again. And of course, that was before Stephanie was born and Mike was there - I had two redheads then, and I don't think he got to see him, I think they were in school the day he came by. He enjoyed it. We enjoyed having him. FB: If he was standing in this room right now, what would we see? Describe Chennault for us. MA: Well, he was, he'd be a middle-aged man, and probably looking older than he was because of his furrowed face, but a very alert person. Very much interested in the other part of the world. It wasn't just him, he was interested in other people and individuals as well as world affairs. FB: There was an incident you had mentioned about flying in an airplane with Billy McDonald? Do you recall that McDonald was flying from... If you could tell us about the trip that you took that was arranged on Man Tuck Hai Shek's [?] airplane? MA: I finally got ready to, Skip had proceeded to Yu Nang Yee and I was left in Kung Nang. McDonald who was one of Da Nang's pilots, got permission for Reynolds to fly me to Yu Nang Yee on the Madame's plane. FB: Start again, because of the phone. 3 �MA: Skip had left me in Kung Nang waiting for me to get transportation to Ny Nang Yee and McDonald who must of you know as Billy, and I always called him Mack got permission from Madame Chiang Kai-shek to fly me in her plane and Roland was the pilot, he and McDonald were the two pilots and it was fun because I had not flown in a small plane before and the dog which Skip had inherited from one of his friends who had just left, was in the back seat looking over our shoulders and got a little car sick and between me and the dog I think the pilot had his hands full, but we made it. Probably in good shape. And Skip was there waiting on us and was happy to see us and the dog was real happy to see the ground and Skip. FB: If you could give us an idea of, here you are a young married couple, and you had a child that was back in the States, describe to us what that must have been like? Here you are in a foreign country, you're in a backwoods environment, you're a young married couple. Living in a foreign land, your child back in the States, you're in actually a dangerous, even though you had a couple of air raids, it still was a war zone, if you will What was that like? MA: I didn't really feel, I felt the pressure of there being possible air attacks, but I felt I was being cared for, and I knew my child back home was being cared for and as far as being lonely I supposed I was lonely, but I was busy doing something all the time. Because the house you saw the curtains in there and you didn't see probably the bedroom and all the curtains, I made all of them by hand out of cooly cloth. Hems and ruffles on them, then the covers to the two things that looked like studio couches in the living room, and if there was a table cloth, I had done something to put an edge on that and I finally started making some clothes for myself and the houseboy rented a machine for me - a Singer sewing machine. I don't know how much, how he conned the tailor in the town to part with that machine for a week for me to use it, but he did and he - they were just very kind to me, all of the people, the house people and the people on the street, they would acknowledge the presence but they weren't, there was nothing threatening, the only thing Skip told me to be aware of the dog because they were unpredictable and our dog, himself was unpredictable. He'd been trained to chase the lights from the flashlights and just went wild running around the compound after the walls were finally built, chasing that light, and I told them I thought it was cruel that they shouldn’t do the dog that way but they went on and did it. It was fun to watch the dog. My dog chases around here, and I think she just chases herself. She has a ball that she grabs hold on occasion then, runs around, will not give it to anyone, she doesn't play pick and return to the owner. 4 �FB: Did you find life in China, a surprise, was it surprising to you, things that happened there? What kind of things did surprise you out there as an American woman out there? MA: Well, the, of course, I was brought up in a good size city which was Charlotte, N.C. and the difference in living in a fairly large city, not Metropolis, but a large city, and to see the difference in the streets and the roads, and the housing and the lighting and the, all the facilities was not unexpected because Skip had written to me about everything to expect when I got there, so I was not seeing the streets being used as a deposit stories, and no plumbing, no running water we had two Cooly boys that their one job was to bring water and gasoline in cans. I don't know what we would have done without the gasoline cans. 2 gasoline cans - only? A mile and a quarter from the one place you could get drinking water and this was all you used for all our household water and out tubs, they had to fill to keep the water on the stove, made out of gasoline cans and our latrine was made out of gasoline cans, everything, we don't know what we'd do without those 5 gallon cans. FB: What things in China upset you? MA: Well, I think the filth. In a way it couldn't be helped, in a way you'd think that somehow along the way that something, whether it been that the poor little children being strapped on the mother's backs, we see our children being strapped on the mothers backs when the mothers go shopping, these days just like those little infants out there, and that's the modern way of young mothers taking care of their children there. That [?] what the [?] had done for years. FB: What sorts of things amused you about China? MA: I don't know that I got amused too much. Now I enjoyed the Chinese Theater. It came to entertain the troops, so to speak, the boys and the Flying School, when we were invited to attend, and I had absolutely no idea what was going on in the stage, it was fun to watch with all in Chinese and expressive, but still I didn't know what was going on. FB: How did that year that you spent in China, how did that year affect you? 5 � 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_Adair_Marian_1991-06-06_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Marian "Steve" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Marian "Steve" Adair interview (video and transcript, 2 of 3), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Marian "Steve" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Adair, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was the wife of pilot Skip Adair. In this tape, Adair describes her personal observations of General Chennault, in addition to her experience as a young married couple living away from their child in a foreign land. 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/016f79a3ea25ae930d2fbe60f12dca6c.mp4 73ea2476f54f202df07296fdaaf10e66 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7e264cbd605b757a17bcba58279e5eff.pdf 3df28071b98c26698154ec8747842682 PDF Text Text Grand Valley State University Special Collections & University Archives RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interviews Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Marian "Steve" Adair Date of Interview: 06-06-1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] FB: That year that you spent in China - how did that year affect your life and your marriage with Skip? MA: The year in China with Skip really welded our marriage and we both have been stronger because of it and as he said Mike brought us together and Pat kept us together and Stephanie, who is our baby, the one you saw the write-up on, was the one that really made the difference because we have a deeper understanding of each other and he also is more tolerant and I have become more tolerant. I'm supposed to be a creative person and I made fashioned clothes for some of my friends and could select who I wanted to work for and he puts up with that. That's the reason the house is such a mess, I don't think about housekeeping. I'm doing something else, creating. So he just says creative people have to make a mess. I'll create the cooking and I'll create the mess in the sink for somebody else. And sometimes I don't have that somebody else. FB: What are your memories of the war in China? Do you have any memories of the war? Skip was involved in the war. MA: To begin with, the only good news in the paper was these little blocks about that big, sometimes just two lines of what the Flying Tigers were doing in China. It wasn't on the front page, it was on the back page and my mother was an excellent reader and she would bring them to me and show them to me every morning if there was something good in the paper and I always felt like Skip could take care of himself. I didn't much feel that he might not come back. 1 �FB: MA: What did you know about Skip's work? Did you think that it was important? Were you aware of what he was doing? Did you have any idea of what it was he was doing? Well, in a way, but not too much because he didn't talk to me too much about it. His own family didn't know much about it. (break) FB: Did you feel that what Skip was doing was important? MA: Oh yes I did because I believed in China and China at that time was threatening to be invaded and was invaded and that made a difference because he was doing what he thought was right and it was good for both of us. FB: How was it good for you? MA: Well I think it made me a lot stronger person. I definitely would probably be momma's baby because I was. I never had to make a decision of my own all my life and I've had to and even now I have to make decisions that are sort of whopping. But we get along. He makes some decisions too. FB: How did you feel about leaving China? MA: FB: I didn't want to leave and yet I did want to leave. I felt for Pat's sake because she had already been born, that I ought to come home and it was much more crucial than when I got out there because I've forgotten whether the Chinese had closed the Burma Road - I don't remember why it was closed - it was closed and travel was not allowed on it and when it was reopened they didn't know what was going to happen and they were trying to get all civilians out of Hong Kong and I was one of the ones - probably the last ones - it wasn't long after that Hong Kong was invaded. My memory abates in years - confused. I never did make good marks in history. How did you feel about Skip returning to China to join the AVG? MA: Well that was in the book when our life together began because he was so dedicated to doing it and he only slept in this house 3 nights after we bought the house and it was devoid of curtains and rugs and furniture. We had a few sticks of furniture, but it was a challenge. There again, I had to do all the purchasing and decision making. I put myself 2 �on an allowance. He was making enough money at the time that we didn't spend it all and I just wrote my allowance from the account - Chase-Manhattan - and put it in my bank account here and kept the kids going and paid for a servant and paid for whatever I needed and then when things got too high, I just raised my allowance. FB: During this period of time, it was very unusual for a woman to be on her own raising a family. I wonder if you could give us an idea and give your family an idea of what that was like to be raising a family on your own? (break) MA: How did I feel as a single mother, so to speak, since my husband was gone? Actually one of the boys down the hill - a twelve year old boy - he used to come up and play with the kids and I was smoking cigarettes then and he was at the age - he might have been fourteen - he thought he could get by coming up here and smoking with his parents not knowing it and I couldn't stop him from smoking too much, I'd let him smoke one or two and then we'd do something else. He got the word around that nobody even knew whether I had a husband or not and of course, the people next door who we had known for these 52 years now, bless his heart, he's gone, but she's still living in town and they sold the house about 15 years ago to the people that are in it now, and the strange part about it - they also have 3 boys. The former almost had 3 boys and my boy didn't have a brother and he surely wanted that brother, but we just couldn't give him a brother. I did not have any problems. Occasionally, when I'd go out in the evening somebody might get kind of a smart attitude, but I never did have any trouble with men trying to outsmart me or financially or being rude to me because I had known several of the couples that he had known the six months he was here, you see, we lived in an apartment and met a lot of the - the McDaniel Heights Apartments is an apartment that a lot of people in Greenville started their lives in and I still know some of them. Just were about starting housekeeping like I was for the first time. I did have an apartment in Charlotte one time, but that didn't last long. Skip made me get it before he came back and I had a place for him to be with Pat and Mike without my parents being in the way, but they never have bothered us. They never have tried to run our lives and never did and we've just been strictly independent. Later his family moved to Greenville, we agreed we would not live in the town that either of our families lived in, but his father died in the meantime and his brother was in Burman, so his mother and sister moved to Greenville to be close to the other brother, 3 �and that's the reason we ended up - and it's been fortunate because we're all close and she needs us and we need her. FB: MA: You had touched briefly upon seeing articles or little bits and pieces about the AVG, but what was your reaction during that period of time you probably also knew that the Japanese were practically taking over Asia and the only real bright spot was the Flying Tigers. What was your reaction as a person here - a wife of one of the Tigers here in America what was your reaction to what was going on over there? We didn't like Japan trying to take over China, but that has been for thousands of years between the two countries - misunderstandings. China has been able to take care of itself and we thought that with this work that Chennault and the Flying Tigers were doing, that China had a chance of survival. (break) MA: The little bits of news that was in the paper were billed from the back pages of everybody's news and it was - Charlotte being a much larger city had better coverage probably than Greenville papers, but it meant a lot to them and to my friends here in Greenville it meant a lot knowing that Skip was over there. FB: We're trying to get a sense of during the dark days in China 1941-42 when the Americans, the British, everybody was being defeated over there, but this one group called the Flying Tigers had incredible successes against incredible odds. And your husband was over there. There was People, there was Time Magazine, there was Life Magazine, it was a big thing, but you had much more personal insight into all that. I guess what we're looking for is your personal reaction to the successes of the AVG when all else seemed to be lost. MA: The news filtering into the papers about the Flying Tigers in China of course affected me quite a bit and my friends who at that time had widened considerably, were impressed with it and would ask me questions that of course I didn't know, being so far away. But they kept up with it and were just most impressed. When Pearl Harbor came along, my 12 year old friend down the hill, the boy, came up - I had just come home from Sunday School with my two little kids and I had a rose garden at the top of the hill then - now it's grass - and I was looking at the rose garden, I had planted some pansies, and Do said "Ms. Adair, I hear the Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor and Singapore and where's 4 �Skip?" I said "what?" He said "It's all over the newspapers" - not the newspapers - I think then the newspapers hadn't even come out - "It's all over the radio news" and so of course I had to turn on the radio and that was about 11:30 on Sunday morning, which was not too long after it really happened - come to think about it - 'cause that was Sunday. So I was informed of it right away by my little neighbor and the other people were concerned about me in the meantime. Don, next door had gone - he'd been in the Navy he'd gone back and became a Commander in the Navy and people were just leaving [?] my friends who had been in the service of any kind. FB: Well as they left, Pearl Harbor and the time after that, there was no real successes. The people that went over there were not being successful with the Japanese, but the Flying Tigers were. What was the reaction back home in the dark days before you knew the successes of the Flying Tigers? MA: It was just incredible. No one could believe how this little group of pilots could be performing such fantastic feats over there and it was Chennault's genius - I think it was nothing short of that - the way he trained them to attack and I think he should go down in history books as a genius in flying and having pilots trained. (break) FB: During the time that they were the American Volunteer Group, The Flying Tigers, what do you think Skip and Chennault and all the pilots and ground crew and nurses and doctors accomplished for the morale of the United States and the defense of China? MA: Well it was just so tremendous a thing that I cannot express it. Everyone was talking about the Flying Tigers and what they were doing. And some people didn't know my husband was over there. Some people thought - as I told you - the boy said that people were saying that I didn't have a husband - but to people around here the man that sold us the house knew I had a husband and the next door neighbors knew I had a husband because they were the only people here. In fact, there were just the 3 houses then - oh there were 4 - the one at the top of the hill. All the other houses have come in since then and the road wasn't paved. When we moved here it was a red mud road and Skip's brother, one of the last night he was here it had been raining before Skip left and he skidded down the terrace in that mud and they couldn't get the car out anyway so they had to send him - somebody else had t take him home and come back the next day to get 5 �the car out of the mud. But those people, that night were part of the group that of course knew Skip was around and knew that he was part of it and I think we all felt like Skip was always safe. I don't think it ever once entered my mind - I know some women were so fearsome - maybe I just didn't have sense enough to be afraid, but I've always believed in him and he must have always believed in me. 6 � 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_Adair_Marian_1991-06-06_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Adair, Marian "Steve" Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-06 Title A name given to the resource Marian "Steve" Adair interview (video and transcript, 3 of 3), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Marian "Steve" Adair by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Adair, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was the wife of pilot Skip Adair. In this tape, Adair discusses how the year she spent in China affected her life and marriage with Skip Adair, in addition to how the Flying Tigers affected the morale of the United States and China. 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/37018e9c970b1ad7a42123bad7b5d54c.mp4 902bc5212fc07f2cda2aff2c3f64debc https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f0b0aa7c0ecb24dd3c131d83e89d1251.pdf b4ea4f520cb2bfa4fe3e8d812c68f716 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] FB: Chuck, we'd like to begin with, what were you doing prior to hearing about the opportunity in China? CB: Well, I was stationed in at Mitchell Field on Long Island with the 57th Interceptor Group and we went up to Windsor Locks, Trumbull Field on gunnery, I think it was April '41. And when we got up there, why we were told there was going to be a meeting. Trumbull Field had an old building that I think had been a mill one time and I was going to have a meeting. So we went to the meeting and they closed all the doors and all that sort of stuff and Skip Adair… FB: Please start again, from the beginning. CB: From the beginning, OK, I was at Mitchell Field, we went up to Groton, Connecticut, at Trumbull, and we were up there for gunnery. and we got a notice on the bulletin board there was going to be a guy there talking to us about, we didn't know what, anyway, we went into the building, and they closed the doors and Skip Adair was there to meet us and he gave us this, which at that time was sort of a song and dance, but he said we need people to go to China to patrol the road up there and we're going to build airplanes over there. And I was Staff Sgt. at the time I was making $72 a month and the question came up are you going to travel for a year? And the pay was $350 a month in 1941, $350 a month was a lot of money and of course I was, just turned 21. So I, bunch of us, [?] Sheffield and I, we put our names on the list and then we, nothing more happened, we went back to Mitchell Field and one day they said go down to base administration - they wanted to talk to you, so we went down to the basement, they had the blinds drawn - they had a rack of civilian clothes and we all got our pictures taken and I had GI uniform on and some kind of a sport coat on and then a fellow said, "What's your job?' I said "Well I'm the aircraft armor." "What do you do?" I said "Well, I take care of machine guns and load bombs and etc., etc. "You're a metal worker." I said "No that's different. I'm an armorer." "You're a metal worker." And he finally convinced me that's what was on my passport so I went overseas as a metal worker and I heard some of the other fellows went over as all kinds of things, but that's what I went overseas as. FB: What were you doing prior to hearing about the opportunity in China? CB: Well, my unit was in Mitchell Field, Long Island New York, 57th Pursuit Group. Col. Phil Cochran was the CO. Phil Cochran was, or actually Phil Corkin?. Anyway, we went up to Groton with the 33rd squadron to do gunnery at Trumbull Field and while we was 1 �there, they told us to report to the main building for an interview. And it turned out it was Skip Adair. And he gave us a presentation of going to China to do patrol on the area there over, I guess it was Loiwing to keep the Japs from bombing the place while we assembled airplanes. And he also gave us the one year contract and being that I was making $72 a month as a Staff Sgt., $350 really impressed me. So that's how it got started. We went back to Mitchell Field and in, I forget the month of it, we were told to report to Base Administration, and the State Dept. was there taking pictures and they had us all lined up with civilian clothes so we had our pictures taken and at the time they asked me what I did. I told them I was aircraft armorer. When they wanted to know what an armorer was I told them, and they said "No, you're a metal worker." I said "No, I'm an armorer, that's different." "No you're a metal worker." That's what I went over as, as a metal worker on my passport. And I got discharged from the Air Corps on June 2nd, no I'm wrong, I got discharged May 24th from the Air Force, continuance of the Government discharge, they made us turn in all our field equipment but they let us keep our shoes and part of our uniform, we had to cut the buttons off and then on the June 2nd I signed the contract with Camp Co, at the Rockefeller Plaza. FB: What did you know about China at this time? CB: Absolutely nothing. FB: Once again, I knew absolutely nothing about China. CB: About China, I knew absolutely nothing. That was a place I hadn't been to and I wanted to see. That's about all I could say at the time. I didn't know anything about their customs or like you said, I knew nothing about China. FB: What did you know or hear about through news reels or anything like that about Japan or what was going on in China? CB: Other than we thought, I think most of us thought, that a couple companies of Marines could probably go in and clean their clocks, that's about what we thought. We didn't know nothing about the Japanese. You take them looking at a, maybe our powers that be did, I don't know, after Pearl Harbor, I don't think our powers that be knew everything they're supposed to know. FB: In terms, you mentioned that somebody told you about the AVG, but how did you actually hear about this opportunity? What was the process? CB: I believe there was a notice on the bulletin board. No I, when we first heard about the AVG, it wasn't called the AVG, it was tied up with the Camp Co, or Continental Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation. was the cover and I really don't, I think it was on the bulletin board, but I really don't remember. FB: What was your motivation, and why get involved in this? I mean, were you satisfied with where you were, or? 2 �CB: Well, I was the Staff Sgt., I'd been through Air Corps. Tech. School and I was perfectly happy and I went in the service in 1939, 1941, I was a Staff Sgt., Air Corps. was expanding and I was not unhappy with what I was doing, in fact I liked work. But I also liked to travel, and let's face it, there was the money consideration. And like I said, it was $72 as compared to $350 and you finished your contract, you got $500 bonus and that's really the reason I went. I didn't have any dumpses?, I didn't like the, when I went in I had planned to spend my 20 or 30 and get off, I was going to be career airman, because the military was something that I was always interested in. FB: What was it that Skip Adair told you in terms of what you were to be doing and what to expect? CB: Well, when Skip Adair was talking to us at Trumbull Field I really didn't understand too much of what we'd be doing, we'd have a fighter squadron there, a fighter group, and whatever your job was that's what you would work on and that was about all we knew. We were just going to another country and to get paid for, that's really about all I knew about it. FB: Could you describe for us the process? If you could describe for us the process of resigning your commission and what was it you actually had to do and did you have any difficulties in getting out? CB: Well, when they came to get me out of the service, I was an enlisted man. I didn't resign no commission. I had a Staff Sgt. pin at war which they gave us at that time, but it was all automatic - we just reported in for discharge and got rid of our clothing and they gave us an honorable discharge convenience of the Government and we went out of the base. That was the end of it. There was no, in fact, I don't know whether it was a relief or what, when I went through the gate, I said well I'm starting a new something or other and anyway, when I went off base I was running around with a gal in Weehawken, New Jersey at the time, so I had to go see her. That's Ft. Willis time. And on the bus going back, I lost my wallet, $150 bucks lost. So when I got home I was broke and my dad said where are you going? I said I'm going to China, yes I'm making $350, he said well I'm making $50 a week so he said be my guest. So that was the whole story of it. Went down to Sunbury, Sunbury, Pennsylvania. and Carl Bugler, and I think it was Rich Graham and we went by train to L.A. and there was a whole bunch of us on the train and I remember stopping in Wyoming and Johnny Fauth and a bunch of them wanted pistols and you stop at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and you can go to the nearest pawn shop and buy the whole store out if you had the money, so we took Johnny Fauth and a bunch of them and I bought them all pistols. Being I was supposed to be the expert, I really wasn't. They thought I was. And we bought a bunch of pistols and stopped in Cheyenne. We went on to west coast and then they put us up at the Jonathan Club and that was, they made a big mistake at the Jonathan Club. Here's a bunch of young GI's that just retired and everybody thinks there, whatever you want to call them, and guys started running up phone bills, that's the first time in my life I ever had grapefruit served in a silver container with a big spoon and 3 �all of that stuff, and I thought, boy we're living high on cotton right now. They moved us out of there and we went by bus to San Francisco. FB: I would like to get a little more detail. Could you describe your own personal observations, your reactions, arriving at the Jonathan Club in Los Angeles? CB: Well, we got off the train and I think we took a taxi to the Jonathan Club and walked in to it and it was a big, old building, soft leather chairs, and all that sort of stuff and looked to me like there was a bunch of, I didn't know at the time what they were, they were very dignified gentlemen, gray haired, I found out later more of them were retired Admirals and Captains and Generals and what have you, how they let our bunch in there, I have no idea but maybe the [?] had something to do with it. And I was very impressed with the meals and the being served by a butler and in the meantime the fellows were having quite a time, they were just turned loose and here we've been under fairly strict discipline and marching from point A to point B with everything buttoned up and we were turned loose, fellows started running up long distance phone calls and charging this and charging that and I think the bills got out of hand and in the meantime, Joe Poshefko, my friend, came down with appendicitis and they had to take him to the hospital. He was one of the reasons he didn't make our, he was on the original bus that went over but he didn't make it on account that he had had appendicitis and because I just know at the time I was just wondering what happened to Joe, I thought he had just gone over the hill or something, but he hadn't, he was sick. And other than that, I don't remember too much about the Jonathan Club, everything is sort of hazy, what went on there. FB: Now once the decision was made to leave the Jonathan Club, I understand you were going to San Francisco, I wonder if you could describe how you got to San Francisco? CB: Well, when we left the Jonathan Club, for San Francisco, we went by bus. On a chartered bus. And I remember going up there - it was hotter than a pistol. The fellows got us a big old washtub and they filled it fill with ice and they filled it full of booze and beer and we got about half way up there and I remember getting off the bus, we had a short rest stop. There was no facilities. So have you ever seen about 15 guys lined up along the highway doing their thing? And most of them were pretty well smashed. But I can remember that because I took a picture of when I was there. I think the driver was glad to get rid of us when we got to San Francisco. And I don't remember even the name of the hotel that we stayed at when we got to San Francisco. I remember we spent the night there, I don't remember where we stayed, we didn't stay there very long, they got us on a boat to get our butts out of there. I think the States were about as glad to get rid of us as anything else. FB: Now, at this time it was around June 1941, you boarded a boat called the President Pierce, I wonder if you can give us your observation of the boat itself and your reaction to it. CB: Well, when we left San Francisco, we were on a cargo passenger ship called the President Pierce, the U.S. President Alliance and of course, we thought we'd have some kind of 4 �state rooms and this was the first time I began to exactly wonder what we were getting in to because they put us up at one of the lounge or lobby, all we had were cots and we were really crowded, the whole bunch of us was in, I don't think Frillman was, but everybody else was in cots in this lounge. And we took off and sailed from there to Hawaii. We got to Hawaii, in the meantime, we also had a bunch of kooks going over there going to the Philippines. When we got to Hawaii, we were there overnight. And I remember old P.J. Perry coming on board and at that time, booze was pretty cheap in Hawaii and so old P.J. come staggering on board and he had a jug of liquor on his shoulder trying to get up the gang plank. And he made it but I don't know how. And anyway, we left and we gave the Colonel a tough time, going over there. He always had an inspection - everyday he had an inspection - and I really didn't see any reason why I had to pop to because he came by, being 21 years old, when he came by, he'd reamed me up one end or the other so I went and told the fellows. Next morning the whole bunch of us was sitting back on the fantail waiting for us. And he came back there and all the, he took one look, he just turned around and walked away, Frillman had called us in to have a meeting, and said the Captain would appreciate it if you fellows make yourselves scarce when they have a, when the Colonel. does an inspection, but we wouldn't have put up with that stuff. And I think that would give you an idea of what kind of guys we had. We knew our job but we wasn't going to put up with a bunch of other stuff. FB: Give us as much as possible, we read the Frillman book and his real trepidation, he was nervous around, of letting you guys know that he was even a Chaplain to begin with, I don't want you to answer yet, give me a brief answer, you did meet him in the hotel right? CB: I think we did, I don't really remember, I just remember him being on the boat. We no doubt had met him, but I remember him being on the boat, because that's when he started calling names and, FB: OK. We want all that detail, on the boat then. 5 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 1 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden describes his background in the American Air Corps before becoming involved with the American Volunteer Group and his journey overseas from San Francisco. 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/03fbe0ef94e876410cdcda615b3fe77a.mp4 bc3865f3e68de239a51c6d49140a5271 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/b1e0dc5da37568915943e1cb271f5825.pdf d905a323962ea7adf6e41cfe33a78ab6 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] FB: Tell us about your reactions to and your observations about Chaplain Frillman? CB: Well Paul Frillman, Chaplain Frillman, I don't remember when I first met him, but I do remember him being on the boat after we left San Francisco and I respected him because he was very fluent in Chinese and I knew he had a heck of a job on his hands, trying to control it and - I think he was a little apprehensive. But he was trying to do his job the best he could and some of the fellows listened to him, some of them didn't, but I liked the fellow. He'd been a missionary over there, he could speak Mandarin. I don't know if he could speak Cantonese or not and he had a little language class while we were going over there and we learned How Bu How and - I think that was about it - all I remember anyway. Personally I didn't run into him much during the - after we got over to China I didn't see too much of him, he was around but… FB: What was his responsibility for one thing and then what kind of things did he try to do on the boat that either you reacted positively or negatively to? CB: Well Jack [?] when we were on the boat was more or less in charge of him. I think probably Mr. Pawley was the one that put him in charge and he - actually what he did, he tried to smooth things over on the boat going over. But we had several incidents on the boat. One being an Army Colonel who would make an inspection every day - he would make an inspection and I was sitting back in the fan tail one morning and he came by and all the young Lieutenants popped to and I sat there, I didn't see any reason to get up. Boy he chewed me out from end to the other and left. Well I went and told the rest of the gang. So the next morning we were all sitting there waiting for him, none of us was going to get up. He stuck his head out of the port hole and he took one look and he turned around and went back. Then Paul Frillman came in and he said "Fellows the Captain of the ship requests that you don't be back in the fan tail when the Army Colonel makes his inspection in the morning," and we didn't, we left it alone. He didn't really come forward being the guy that was gonna tell you this and tell you that. He didn't do that. Like I say he was just sort of like a speaker for us, other than that we didn't have much to do with him. FB: In terms of the Army discipline that was on the boat with these other soldiers, what was the reaction of the AVG group on - give us a sense of - here you are, you just got out of the military and for your various reasons you're going to China and here's this Army group on board that has to stand up to attention and all that. 1 �CB: Well our feelings with the Army troops on board, we really didn't have much to do with them. Of course the troops themselves, we didn't hardly see anything of them and the officers, the young officers, most of them were Air Corps and I wasn't talking. I might have talked to them, but I wasn't saying where I was going - I just didn't do any talking. We just said we were going to China and that was it. Of course these fellows were going to the Philippines. So I really didn't have too much to do with them. Not that I didn't like them, but we actually spent most of the time playing nickel knock poker going over. We played nickel knock poker day in and day out and that was about the only thing we could do. FB: What was the - I guess what I'm looking for is - you're on this boat, you're playing poker, you're meeting these new guys from all over the country, what was the process of getting to know these guys - some that you liked, some that you didn't like CB: Believe it or not, when we were on the boat there were 28 of us I think or 29 of us, we knew almost everybody. Most of the fellows had been from the East Coast. We did pick up some from Selfridge? Field and the Air Corps at that time was pretty much of a family. If you'd been in the Air Corps a couple of years, you knew a lot of people and that was just about what it was. I just knew everybody and of course we had our own little - 4 or 5 of us used to pal around together and that's the way it was. Really we didn't spend too much time characterizing each other. We were just a bunch of guys and that's what it amounted to. FB: What kind of incidents can you recall that happened on the boat itself? Were there any humorous things that happened or anything that you can - sticks out in your mind? CB: When we were on the boat, I don't remember much of anything on the boat other than that it was rather boring. See we went from Hawaii to the Philippines. Now we stayed in the Philippines - they had - I forget what they had on board at the Philippines - their ship - but they had to steam clean all the tanks, and I think they took coconut oil on or palm oil and we must have been there 10 days. Well they gave us $100 expense money when we left San Francisco, which everybody had spent by the time they got to Hawaii and I remember being on the boat because we were broke and we spent one night at the Grayson Hotel. Well we spent the rest of the time on the boat because we didn't have any money. They gave us checks and I remember Rick Schramm and I were on the same check, they didn't have enough checks to go around, but they wouldn't cash it for us in the Philippines, so we spent 2 or 3 days drinking Sasparilla and Philippine gin and it's quite a mixture. Sasparilla is something like our sarsaparilla and you mix it with Philippine gin and you've got quite a…and of course we perked up there. One of the fellows had been stationed in the Philippines and he had to take us to one of them big cabarets. I mean it was a big thing. It had a big old second floor rotunda around it and things were pretty cheap. We left there and we went to Hong Kong and they cashed our checks at Hong Kong. The Chinese came in and scarfed up all our weapons. Every one we had they took them, locked them up in the Police Station and I think they were sprayed with water anyway they were all rusty when we got them back. We stayed there just overnight I think it was, left there and then we took another boat to Singapore. And we left quite a 2 �record in Singapore. We stayed in Singapore at the Raffles Hotel. We had quite a time at the Raffles. FB: Now this is where we need some detail because the next group that came over was not even allowed off the boat because of the record that you guys made in Singapore. Can you give us an idea of what happened after you got off the boat? CB: Well, we got off the boat at Singapore and went to the Raffles. I just remember my first acquaintance with a Dutch widow and I don't know whether you fellows have ever met a Dutch widow or not, but it's a long roll that you curl around at night to keep you from sweating so bad and it's called a Dutch widow. Of course we had fans going above us and mosquito nets and it was hotter than a pistol there in Singapore. I remember going around - we went to the Tiger Balm Gardens and we went to the Happy World Dance Cabaret and Charlie Kenner - we were there one night and Charlie Kenner won the jitterbug contest. Later on I talked to some of the Japanese and they said "Oh we went there too". So they occupied the same place. I don't remember how long we stayed in Singapore. Then we went to Panang. I gotta backtrack - we took a Dutch Packet Boat from Hong Kong to Singapore and then from Singapore we went to Panang and then onto Rangoon. We had an English ship that from what I heard belonged to the Kaiser and it was a settlement after World War I - it was a settlement that he'd made. It wasn't too much of a ship but that's how we got into Rangoon. So we actually came on over in three ships. FB: I guess the way I'll word this question is, why was it that later groups were not even allowed off the ship into Singapore? What happened that caused such a commotion? CB: Well when we were in Singapore some of the fellows may have made a name - I remember one of them that happened, they were booted out of the swimming club because of their curfews. I don't remember the reason. They pried up all the footbaths which must have weighed 4 or 5 hundred pounds apiece and they chucked them in the pool and that made the British very unhappy. Also bringing native women into the Raffles that tore up the British - I mean they couldn't stand that. I remember one fellow brought one in and she had a ring in her nose and she was dark and had a sarong on. He carted her in and sat her down at a table and got her smashed and that was probably one of the reasons they wouldn't let the rest of the guys in. I hung around with Carl Bugler and - I forgot the other fellows' names - but we didn't get involved in any of this. I lie a lot too. FB: Describe your arrival in Rangoon and I'll set this up for you. Here you are, you're a young American, you've never been out of the country at that time, what was your reaction, what was your observation on your arrival in Rangoon? CB: When we arrived in Rangoon it was in June, I remember going up the river to Rangoon and I remember it was hot, it was rainy and it didn't look like anything. When we got of the dock, I don't remember how we got to Midlow Mansions? - I think we went by taxi and we got in there and that's where I first saw General Chennault, he was there to meet us. They said now get your rooms ready and the Chinese are gonna give you a banquet 3 �tonight and 15 minutes after we got there, within a half an hour there were Japanese there from the embassy and they came rushing in. I know Tex Blaycock said "I'll throw one of them off the balcony" and they just looked around and they left - nothing really happened. That night we had a big banquet by the Chinese embassy and Chennault was there and that's when I got an impression of Chennault. Chennault looked to me like he was looking right through you and you could figure when he was looking at you, he was taking you on. I have an awful lot of respect for the man. He didn't say much. Anyway we went through an umpteen course dinner and spaced by many a shot of scotch whiskey and I guess the thing broke up around midnight and one of the fellows came up to Charlie and said "Charlie Chennault wants you to take the station wagon and the Burmese driver and you take the hold baggage to Taungoo." Now why I was picked I have no idea. Maybe I was the soberest one of the lot, I don't really know. But anyway [?] the Burmese driver and the old wooden station wagon - can't remember what the make of it was, but rattled on up to Taungoo and I got to Taungoo, met my first Ghurka troop - a little guy standing out there with a big stick and a big curved knife and we finally got the British officer, NCO, the officer out there and told them - they'd been expecting us. So I spent the night in the barracks with these little old lizards that kept dropping off the ceiling and I wondered what in the hell have I gotten myself into here. The next morning the troops came in, they came up by train and I went down to meet them. They must have had quite a trip coming up there because this one place they stopped, they grabbed a hold of P.J. Perry and they pulled off his trousers and the train pulled out and P.J. is running up the track trying to catch up with them with no trousers and I guess the natives thought that he had a new type of suit on or something, but anyway he got on the train. You never heard so much grouching in your life when we got into Taungoo, because Taungoo was a hole, I mean it was a hole. That was our introduction to Taungoo - we had no airplanes, the barracks were made out of teak and thatch and had outside johnnies, or heads, or lavatory, whatever you want to call them and rain. The rainy season was just getting over with, but it was raining, the humidity was 95%. FB: I'm gonna go back over about this Taungoo. What I'd like to ask is backtrack just a little bit. We're gonna talk in more detail about Taungoo - here you are on the [?] group, what happens to you? CB: Well that's like I say, when I first met Chennault, meanwhile he was looking us over, lord knows what he was thinking. But when I talked to him it was "Yes Sir" "No Sir," I had an awful lot of respect for the man and he looked like he'd been flying in an open cockpit airplane for 100 years. He was that type of fellow and you had to talk a little loud, he couldn't hear very well. I didn't have any long conversation with him at that time. I thought of Chennault like I thought of Phil Cochrane, when I was with him later in the Air Commandos, here's a guy that I'll follow and the same with him and Jimmy Allison was another one. FB: The question I want - this will be the last part of the meeting Chennault for the first time what I'm trying to get a sense of is this group to Chennault - was there an automatic - like this is the leader now we've gotta shape up or was it still this kind of treatment you gave the Army? 4 �CB: It's hard for me to say about the group - as an individual I had my own opinion and I can't really say about the group. I just don't know. I think some of them thought that they were getting in over their heads and they're gonna flip their way out, but I really don't know. I knew the way I felt - I was gonna do what I was supposed to do and I think most of us felt that way. There were times that we had doubts of what we - sometimes we had our doubts. It looked like it was a rinky dink going on - things we were told, didn't happen. I don't think it was the fault of General Chennault, it was just they didn't happen. FB: Give us a sense of what you mean by that. What were some of the things that you thought…? CB: Well see, when we got up to Taungoo it was hot, it was rainy, we weren't used to that kind of humidity, it was a pretty good hike down to where the flight line was, we had no airplanes. The airplanes were assembled at Rangoon and flown up and when the first planes got in there we didn't have any tools. We were using tools that came in the International pickups - the International station wagons was what we had. We used tools that came out of the trucks and that's not the tools to work on an aircraft with. Then the food, we had a private contractor - I forget what his name was - but he was ripping us off and were getting slop - absolutely it was terrible and on top of that - in the topics, no air conditioning, no refrigeration and things got smelly - we did have a pretty good little bar where we could get Batavia beer, I think it was and a few little items like that, cigarettes. So we got a little disgruntled. But then those planes started coming in and we got real busy. Because every one of the wing guns had to be filed down so you could fit the darn things in there. Aircraft had to be bore-sided and sights had to be installed - we were busy. And once we got busy - another story. 5 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 2 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden discusses his journey to join the AVG overseas and his observations upon their arrival in Rangoon. 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/00b2c36d5e3dc4a62dfafad0a7e766e9.mp4 caa4c0fd83d8cd58291973ef8d006592 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/9367e230f18b51902a5e76e428bdb564.pdf 757ea6a2d7f0da0e9e476e5d440f03da PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [BREAK – TAPE 3] FB: What we'd like to do now is to get your reaction to the conditions in Taungoo. Where were you, what were you working in, the environment you were working in, what were the barracks like - you already talked about the food, but give us an idea of the living arrangements and your work arrangements? CB: When we got into Taungoo and started to operate, the airplanes started coming in, the rainy season was still on but it was coming to the close of the rainy season. It rained about every day. When we first started working there, we only worked a half a day. The planes would come in and we'd start - we had an armor shop some little ways from the runway - we started putting the guns in them and the P-40 we had then had two synchronized 50 calibers and they had four wing - 30 caliber wing guns. After we got the guns in then we had to harmonize them and we had a place on the runway where we had our targets set up and we'd go over there and we'd try to get the pilots to come out there with them and we'd fire the 50 calibers with a screw driver because you couldn't fire synchronized guns unless the engine is running and you can't run the engine that fast. Actually synchronization is something that's gone down the road years ago, but when I was there at that period of time, your ability to armor was pretty much how well you knew that system because you could shoot a prop. FB: This part of it I want to spend a lot more time on and once again you're talking to a group of people that have no idea what you're talking about, so if you would, let's first get back to the conditions themselves in Taungoo, the barracks and your working environment. My next question actually was what your first duties were, but let's get the basic area straightened out first. CB: The living conditions in Taungoo were pretty primitive. We didn't have much. It was hot, it was humid, we had outside showers, we had outside latrines and at night when you went out there you'd take a flashlight because you usually had a scorpion sitting there next to you. I don't know if he had the G.I.'s or what but he'd be sitting there next to you waiting to give you a whack. We weren't impressed, but it's what we had. Most of us got bicycles as soon as we could. We could buy bicycles for about $30 and we started using bicycles to go back and forth. A lot of snakes - poisonous or not I don't know, but we had a lot of snakes and we'd see them on the road and they'd get under the barracks and they had centipedes and they had what they called a Burmese centipede which was about that long, they had real nasty looking legs on them. They said if they crawled across you they'd go like that and it would smart. Mainly we just weren't used to the weather, but we 1 �worked a half a day and took a half a day off. Then as we got busy we just worked from dawn to dusk we were busy. FB: What were the barracks like? CB: The barracks were British built barracks. We were all on long teakwood, thatched roof bamboo I guess it was. The beds were typical Indian beds, they were wood, probably teak, with slats across them or rope and a solid mattress and of course we had mosquito nets and that's just what it was, it didn't amount to too much. I've got a picture of it around here someplace - what my cot looked like. We had overhead lights and it wasn't too great. FB: Can you recall, for example at night laying there in the bed or something like that - the sounds - what kind of insects - do you remember any of that kind of stuff? CB: Well all I remember is the little chameleon lizards, which the Burmese were great for having, because they eat bugs. They'd fall off the ceiling - now they wouldn't hurt you and they took a little bit getting used to, but nights just were nights, I couldn't tell a great deal of difference from there or any other place except we didn't hear a lot of noise. It was rather quiet, you'd hear the crickets or whatever the noise was in the background - we didn't hear anything like tigers or anything like that roaring in the distance. Nights were relatively quiet. FB: Do you recall any incidents in which you had to confront a snake or any of those kind of… CB: One time we had one get underneath the barracks [BREAK] FB: Refer to the snake CB: One night one of the fellows yelled "There's a snake under the barracks." Everybody came running out, we're all armed with our pistols and so on and so forth and he must have popped 20 or 30 rounds under the barracks at that snake. Joe [?] finally threw his shoe at him, killed him with his shoe - we never did hit it with the guns. Another night our Armor Chief, Hoffman, said "Turn off the lights." Nobody answered. "I said turn off the G.D. lights" Nobody answered and Powww he shot them off. Shot the one over his head anyway. He said "I told you to turn off those lights" and some of the fellows started getting monkeys and the monkeys weren't very nice - most of them. They'd steal stuff off you and then get up in the rafters of the barracks and they weren't all that great. One fellow had one riding a bicycle and you'd see him going down the road on his bicycle, a monkey perched on the handlebars. Barracks life wasn't too much, but other than sleeping there, we didn't spend a lot time in them. After I had my bicycle we'd go up to from Taungoo we'd go outside the gate and head toward Prome and it was pretty nice riding the bike out there. Then as the season started cooling down a little bit, it wasn't too bad. I 2 �didn't think too much of the Burmese. The Burmese Pongees, the priests, they had free access of the base and they wandered all over the place and we had Burmese laborers working in the thing and then the Chinese came in so we had Chinese working for us. Like I say, the Third Squadron I was in had 25-30 aircraft and there were 5 armorers. Well 5 armorers can't handle it by themselves, so we - but that was it. No night life - we'd go down to Taungoo to a movie and they showed some real old ones and I don't remember what they were now - but we'd go down there and they'd play the British "God Save the Queen" and the "Star Spangled Banner" and we were down there one night and some British soldier down below us said "Where's the Yellow Stripe?" and that did cause a riot, because the first class was up in the balcony, that's where you sat - and then they'd have intermission where you'd get a drink or whatever you wanted, but when they closed this thing, we had a regular riot in there. Guys were jumping off the balcony down on top of them and it was quite a show. FB: Let's get more detail about this and I don't understand what a yellow stripe is - what caused all this? CB: They showed the American Flag FB: Let's start from the beginning. Give us an idea of what happened. CB: Well they played "God Save the Queen" and everybody stood up, then I guess for our benefit they played the "Star Spangled Banner" and they showed the American Flag and this fellow downstairs said "Where's the yellow stripe?" See they were in the war and we weren't. This was before the war started and when he said yellow stripe it just ticked everybody off and they didn't do that again. FB: I'm sorry to belabor the point but first of all we don't understand what yellow stripe means CB: A yellow stripe means coward. In Singapore too, same way. They had a regular riot in Singapore at the Happy Dance Cabaret. I jumped out the window and I left. I didn't stay there for that because they were clobbering everybody with - that may be another reason they wouldn't let the other guys land. I left, I don't even know what happened. I didn't want to know. But the British troops were not - the officers were friendly enough, a little starchy, but they were friendly, but the enlisted men were - they were something else. I remember a lot of nice Noncoms and stuff like that, but they weren't all that friendly until later on, then they got real friendly, when they were getting their butts beat, they got real friendly with us. FB: Let's go into your first duties in Taungoo once the airplanes started to arrive. You said you were on half days, then everything started to really pick up, but give us an idea what the work was like. What was the reaction of the people you were working around? Did everybody chip in or was there some guys that sloughed off and some that guys that worked? 3 �CB: Our work at Taungoo was pretty much individual work. We all knew what we were doing. We were all qualified and they would say well you've got an aircraft out there that needs weapons installation. You didn't have to go ask somebody how to do it, they expected you to know how. So you went on your own but actually to install the weapons on a P-40 it really took two people. Those 50 caliber machine guns were relatively heavy and it needed two people to do the work. They brought some Chinese down - all Chinese armorers and they were officers and I had one assigned to me. He couldn't speak English, I couldn't speak Chinese but we got along real fine and what we had to do was install the wing guns - there were four of them, then we had to install the 50 calibers - there were two of them, then we had to synchronize the machine guns. Now synchronization was a whole art of itself. People think that they're firing through the prop - a machine gun is automatic - it's not. The propeller is turning and in the back of the engine - and the most inaccessible place normally - they have what they call a generator and that generator turns, it turns with the rotation of the propeller. There's a wire that runs from the - called an impulse wire, an impulse tube - runs back to the machine gun and it's tied with what they call a trigger motor and as the prop turns the generator turns, it pulls this wire back and forth and it pushes the sear in and only when that's in position, will that gun fire. The gun appears to fire automatic as the propeller is turning, but it's the propeller that actuates the mechanism that's making the gun fire. Now if you over speed the prop, you're liable to shoot the prop ahead of you, if you under speed the prop, you'll liable to shoot the one that's in, because the synchronize - the point of impact depending on how far behind the propeller the gun is, determines where you fire it. The P-40 was synchronized about an inch and a half from the turning edge of the blade. Theoretically when a gun fired the bullet would go right between the two props. So if you sat down there idling your motor you're gonna shoot your prop, if you speed it up you're gonna get the prop coming up. So you could shoot a prop and we had enough problems with shooting props anyway without goofing that up. FB: We've never gotten any of this. People have talked about shooting through it and in fact Dick Rossi talked about how he actually shot one of his props. We've talked about props being repaired but we've never gotten this kind of detail. If you could continue on then in terms of - you've gotten into the synchronizing of the guns which is good, what condition did these planes come in? You said you had to install the guns on it. I think most people would assume that the airplanes just came in and were ready to go. CB: When the aircraft arrived from Rangoon, [BREAK] CB: When the aircraft, the P-40's arrived from Rangoon to land at Taungoo, they were just made flyable. The radio equipment was installed, the gunsights were installed and the armament was installed. The armament came in crates and we had to take the cosmoline? off them and clean them and we did have Burmese that were working in there and was doing that at the armament shop. All the other stuff was just all accessories were just put on there. Then we had the four wing guns, 30 caliber machine guns that were mounted in the wings, they had to be mounted and most of them we found we had to file the trunion? 4 �mounts in the aircraft itself in order to get them to mount right, because they fit in, they went down to a socket in the back and there were two little lugs below that you had to turn, and they just wouldn't work, so we had to file them. That wasn't really a tough job, you just had to do it. Then when we got all that done, we'd take them out and we'd bore sight them and bore sighting is actually making the weapons shoot where you want them to shoot when they want to shoot, and it's all figured on the angle of attack to the aircraft coming in at a certain speed, what position his nose will be when he makes this attack called the angle of attack. We'd take the aircraft out to the gunnery range, we'd set two jacks up, we'd run a bar through the lifting bar through the back - there was a whole back on the tail - we'd run a bar through there and we'd lift the tail up and we'd back a truck under it. We'd back the truck under it and then we'd take a car jack and then one of the fellows would get in the cockpit and he'd put a bar across the - there were leveling lugs in the cockpit - there was one up here in the left and ones in the back and then there were two across. He set his gunner's quadrant - the gunner's quadrant actually is a level and you set it at mils nose up or mils nose down, you want your aircraft set at. You set that thing up there, then he set the dial onto it and you would jack the tail up until the bubble was centered, then you'd lay the bar across the other way and this had to be level - no mils onto it. Then you'd put two wing jacks under each side and you'd jack one or the other up until the aircraft was level. Then you'd take the gunsight and you'd set your gunsight on the bull. Then you took the machine gun and you could bore sight the machine gun - you could look through it you got the target. Now Chennault had his own system. The left wing guns, your target was 20 foot wide, left wing gun fired at the right target, left inboard gun fired at the target next to it, the right outboard gun fired this way, the right inboard fired that way and your 50 calibers fired right straight. So what you got I don't remember what the range was - 375 yards or what it was - that's called a fire intersected and if you shot at anything there, you got all six guns just going in one spot and it would tear anything apart that was made. Well we fired bursts from the wing guns and then we'd fire a couple of rounds with a screw driver till we got them on the bull, then we'd take the target down and we'd fire a burst, maybe 25-30 rounds from each of the wing guns. We couldn't do that with the 50's. And that [?] how you got them ready. We'd try to have the pilot out there. Now our gunsights, they were terrible because we had to make them. The P-40 had a bullet resistant glass in the front. The ones that were in the States were pre-drilled and you could mount your reflector sight on that. Now what we call a transparent rear. Actually the gunsight itself was set down here below the pilot, down on the floor and it projected an image up to the windscreen and you could see your circle and dot or whatever it was, you could see that. They couldn't mount them, they had no way of drilling those holes, so they had to make a gimmick, which they made, it was curved down and actually it was tied onto the pilot's grab bar - when he pulled himself out of the airplane. Well what kind of grab you could get you pulled the side off. The first one they made was aluminum, they used brass rivets. Well in that weather you got electrolysis and your sight worked loose. We also had a fixed gunsight and I think from what I've talked to the pilots, most of them used the fixed gunsight and most of them didn't do any deflection shooting which is - the airplane is here, so you aim your airplane here and hopefully it will run into it. Most of them didn't do that, most of them would get right as close as they could get and just tear them apart and they would use their 5 �gunsights - the fixed ring [?] gunsight. That's what they told me, I never had a chance to do it myself, so I don't know. 6 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 3 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden describes his reaction to the living conditions and barracks in Taungoo, in addition to his first duties when the aircraft started to arrive there. 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/8b59c127b369536b62c6acf29dd66f3d.mp4 25f9c28e5ebe4872a1bf3e1e0b87db36 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/bb3a5cc5edcfc8ee08582f4b9e6af5e1.pdf 6f30825c5780f768d4a9257be70b0c7e PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 4] FB: What we would like to do now is get more into the working relationship that was going on. Now granted you each had your own duties. You were involved in the armaments and you had group that's working and everything, but did you get the impression was it your observation that this was a full working unit? Or was there certain people doing their jobs, certain people that weren't doing their job. What was your observation in terms working relationship of the AVG at this particular time? CB: Well, we start working, we was pretty much on our own. What everybody else, there were people working in the hangers, they had people here they had people there. From what I could see everybody was working. I didn't have any time off. Once in a while we'd take off and go a little bit. Some of the guys seemed to have a little more time than others. Now the pilots seemed to have more time than anybody. That includes R. T. Smith. I read his diary and he has more damn time off then I ever thought. I'll get you R. T. He used to listen to a lot of music I think. But the fellows, we worked together because the crew chiefs and everybody, everybody was working there is no doubt about that. Of course the pilots when they started to fly they had big problems. We had guys flying these PB1 what had been flying patrol boats. They were busting up airplanes and we busted up a few, ground crew had taxi accidents. Guy would fly an airplane in and chew up the tail off of one and that sort of stuff. Guys as a whole were working and like I say, guys knew what they were doing most of them the most part. FB: Let's now address your area, the armaments area. There was you and there was beginning Burmese and eventually the Chinese came in. Is that accurate. CB: Well, let me, the Chinese helped installing the weapons. The Burmese strictly worked in the armor shop cleaning guns, that's all they did. They didn't mess with the flight line at all. They just cleaned guns. We also had Chinese in there cleaning guns. Mainly Chinese. FB: OK, let me stop you just for a second. What we are trying to look for is give us a picture of this area you are talking about. Who did what? What was the process, these get cleaned why do they get cleaned? Were they being taken out of crates? Do you see what I'm saying we need a full picture of what that area looked like and who did what? CB: Well at Taungoo the amour shop well, I guess you could compare it to a garage. It was just a plain old building had a bunch of racks in it where the weapons were stored in the racks Initially there we used to clean the guns to get them ready to put in because the guns were raw grease with [?] And of course when they were fired you had to clean them 1 �every time they come back to the [?] They had to be cleaned. And, of course, we actually used carbon tetrachloride, which has been outlawed for years. It was all we had. We had our problems with keeping them clean. But that's really all the armor shop was used for. Just a place of storage. No munitions were stored in there. The munitions were stored in another place. But all the spare parts the parts that aren't electrical the parts that we had to use was all put in there. If you needed a part that's where you went to get it. FB: What we would like now is in as much detail as possible give us from an insider's view to the outsider what it was like in this armament area. Who did what and what kinds of things were done to prepare these P-40's including the cleaning the constant state of cleaning were the spare parts were, the whole picture. CB: Well, to start talking about what we did in the armor section we had 5 armors in my squadron. Joe Poshefko, P. J. Perry, Clarence Riffer, and myself. We worked together and we worked by ourselves. And also we had some Chinese assigned to us. Now these Chinese were armors, whether or not, they probably hadn't seen a P-40 before, but they did, they were smart, they were Chinese officers they weren't no recruits. They picked up real fast. They are very fast to learn. And they worked with us mainly in installation. Once we got started we didn't see too much of them. They kept them mainly back in the repair section. Woo and Chew, Captain Woo was a ranking Chinese. Well, he and two others had gone to to Taungoo one night and I think they were smashed and came back and one of our fellows cut off his tie. Just cut the thing off and he lost so much face. You just didn't do that to a Chinese captain. He actually later on he didn't mind it, but at the time he did it in front of one of his lieutenants and you just don't do that. When we have a gun remission when they came back of course we'd have to pull, now you didn't have to pull the weapons, the 30 caliber you had to pull out of the aircraft to clean. The 50 calibers you could remove insides from within the aircraft. And that's all we cleaned. But see the ammunition that the service used, the primers are very corrosive, they, and with the salts why they'll start corroding your barrel and they'll start rusting. And particularly with the humidity we had there in two weeks the guns probably wouldn't even work. So we kept them clean. I'm losing track here. FB: How did you communicate with Woo & Chew? You were telling us earlier about FB: I communicated with the Chinese by pointing. Make sure that Woo & Chew CB: The two Chinese officers that worked for me, Capt. Woo and Lt. Chew, Well, I got to backtrack a little bit, Capt. Woo could speak English. And if we had a problem with what we wanted to do he would tell the Chinese. But after we got working a while we got to know pretty much in armor how to say, what to say, and what to do. Of course, I worked with these people until after the war broke out and then we didn't see more of them until we went back to Kunming. We move and they didn't come down go with us after that. FB: How did you communicate with them in the early stages for example? CB: Mainly by pointing. 2 �CB: We mainly communicated with the Chinese by pointing and then later on by pointing to something and saying what it was in English and they would say what it was in Chinese. We had no problems. It wasn't that difficult to do. I didn't have any problems anyway. FB: In terms of the Burmese and the Chinese and then the Americans what was the working relationship there. What the Burmese do, what did the Chinese do, what did you do? CB: When we was working with the mixed groups, the Burmese that we had working, the Chinese that we had working in the armor shop I had nothing to do with. They were under Roy Hoffman would be in there or we had an English Sgt would come in, a little flight Sgt. would come in there and he would sort of keep things moving. The only ones we had much to do with was just these two officers that I was talking about. Other than that why I didn't have much to do with them. Now were around, they had them out there refueling and stuff like, but I didn't have anything to do with them. FB: Do you recall any training scenes now or anything used to communicate with CB: No, the worst come up I would probably remember name. Woo and Chew are the only ones I remember now. FB: No training terms for armaments CB: Oh, well I learned the word for machine gun which is chickwhenchaw. And bullet was a tun. [?] And I think if it was like - if you come quick load the aircraft. Something like that I got all fouled up but it was something like that. And hobble how was how are you? And if he would talk good it was ding how. If you didn't feel good it was boo how. The water was kisway. That's about all I remember. I had a few more but I have no use to use it. FB: What did you observe about the British in this? Was there any interaction with them? CB: We didn't really have too much to do with the British. Now, actually at Taungoo. Let go back track there. We didn't have much to do with them on the field. I went once and got a load of ammunition I had to have British Sgt. or corporal go with me .We got along all right. Went up to Maymo and spent the night in Mandalay and came back and that was it. That was about all I really had to do with the British. Later on we got really involved with them when we went down to Mingladon. But it wasn't actually the British it was New Zealand troops there were British soldiers, but the pilots were New Zealanders. FB: Ok we'll wait til we get to the Mingladon to do that. What was necessary to get the P-40's battle ready? CB: Well, the method we boresighted, making of the gunsights were things we had to do to get them ready to go, but everything all fell into place and that? main provision of course they I know the mechanics had to build stand for lifting engines and they took a truck 3 �they took an old stake body truck and they made winch for it so they could lift the engines off the aircraft, but other than that that's all we had to do the armors. FB: What there's a mention in something I've read about you you said loading equipment does that mean anything? Loading equipment. Something about you had gotten some guns or something like that and you wished you had loading equipment. CB: The machine guns when you get the ammunition come in belts what they call disintegrating link belts. The loading equipment is actually a belt linker is what it is. The belt linker, now you're going to put 300 rounds, or 400 rounds of ammunition and you got loose ammunition. You got a problem because you got to lay each round out in the tray you got to put the belt then you got to pull the lever forward and it's a problem. I forgotten now what would come in a box of ammunition, in a wooden box it comes from munitions place. It think it was 250 rounds for the 50 caliber and I don't remember, but we would have to link them and we had a linking machine which we used, but it's all hand operated no power equipment. And that's what they call and probably what they're referring to when they say loading equipment we call a linking machine. FB: Ok. What was your relationship with the pilots at this time? We're talking about the training period in Taungoo. CB: Ohhhh, my relationship with the pilots was I had a lot of respect for. See when I was stationed at Mitchell Field I was winch operator in a B10. I flew with Parker DuPouy and Bob Brouk, and Pete Atkinson were all pilots I flew with. I was a winch operator we had this old B10 and we'd fly around Fire Island, New York and Langley Field Virginia. We used to fly our tow target for Ft. Monroe and I got to know all these fellows then and most of them was in my squadron I knew. There were some of them I didn't care for, but that was my own personal reaction to some of them. Some of them were a little standoff, but all pilots I knew I had the utmost respect for. FB: In terms of relationship what did you discuss with them did they come out check on the machines. CB: When we was boresighting the pilots would usually come out to their aircraft. They were assigned to. And they would come out there and check and we would try to encourage this because they could see what we was doing. If they come up went up I don't think they were in tow target--air-to-air, but they did have some ground gunnery. I really don't even know where they went because they didn't do it at our place, didn't do it around Taungoo. Most of them got their experience after the war started. In air-to-air firing. FB: What did you hear about or what was your reaction to hearing that somebody got killed in the training. 4 �CB: Well, during our training period previous to this time I'd seen a lot of pilots buy the farm, I mean it was nothing uncommon in fighter pilots in those days for somebody getting killed. When Pete came in on a test stop I heard him go in. Of course I didn't know who it was at the time. And it's a shock, but it's part of the business. You don't want to see nobody get killed, but you just take it that's the way it is. That fellow that was his job and he didn't make it. Some of the fellows, I didn't know some of the fellows, the midair collision Armstrong and Hammer I didn't even know those fellows. And at the time there was quite a few of the pilots I didn't know because they were Navy and so on and so forth. I just didn't get to know them. And there were the other two squadrons. FB: Give us an idea of you know here you are your working on something and then you hear that did you know what it was? CB: When Pete Atkinson crashed although I didn't know who it was in the aircraft at the time we heard the plane when he was coming in and we heard it wind up. And we knew he was over speeding. You could just tell by the way that engine picked up that there was something wrong. Then we heard the crash and the explosion. I don't remember where I was at the time or whether I was working. I might not have been working, but we knew that he never got out of it. Whether his prop over sped, or the engine just disintegrated I don't have any idea I just know that Pete was killed and Pete was one heck of a fine troop, a real easy goin' guy. I probably flown with him then I did anybody else in B10. For some reason he used to get stuck, the fighter pilots didn't care to fly that airplane. It took off at 90, cruised at 130 and landed at about 60. They weren't impressed about having to fly it, but that was the way it was. 5 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v04 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 4 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden discusses his observation of the working relationship of the AVG during their training period and the armament area where the P-40 airplanes were prepared. 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/1d2d3d64e3869a57f07af7ababf83233.mp4 2f6621873467c21d48cb3528459abf2f https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/adb62387d243d7627c58395bf59b0d3c.pdf 039628f59728b188338127340156280d PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [BREAK – TAPE 5] FB: And how did you hear about the bombing of Pearl Harbor? CB: I got to think about this Pearl Harbor for a little bit. CB: When we heard about Pearl Harbor. We heard the Japs had bombed Pearl Harbor. There was some damage done but we didn't think there was all that much damage done. Immediately we started pulling our airplanes out of the, Pearl Harbor was bombed. So Pearl Harbor was bombed. We didn't understand how it could have been bombed, but anyway it was. And we started pulling airplanes out of the boondocks. We had them scattered all over Taungoo we had them scattered all over. So we started pulling them out and lined them up, which could have been a disaster, but anyway we lined because we didn't know what was loaded and what wasn't loaded. And we loaded them up and got them ready and right after that we got orders for the 3rd to go to Mingladon. We hauled, I think we went down there on December, I think it was around December 11th. I think those orders were cut December 11th. And we went down by train. And how all the Burmese knew we were there, they were at the station and they were giving us rice cakes. I tried beetlenut, I don't know if you've heard of beetlenut or not. Well, the Burmese are great for chewing it and it's a nut and they wrap it in a leaf and they put some kind of lime in it and anyway they handed to me and I tried one and one's enough. The people were there at the station. Every station we went thru on the way to Rangoon they were there. Now how, the station master, I don't know what, but the crowds were there and they were all cheering us and everything else. And anyway that's how we got down to Mingladon. FB: What the, if you will, what changed amongst the group when Pearl Harbor happened. Was there any attitude change? CB: No, the biggest change we had we were sweating out Jap paratroopers. That was the biggest thing. We thought we'd be they' come in with paratrooper. Rumor or whatever, but that was our big concern. And reason there was no change in attitude is we just all went down Mingladon and that was our new base. And there was nothing until we actually until they start bombing us there was no big change. And then there was a BIG change. FB: I may have gotten my information wrong, but I thought you went to Kunming first with the group that was of crew chiefs and all that. and then later went to Mingladon. 1 �CB: No, I have an original copy of our general orders that took us the 3rd Squadron from Rangoon, I believe the 1st or 2nd had already gone to Mingladon or gone to Kunming. I don't know exactly the date they left. I don't remember, they may have already gone up there or they may have left right after we did, but we evacuated Taungoo. The 3rd went down to Mingladon and we teamed up with the British who were flying Brewster Buffalos. Well, I say British, but they were New Zealand pilots. A real fine bunch of troops. Most of them were flying sergeants. They didn't last very long. The Brewster Buffalos was the U. S. Navy got rid of thing because it was outclassed and these guys were trying to fly that thing and they didn't make it. First they were trying to fly British tactics which you couldn't do against the Japanese zero anyway or even their [?] 97 fighter. They'd be on you in a minute. We got down there set up shop, we had tent, and we had barracks right next to the runway, you had a barracks. And nice [?] trenches and everything else. They hit us, well we heard that there was a bombing attack in Kunming and that they got first blood at Kunming. And then December 20 or the 21st we had, our fellows ran out and jumped in the airplanes and away they went. And one of the fellows, we were all standing outside the barracks, planes had gone and one of the fellows looked up and there's this air formation flying real high you could just see them way up in the sky and one of the fellows was counting, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 21, 24, they're not ours we haven't got that many. And we all dove down in the slit trenches and about that time the bombs started coming down and you could hear, and that's when I got personally acquainted with the war. And it wasn't all it was supposed to be. I was scared, my god, I was scared. I thought every one of those things would land directly at old Watashi? Anyway, they [?] us now this is when Ole Olson got his film. He had gone down to Bombay or Calcutta and had bought a movie camera 8mm movie camera. And that rascal stood on the runway, the side of the runway filming that bomb attack. He bent over to pick up another magazine and a fragment cut the handle off his camera. That's how close it was. If he'd been standing up he'd probably nicked. And they dropped em, I guess the closest one we had was from here out to the street to where the mail box is. They made the attack and I watched P. J. Green come down the chute he was being strafed and pretty soon the fellows start coming back. FB: All right we're going to spend some more time on that. How was the transfer to Mingladon? Crew chiefs went first and the pilots came after what was the actual? CB: Some of the crew chiefs drove including one of the armors, Keith Christiansen, drove trucks down there. My outfit went down by train. The fellows I was with went down by train. The pilots flew in the next day. Flew their planes down the next day. That's now they came in there. FB: What was the first thing you had to do once you got there? CB: First thing we did when we got into Mingladon, first thing we did was look for a place to stay. We got assigned to our barracks and they we just had to wait for the planes to come in. FB: What were the differences in terms of the conditions, living quarters? 2 �CB: Well, we had there we had barracks. About the same as what we had up in Taungoo. Indian cooks. We was actually living in a British barracks what we was living in. Although it's hard to [?] because when you're over there there's a certain smell to the place. You get into one of these barracks and it's got, and you smell the curry and the latrine smell. It's just not a very pleasant smell. You get used to but at the same time it's not home. I just remember, well, here we are and Johnny [?] he was sleeping right next to me. I don't remember, we were all in the same barracks the pilots was in a different place in another area. I don't even remember where they were. I don't remember where they were, but they weren't with us. FB: Now once the airplanes started coming in what where your immediate duties? What were you supposed to be doing? CB: Well, we just had to check them to see that they were ready to go. You see they were completely armed and loaded and ready to go when left Taungoo. But we went out and rechecked them. Usually when you do that you just charge another round thru the. There's gun charges in the aircraft that pilot can do from the cockpit. We just jack a bunch of rounds thru because we kept our guns hot. What I mean by hot is that they were loaded, ready to fire. All they had to do was turn on their armor switches and they would go. We didn't have, cause what we had found that when a pilot got the altitude and they had to charge those 2 50's and those 4 wings--they really knocked them down so we pull the charging handles back on the 30's and lock them up and all they had to do was give them a flip and they would charge in. And the 50's they would charge 50's by hand. FB: Could you give us an explanation of what it means to charge a gun? CB: To charge a gun means to load it. We call it charging a gun and normally on a machine gun you'll do it three times. The first time will feed the round in, next time will put a round on top of a round is a cartridge, next one will put it into the machine gun and then we would charge it the third time which would drop that round and put another one in. In other words, it's a complete cycle. And that's what we would usually do. FB: Once you heard about the battle in Kunming, what was the reaction of the group, what was your personal reaction? CB: When we heard about Kunming, well we thought maybe they'll stop bombing Kunming. I really don't recall too much about the Kunming. We heard that the Japanese had come over there and tried to bomb it and they'd knocked down a couple of planes or whatever the story was and - great, maybe they'll stop bombing then. But we were more concerned with where we were, what was gonna happen where we were because we knew it was just a matter of time that they were gonna be coming over our area because they were down in Indo-China at the time and down around the Moulmein area and there was no reason why they weren't gonna hit us. 3 �FB: If you could, describe the first battle that you encountered from your perspective on the ground - starting from your perspective, give us a picture of what happened. CB: Well when they hit us - when the Japanese bombed us in Mingladon, our planes had taken off and we got down in the foxholes and we heard the bombs coming down and you could hear them - and they walked them right across from one end of the field - you could hear them starting at one end and working their way right towards us and they kept getting louder and louder and louder. Then if a big one went off and it didn't have your name on it - and then they got this many - just the whole stick - which I'm saying, the series of bombs dropped they called it dropping them in a stick of bombs - because they're dropped in train, one behind the other. And they actually missed the runway, they hit all the taxi areas and they hit next to a hangar, they hit in a hangar, they killed some British soldiers but none of our planes was hit. We didn't lose a plane, even the ones that hadn't taken off. So when our planes came back we rearmed and got ready for the next one. We didn't get hit then till Christmas day. FB: It was during this battle that you got a chance to witness what was going on including P.J. Green getting shot down. Will you give us a detailed view? CB: Well you couldn't see very much with the altitude they were at. You could hear those noisy aircraft, you could hear the machine guns and then - I never saw his plane come down - we're talking about P.J. Green - he had bailed out and we saw the chute coming down and then we saw a Japanese fighter coming down in back of him and he made a pass and by the time he went past him, then you could hear the machine guns - I mean the delay in the sound and we were really ticked - you know that they would do such a thing. So we didn't know - he disappeared out of sight and we thought sure he was hit. And then when they came back in we started [?] people we lost like we'd lost Neal Martin, he made a pass at a Japanese bomber and they shot him down - I forget who else - I know we lost Neal Martin. Actually the first raid was sort of a melee that we didn't do all that great - it was Christmas. After that the next raid we had was when things really - we started really knocking them down. FB: What was the reaction of the ground personnel and specifically you, when the planes started to come back? CB: When the planes came back we just ran out there and started working on them. Tried cleaning them up and getting them ready for another mission. There was no - well, they didn't hit us and we figured we'd - I don't know whether you'd call it baptism of fire or what it was - it was very unnerving but when the planes landed, we had a job to do and we just went out and started working on them. FB: Give us an idea of the condition of the airplanes when they came back. CB: Well the planes were loaded with arms equipment - it was just the guns had been fired and we just swabbed them out and loaded more ammunition in them and that was all we did to them. The crew chiefs worked on - the conditions at Mingladon were not all that 4 �great - it was rather dusty and there was one funny thing that did happen though. When they came over and raided, there was a little dip in the ground and when the British troops would run, they all wore black low cut shoes and this was a muddy period, and when the raid was over they all came back looking for their shoes and it was funny to see all these fellows down there - of course they weren't waiting for shoes at the time. This may have happened the first raid, it might have happened the second. I don't remember the exact date. And P.J. Perry got hit at this time, he was hit in the leg with a fragment and he's taken a lot of razzing about it, but he was hit. We did have right after that raid we did have a rather amusing thing happened. We had an alert and General Wavell came in and Shep had gone out - both of us had tommy guns - no, Shep had the tommy gun and I had the bag of round drums - had the ammunition and General Wavell came in and I forget who it was called us over and introduced us to him - I think it may have been Olson. And we had a fellow, an oilfield worker named Tex Blaylock was there. Well the British had lost those ships, the Repulse and other ships in the Indian Ocean - had been sunk and Old Blaylock told the General he said "General, if this thing keeps up you're gonna be reviewing your whole fleet under water." Of course that didn't impress old Wavell at all. In fact when they landed they told him to get out - we were under a bombing attack - that he'd better take cover, which he did. That's really all I remember about that little incident. [BREAK] CB: When P.J. Green was being shot at and he disappeared - just disappeared about 2 or 3 miles away, of course we thought he was dead, but anyway he did show up later on and he said he'd had one of his arms was caught in the shrouds and he was trying to get his pistol out [BREAK] FB: When you start from that, start at the top the fact that he came down in the parachute, make sure they know it's a parachute and then that he was avoiding the airplanes shooting at him, then he disappeared. In other words then finish the story - tell the whole story from beginning to end without all the battle scenes in between. CB: When P.J. Green - we heard the firing and the machine gun fire and then we saw this parachute coming down. Of course at the time we didn't know who it was and we saw this Japanese fighter come in and make a pass at him, he might have made two passes, but I know he made one pass and the chute kept coming on down and just sort of disappeared 2 or 3 miles away - just disappeared and dropped out of sight. Later on we found out, P.J. Green showed up and he was pretty well banged up from the bail out and he said he had his arm caught. If I remember this right, he had his arm caught in the shroud lines, but he said he was trying to get his pistol out, he said "I was gonna shoot at that mother" but you'd have to ask P.J. whether he actually did or not. He was the only one we seen - and of course then our planes started coming back in - landing and we got busy taking care of them then. 5 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v05 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 5 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden discusses his reaction to hearing the news of Pearl Harbor and the days that followed for the AVG, in addition to the reaction of the group concerning the bombing in 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/3ffa45b4abea83e6d006fc5ee62e3763.mp4 295a2fea8ae192af079140c859243f69 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/943ec47e6dcb182a70f5780a7f9f2bc4.pdf 3c83c66194d3ecb452df2a8201e4094e PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 6] FB: If you can give us an idea of the next few days up until the next battle? CB: After our first bombing attack in Mingladon we had sort of a lull - if I remember right I think we had several alerts, but nothing transpired. We didn't do anything because once you have your airplanes ready to go, there's not a great deal you can do. You just hang around and wait for the next thing. Really what we did I don't really remember. I just remember one thing, we were in the barracks and Johnny Fauth hung his pistol on a rack and the pistol fell out of the holster and went off and it rather disturbed everybody - it blew a hole in the roof, but it didn't do anything else. It's just sort of vague of what we really did, I don't think we did much of anything. I never left the base. FB: Let's go right to the 25th now CB: The 25th was Christmas Day. I don't remember when we had the alert, but our planes took off and they were taking off in two different directions towards each other. The New Zealanders were taking off in their Buffalos going this way and our guys were taking off going this way and they were missing each other - like this - it got really wild. They were airborne and we - I think we had a jeep, it might have been a station wagon - we got off the field and I remember we got on the end of the runway and here comes a Zero right at us, was firing, came right over us, strafing the field - I looked up to see him. Well we all jumped out of the thing and I jumped into a thorn bush and I had shorts on and I remember one of those thorns stuck me in the leg, which came out about two years later I had a little bump and pulled it out and that damn thorn was about that big, came out of my leg. But we got back to the base - they had really got us this time. Our mess hall, which was right by the barracks had been blown up, all the Indian workers, they had taken off and really made a mess of the place. Then our planes started coming back, Parker DuPouy came in with part of his wing - when a fighter or Zero had made a pass at him and he'd taken the fighter off with the wing - and about flew his plane back. FB: This whole point you're talking about now is very graphic, it's very good. [BREAK] CB: Parker DuPouy came back and landed. He was minus about 2 feet or 3 feet of his right wing tip. Him and a Japanese fighter had made a head on approach and he took the fighter right off with the wing loop. The Japanese went in and he flew it back and he still had aeleron control so he landed and it was rather weird, but he did bring it back. Duke 1 �Hedman landed, he'd shot five down on that mission. He was the first one I ever knew that shot five down in one flight and I said "What did you do?" he said "Well I pushed everything forward and dove" and he came back. R.T. Smith landed and he had bullet holes in his airplane and I gave him a cigarette, he's standing there in the wing smoking a cigarette and I said "darn near got you, didn't they?" and he said "I never had a fighter on my ass in my life. That was a bomber gunner." He said "No Japanese fighter's ever gonna get on my tail." About the truth too. Anyway, the other fellows started coming in and we started making a tally and they had just creamed those Japanese bomber formations. They were using Chennault tactics, got a hit, get above 'em, dive, hit 'em and dive away and crawl back up and do it again because they could not fight those fighters in a dog fight, there was no way they could do it. The Japanese would jump 'em and turn and be on their tail and just - they were just too maneuverable. But if they hit 'em, the Zero went down. They couldn't take the fire power. After that, I don't know whether we began to think we were [?] or not, but right after that I think right at the end of that - a couple of days later, our outfit was relieved and we went by train to Kunming - I mean to Taungoo and we flew out of Taungoo by Chinese National Air Corporation back into Kunming. But we did go by train - if I remember rightly we went by train from Taungoo. FB: I think that's where I got confused. A great big holiday for Americans - what was the Christmas - was there any kind of celebration? CB: We didn't have none. One of the fellows, Pawley - or one of the fellows from CAMCO came out in a little car and he had some sandwiches and tea and maybe beer - yeah he had beer, I know 'cause I had one. But my Christmas dinner was a piece of cold liver and a whole quart of Australian beer - Australian ale. If you've ever drank Australian ale on a hot day, it does leave an effect on you. But that was my Christmas dinner. We never even thought about Christmas really - Christmas just wasn't there - there was no feeling, my feeling was there was no Christmas at all. And of course in that country there - that country is not Christian, they don't have Christmas trees up and all that - I just remember leaving. Also that we had open season on Burmese priests. Now we didn't shoot them, but we shot their umbrellas. We knew they were 5th Columnists, there was no doubt about that because they're the same religion as the Japanese and they were giving information to the Japs - no doubt in my mind they were - I couldn't prove it. But anyway when was going up - wherever we was going, some of the fellows were shooting at their umbrellas, they weren't trying to hit them, but they were scaring them a little bit. I think some of the fellows could - Ole Olson could tell that story better than anybody I guess - I think he was one of the culprits. FB: What was the move like to go into Kunming? Who went first, what was the whole process of moving there? CB: Other than us flying in and landing - and we were pretty much a shaky bunch of individuals when we landed - I've seen pictures of them getting off the airplane and we looked like we'd been some place that we didn't like. I mean it was I think a bunch of young kids that sort of got their eyes opened and when we landed we were assigned to the dormitories. When our airplanes came in - I have no idea - I know we went to the 2 �dormitories and then we went out to the field which was 2 or 3 miles from where we were living and planes flew in and I think some of the fellows stayed there.but then it was the First and Second's - it was their day in the barrel. FB: What was your reaction to coming into Kunming? What was the big difference between where you'd been and where you arrived? CB: Well when we got into Kunming it was cold. It was December. Kunming is about a mile high, it's a pretty high elevation, it was cold and we'd been down in Rangoon where it was fairly warm in comparison. It was cold and the food was good. When we got into the hostel - which had been a Chinese University - and they put us up in these rooms - two men to a room and we had a Chinese servant, he took care of the room, made our beds and all that stuff and we could go in for breakfast and you could order a 12 egg omelet if you wanted one. I mean what you wanted, if they had it, you could have it. The Chinese were just leaning over backwards - anything they could do for us they were doing. I know our room was heated with a little charcoal brazier and you had to keep water on it and I remember one night we woke up and we'd had the windows down and I was with Keith Christensen at the time, he was another armorer, and we barely got outside the door we'd been asphyxiated and didn't know it - that charcoal brazier going in there was cutting all the oxygen out of the air. We'd get in our station wagons and we'd go out to the base, which was a pretty good drive - you'd drive right through Kunming and we had a place they called Thieves Market, where if you lost a hub cap you could go there and find it the next day. They'd steal you blind - but it would go on sale in Thieves Market. FB: What was the drive through Kunming like? This was the first time you'd actually been in China. Give us your first reactions as an American going through Kunming. CB: Well it was dirty, it had been bombed and bombed [BREAK] CB: Kunming in Yunan Province was the terminus of the Burma Road. That's where really all the supplies coming up was winding up at Kunming and then it would be dispersed from there. It was dirty, the people were dressed in padded clothes and China was in rough shape at the time. You could smell the Chinese cooking and you could smell the [?] soil because they used human fertilizer and it made it pretty ripe. We would drive all the way through town. What we had to watch was these Chinese what we called yo-yo sticks - it's a little basket they carry on their shoulder - the idea was to try to hit him and spin him you'd hit the basket and spin him around a little bit and get him unnerved to get out of your way. But if you stopped, you really had to watch or you'd lose your hub caps, they'd be onto your car in a minute. They'd take anything that wasn't nailed down and resell it to you - why not? FB: Give us an impression of - once again, this is an American - a young American, first time in China, you're driving through in your jeep, was it deserted streets, were the buildings intact, what was that like? 3 �CB: Driving through Kunming, some of the buildings were down. Most of the buildings were made of concrete or they were made out of Adobe - I'm not sure what material was used. Exceptionally dirty and just teeming with people - there were just people all over and also we couldn't gather that if somebody got hurt, nobody helped them. Of course we didn't know and I've seen a Chinese try to jump on the back of a truck and he slipped and fell and another truck ran over him - nobody helped him. Because in China if you help somebody, then you're responsible for them from then on, so they don't help nobody except their own family. That was something that took a little getting used to. We had a restaurant there called the Nanping Restaurant where we could get fried rice and pigs. We used to eat there and they had a movie theater we used to go to. But that's about all Kunming had to offer unless you wanted to go to an opium den and we stayed out of those things - at least I did. Exceptionally dirty. Of course when you'd get out to the field we had Chinese guards all over the place and they would do anything to help you. They'd salute when you came by and they'd salute and grin and we also had a lot of the Chinese mechanics worked there - that's where we saw most of the Chinese mechanics was out there at Kunming. FB: Give us an idea of the level of training of the Chinese mechanics. How did you rate them, did you have to teach them anything? CB: Now I don't know about the engine mechanics, I do know the armorers were very good. They knew - if they didn't know, you showed them once and you could - didn't worry about them. And they were very conscientious. They'd work - mainly what they did was clean guns. They didn't work too much on the aircraft. We'd tow our aircraft into these [?] that were camouflaged and was in a bunch of trees and they'd be there. We had little boxes set up for them to work on the planes. I thought they were pretty competent - for the armorers - I know nothing about the other fellows - I knew nothing about them. I think they were fairly competent. FB: What was the working relationship with the Chinese armorers at this time? Was there a certain routine you had when an airplane came in? What was the process? CB: It was sometimes yes and sometimes no. It just depended on what you were doing. Most of the time on the flight line they weren't there. We went - when a plane was - we'd pull everything off of it, they were there to do whatever we asked them to do and could do it usually without supervising them. They were very good at cleaning cowlings. They really wanted that airplane to shine. They'd get old rags and they'd wipe all the - [BREAK] FB: We don't know who they is ……especially this pride you seem to be telling about. They were very proud keeping it clean and all that and how important that was to the gun CB: In Kunming we had re[?] - well the aircraft would be towed in there - it was camouflaged - camouflaged netting and it might be half a mile from the field. They taxied them as 4 �much as they could. Well we had Chinese troops there, Air Force troops, and we had Chinese regular troops who did the guard duty and manned the anti-aircraft machine guns and I found them most of the time - they knew what they were doing and they were very polite and they seemed to take a great delight in trying to help us. That seemed to be their biggest thing. Anything they could do to be of service they would do. Like the crew chiefs would have the cowling off - 2 or 3 of them would jump right on that cowling and get some rags and they'd wipe off everything and they wouldn't put it back on unless you asked them to, but they'd have it ready to go. Armorers were the same way. They'd come down and they'd want to clean the guns. They wouldn't try to do things that they didn't know how to do or they wouldn't get in there and show you how to do something, but they would help you anyway they could. I got along with them real well. I didn't have any problems with the Chinese there, some of the fellows did, but I didn't. FB: It wasn't until later that you got into action again, because Kunming after the 20th was not bombed CB: Mainly we were re-harmonizing and re-bore sighting all our fighters. We had a good range there and we set up and we re-bore sighted and harmonized. Because we had a lot of problems with the gunsights and with the gunsights, if they were off why we tried to get them going. So we would set up - I have a picture someplace showing Chuck Older 68. We'd get set up and we'd do the thing - do the same procedure we had down at Taungoo and except we would bore sight them and I guess we fired them in - I don't remember. That's mainly what we did and a lot of time we sat around playing Acey Deucy. If we'd go out and do pre-flight in the morning and sign off the forms and then we wouldn't know what to do. Unlike the military, where they found work for you, if we didn't have anything to do, we didn't have to do it. They didn't make work for us. That was one of the big things that I liked about the outfit and any outfit I was in, if you're not messing around, if haven't got anything to do - you do it when you have to do it and then you're on your own. That was one of the big differences that they had and I liked it. 5 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v06 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 6 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden describes his reaction to being in Kunming and his first time in China, in addition to the working relationship with the Chinese armorers at the 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/0b08be209101e8b24beedb83168f91d6.mp4 316f1c613b730101821d3e4cef8d2853 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/0e29f1a44a53f5b342ca436bddfddb70.pdf 1bf63d13f254bf68557868d01e96a8c6 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 7] FB: Your observations of the way the soldiers were or any of this kind of stuff CB: When we were in Kunming we didn't - there wasn't a great deal to do. We did a little traveling around in town, we'd walk around and we'd go to Thieves Market and look around there and we'd go to the cemetery - when they'd have [?] everybody would usually head out in that area anyway. I don't remember doing much of anything really. Did our job and we'd sit around in the - what we did in our off time is really hazy because I don't remember doing much of anything really. FB: Give us an idea of what the Chinese gravesites were like. CB: Well the gravesites were all raised above the ground. I don't know why, but this was the way they would do it. There would be mounds and there were just thousands of them and some of them would have little stones in them - like maybe - they probably would have a coffin made out of stone and then they would put dirt over the mound and there were just hundreds of them all outside of Kunming and I didn't know what they were for a long time, but then people told me that's where they were buried and then we did find one that was part opened and you could see the bones inside one of them that convinced me that's what they were. But it was a very good place to go on alert because you didn't have to dig a hole you could just get down between there mounds all over the place and we had a lot of alerts - but nothing happened. We'd have an alert and they'd yell "Jingbow" and they had black balls. At intersections they had a black ball and if one ball went up it meant the Japanese had taken off. Then they would take another black ball and two of them was imminent, three of them you'd better find yourself a place to hide because they were just about - and they called it a jingbow. And when they had them, people just evacuated the town, they were just scared to death of Japanese bombers. FB: Why don't you give us your observation of one of these jingbows happening, from the first ball did everybody just run or was everybody still doing what they were doing? Then the second ball what happened? Then the third ball and then give us an idea of this - did you ever have to go to the gravesite yourself? All right let's go from the very beginning. You're in town, the first jingbow goes up, what do you observe, what happens, then the second and then the third? CB: Well if I remember this right, when we had the jingbow - now the Chinese had an excellent warning net. They had observation - when the Japanese took off from a base, they knew when they took off and then they started plotting them with their radio net and 1 �telephone lines and stuff like that and whether we had sirens I don't remember, but we had what we called those black ball alerts and that was a ball about that big – [?] flagpole would be at street intersections. I think they did have sirens too. But they'd hang one which meant that there was Japanese in the area, not necessarily …people would start moving - they'd been there awhile, they wanted to get out of the towns. When two went up, people would really start evacuating. There were streams of people going just like bees or flies just leaving the town, all different directions - just get out of the town and on three of them you took shelter because that meant they're just about overhead. Well that was my version of it, if I'm wrong - but that's the way I understood it. We had many of them. I'd usually go find a Chinese anti-aircraft gun someplace and try to talk them into let me use it and sometimes they would and sometimes they wouldn't. I never shot anything there, they never came over. That was the whole gist of the jingbows. FB: Let's now look at your observations of the Chinese military at this time. What did you see in terms of the Nationalists, in terms of the way the soldiers were treated or the soldiers treated the people? CB: The Chinese soldiers, the soldier himself was sort of a peasant. Their system of drafting was just going in a village and scarf up a bunch of them, that's what I could gather. Their higher ranking officers were sort of political, particularly in the Air Force. They came from the upper crust of the family and there was a share of - I won't say bribery - people come from out of town they'd land at the station they'd have to pay off to bring their goods into town. They'd be there taking their money and they had a big problem - now you could always tell the difference between the National soldier and the Communist soldier. The Nationalist soldier dressed in a padded blue uniform, he usually carried a Russian made machine gun or Russian made rifle - the Communist soldier, mustard colored uniforms, he had a lot of German equipment - he had Mauser rifles and they had Mauser helmets and a lot of them carried the old broom handled Mauser pistol - it's a pistol from World War I and they called it a broom handle because it's a real awkward looking weapon. Some of them were completely armed with these pistols also with a sword they carried over their back - the pistol and the sword. FB: You say you saw the Nationalists, I understand that - but how did you see the Communists? CB: [?] It was a Communist Province. The Governor was a Communist. FB: This is what we need to hear. The Nationalists were there CB: In Kunming or Yunan Province, Yunan Province was a Communist Province according to me. They were very reluctant to send their troops down. They would defend Yunan Province but they were very reluctant to send any troops down south. The Nationalist soldiers of course were there in their blue padded uniforms and the Communist soldiers were there and they did have a lot of trouble. They had trouble with the Nationalists seemed to be deserting over to the Communists - not the other way around. I remember one time that we were working down at our munitions building in a place where we 2 �played around with bombs and stuff, and Chennault came down there and said - and we heard the rifle and machine gun fire - we thought it might have been a range or something - we didn't know what was going on - and he came down and he said "Now some Nationalists have deserted to the Communist soldiers and there's a Nationalist company going in there to get them back and if they come across the field, you're to fire on them." Well that to me was not too good of an idea because they might fire back. Anyway I set up my Bren gun and they never came across the field - I'm very happy they didn't. But I did set up my Bren gun and spent the afternoon sitting there - nothing really happened. Then the Nationalist soldiers they did get the deserters back. And that was the first inkling to me that things were not all that great in China. They were having their own internal problems which they definitely did. [BREAK] CB: Our Squadron Commander, Avert Olson, called me in one day and he said "Chuck, we're going down to a base in Burma. What is your opinion - I know we've got some Bren guns" and I knew we had some Waterpool Brownings that came off the Panang, the old gun boat that was sunk - well we got those two Waterpool machine guns we'd got from them and he said "Well I want to take the Waterpool Browinings" and they knew a little more than I did. He said "We want to take those Bren guns. We don't want no fixed defense. Tell you what, let's take 6 Bren guns - or 3 Bren guns and if you want to bring those Waterpool Brownings that's fine." I'm talking about a Waterpool Browning machine gun, it's one that's got a jacket that you fill with water and keeps it from overheating. So I was in charge of that and we got on out. We got on a CNAC plane, took off and almost got clobbered. We came so close to busting our butts. Turned around, did 180 came back and landed and they fixed whatever was wrong with it and we took off and we flew down to Magwe, that's right off the Yunanyi oilfield in Burma - west northwest I guess you'd call it. It's very desert country there. I guess you'd call it a lot like Blythe, California that's about what it looked like and it was - everything was dry and so that's where we went. We landed there and we stayed in the little village of Magwe We stayed in individual homes, people had moved out and we just moved in. You could actually walk to the base, but it was a pretty good hike to the base. That's where we stayed and that's where the Third really got worked on. FB: What was the conditions when you arrived there? What were your duties, what kind of supplies did you have to work with? Did the airplanes arrive at this time? CB: When we arrived in Magwe we got set up in our quarters, the planes came in and we got them ready. We had tents, we used British tents. They have a good desert tent, it's a double ply, there's one section that is an air space and another one. They're a pretty good tent - and slit trenches around there. Well my first job was to set up the machine guns. In slit trenches I set up both the Brownings - I didn't know that I was going to have to build ammo for it though and these were old wet belts, they weren't disintegrating links and I had a little belt maker - it looked like a sewing machine and you'd put your 30 caliber ammo - I had to pull them all out of the links and put them in a strip and you sit there and turn a little crank like this and it tik-tik-tik - the thing that goes through. I didn't have a 3 �very good weapon to tell the truth. Anyway I set those things up and passed the Bren guns out. The Bren gun, incidentally, is a Czechoslovakian automatic rifle. It was a British equivalent of our Browning automatic rifle used in World War II. It was a fine weapon - a lot of people wouldn't say it was - but it was a really fine weapon. But it shot 303 ammunition which was - unless you were with some British troops it was hard to get a hold of. Anyway we passed those things out. Meantime the British air warning - we didn't have any. We thought we did, but they decided to bug out and we had no warning at all and that's when a bunch of us went by weapons carrier or a jeep down to the Yunanyong oilfields to the Yunanyong club, the well diggers and I remember I got so loaded on Drambui booze - Drambui is a horrible whiskey anyway, but it was cheaper than beer and I remember coming back and my head on the back of that - 20 miles I think is what we drove and my head was just going like this. The next morning I was going back to the base - going out to the field rather - and I didn't feel very good and I heard this harrum, harrum, harrum and it was Jap bombers. I just heard the noise and I jumped in a ditch and they came over and did their thing and of course we went on to the base then - went right out to the flight line, got to the flight line and here comes another bunch of them. By that time I'd got my jeep and my Bren gun and I got off the base and they did their thing. They pretty well clobbered the base then. Got back in the car and drove back in, by the time I got back somebody was hollering at me and pointed up and here comes another bunch. Me and the other fellow we jumped back and we went right back where I was and now the fighters were strafing them and I emptied a whole clip at one of them that came by - I should have hit him but I didn't. I made a lot of noise. This fellow in the room said "You shouldn't shoot at him, he's liable to shoot back" I said "That's what I'm here for." Buck Rogers was his name - I knew I'd remember what it was. He died here a few years ago - old Buck Rogers. Anyway we came back and they had really worked us over. They had bombed and it was accurate and they had strafed and we had no warning. The last thing I remember was that we went out to R.T. Smith's 77. R.T. Smith and I went out to 77 and we pulled the armament off of it and the other ones we could get armament that was any good, we pulled the armament off of it and loaded it on trucks and then we left and we headed for Loiwing then via the Burma Road. The truck I was on had a load of Lugit French wine out of Rangoon. The whole truck had nothing but wine and it was horrible stuff. I remember he'd take one out of the case and bust the neck of it off, take a slug and throw it overboard. I might even pay a fortune for it in the States but - we went from there to Lashio and at Lashio we spent the night there and we tried to take the mattresses from the guest house. We tried to load them and take them with us and I always thought it was General Stillwell, but I could have been wrong, but some officer came in there and he just chewed us up for trying to steal this stuff. So after he left we stole it anyway and took it and went on up. On the way up there to Loiwing - No - we went all the way to Loiwing and nothing happened - should have - but we made Loiwing safely. FB: That bombing raid must have done one hell of a number on your hangover? CB: I was cured - I was cured. I think I suffered concussion from my head banging on the side of that dang ??? than anything else. I don't really believe I drank that much, but it didn't 4 �take much for a 21 year old at the time. You could drink two drinks and be on your way. I know I was awful sick. FB: Did you have any close calls during that raid? CB: No. No, no, I was clear of the field and when these strafers would come in they would come in low and they were not looking for me at all. See that's where Johnny Fauth and Will Seipel and Swartz got killed. But see I wasn't there where the bombs were hitting - I was probably from here to the end of the street away from where all this was going on. I was in a pretty safe area. 5 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v07 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 7 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden describes the scene of the Chinese gravesites around Kunming and the experience of witnessing a jingbow, in addition to the working conditions in Magwe. 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/c7a94655c4060b91ee4698da5b09131b.mp4 24e8390a771f42b62da8e5bc66e043e0 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/54a6246cb0763f30e29434b60181244e.pdf 36663a8bc23ca3dac44682546b34a014 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 8] FB: What was the difficulty, if any, of getting ammunition and actually parts for the guns and all that kind of stuff? CB: If they had problems I never heard about it because what we wanted we got. We had some bad ammunitions. We got some Remington export ammunition that was bad and this was real bad news because that stuff's gotta be good for your synchronized guns. You have a hangfire, it'd be in your prop and that's when we lost a lot of props. That was the problem. On a cartridge case you've got a case and then you've got a place for the primer and that's the part that ignites the propellant charge and we found some of them that didn't have a primer hold - in other words - the hole was too small, so you had what they call a hangfire - in other words - the weapon would go off and it would strike it but it would might be like a flintlock - bang-boom - a sequence like that - and with those up you're gonna shoot a prop and we stopped using them. We did have some - Remington export ammunition was the only problem. In fact we stopped using those. We had armor piercing which was a black covered bullet. The bullet was painted black, we had tracer bullet, the tip was painted red and we had incendiary which was painted blue. And incendiaries have a little magnesium charge into 'em. Actually what they'd do, they'd burst and they'd burn, they wouldn't explode. Most of the load was one ball, two balls, two tracers and one --- two balls, two armor piercing and one tracer that was usually what the sequence was in firing. We had no incendiaries for the 30 calibers. That was all just for the 50's. We didn't use very much of them. FB: From Magwe now, where did you go next, how did you go there? CB: Well we got orders to pull out from Magwe and I did not drive, so what road they took, I have no idea. I rode on top of the truck, I rode guard on top of the truck and I just know that we left Magwe and it was - from Magwe we went to Lashio and we spent the night in Lashio and then from there we went into Loiwing. FB: What was the trip like? CB: It was uneventful. It was just driving up a road. We weren't strafed, there wasn't too many - we didn't run into evacuees or anything like that. In fact I think anybody that could leave had already left and it was a very uneventful trip. I don't recall any problems whatsoever. FB: What about Lashio? 1 �CB: Lashio was pretty busy and we got into Lashio and we got in the barracks there - it wasn't exactly barracks, they were like little motels as best I can remember and I don't even remember what we ate or where we ate, but we spent the night there and left the next day. Now the group that you went with was this - CB: No convoy. We went by ourselves, we didn't have a convoy. FB: So this was just you as the armorers? CB: I don't remember who was driving when we went up there. Whether it was Rif Riffer or Christensen - I think it might have been Keith Christensen - I don't remember who was driving. That part of my life is sort of down the tubes because I just don't remember. I just remember going - see when they declared Rangoon an open city, the fellows would go down there on the dock and they'd give them a truck and they'd get a 55 gallon drum of gas and anything you wanted you'd load it on a truck. So one guy loaded his truck up with photographic equipment, another loaded his truck up with wine, another guy winded up ??? store, just cleaned the place up, because the people had left and that's where a lot of the black marketeering - a lot of the guys got booted out over this black marketeering that started going on. They were selling aspirin tablets for $1.00 a piece up there and the Chinese had a version if they could get - was it penicillin - I don't know if it was penicillin or not - one shot of penicillin would cure venereal disease, all they needed was one shot or one pill and that was it, so this stuff was selling. They were selling ammunition for $1.00 a round, you'd get $500 for a submachine gun, $1000 for … prices for everything and you could sell everything you had. That's when some of the guys got caught up in this. FB: Who had that kind of money to buy a $500 machine gun? CB: The Chinese Communists and the Chinese dope smugglers, harem smugglers (break) FB: Our impression is that China especially at that time or Rangoon, the people were very poor, who was actually buying these things? CB: All of this mostly transpired in Kunming when they got to Kunming is where this stuff and they would be met on the road. See you have your Chinese - what you call bandits or warlords or whatever you want to call them, they were raising - some of them were selling raw opium and they were being hijacked. Well they wanted weapons to protect themselves from being hijacked and they had the money. Where they got it from I don't know, but they had the money and they were paying for it. Also the Chinese Communists were buying weapons, anyplace they could get them they were buying them and this is why the Nationalists were so hot on this black marketeering and why Chennault was so hot on it. Those guys got involved into it and unfortunately we had quite a few guys got involved in it and we had some of the fellows that got involved into it that turned out to 2 �be pretty high big shots. Now I sold the stuff I had, but I sold mine - I sold all the stuff I had to a little Chinese guy that came to the barracks. About a pound and a half of pipe tobacco and my clothes. My pistol I sold to Bob Prescott. I paid $20 bucks for it in the States, he gave me $250 for it in China and I was scared to shoot the danged thing. FB: What was your observation of the black marketeering itself? To me there's a big difference between your selling your clothes, it's not black marketeering, so give us an idea? CB: Well the fellows who were bringing this stuff up in the trucks that they got out of Burma and they were selling it to the Chinese, now this was just out and out black marketeering. Now we had some Bickers machine guns, well the British years ago when they shipped stuff, their rifles and machine guns, they took - the complete unit was not shipped in one shipment - the bolts out of the rifles and the toggle bolts out of the machine guns were shipped in another shipment. In other words - if they were stolen, they had to get both shipments. But I know I had to watch the Bickers machine guns because they - who wanted them I don't know - but I knew somebody wanted them and I've been asked about, well if you don't look, why they'll disappear and I wouldn't buy any part of that. Like I say, some of the fellows got involved in selling this stuff and they should have known better. I'd say 50% of them never got caught. But those that did, got kicked out. FB: Now what was Chennault's reaction to this? I mean how did he find out and what actually happened. CB: Chennault probably had people that were reporting to him because no way could he have found out himself. He probably had Chinese who were reporting to him, he probably had people in our own unit that was reporting to him. I don't know how he found out, he had, but all of a sudden, he had never found out on of these guys got kicked out you never had a reason. He just said goodbye and sent him a discharge and the guy was gone. We had some good guys good crew chiefs that got caught with that. And then we had fellows that got kicked out for other reasons. FB: Now we have verified that there was at least a couple who made not only just a few bucks here and there, but almost made a living out of it. I won't say left the AVG they really got into the whole black marketeering thing. Can you comment on that at all. CB: I know two fellows who were big in the, you see you had a money exchange. We could get 3 rupees for an American dollar. That' before the Burma Road closed. Three rupees for an American dollar or you could take your American dollar [?] rupees and take the Chinese nationals money. A rupee was worth cause it was on the Burma Road, rupee was worth more than an American dollar was. per se, because you could get 16 or 18 American dollars, or Chinese dollars for one American dollar. But you could take 3 rupees and do the same thing. In other words, you could almost double and this is what these guys were doing. They were playing the black market and also we had pilots were smuggling gold in. They were going thru [?] they were smuggling gold in, they were smuggling gold back in the aircraft. Some gold in China. I never did know any of them 3 �that were messing around with dope or anything like that but I do know that some of them were doing this. They could put it in the flare racks they put it in the baggage compartment. Who knew the difference? They'd pick it up on Africa the gold coast. FB: What was your observation of that. CB: Well, most of my observation was what I heard people say. I never seen a bit of it myself. I just know I heard talking they'd fly out and pick up an airplane and they'd bring the stuff back loaded down with gold. We had two guys, ground crew guys, made a lot of money on the black market and they were changing currency around. I say black market. It wasn't like selling lend lease stuff, but they were making money one way or another. One of them is dead and the other one is probably going to be at the reunion so I'm not going to be able to names. FB: We know there is two people we have heard come up in on a number of occasions. There is a man who is called Hasty. CB: Hasty was an armor. FB: Now was he the one that then there is also Booker Carney. CB: Booker Carney was bad news. I did know him, but he was bad news. I [?] he shot a guy after the war. Hasty was an armor. Did he get booted out? FB: I think as far as we know he was the one that was married to a I don't know if he was married or not, but to some woman who is named Rose. Carney had Rose and they were very much CB: Well, this Hasty was a pilot or ground crew or armor? FB: I thought he was a pilot. CB: Well, he might have been he had a Hasty that was armor and I was surprised that he was mixed up and I didn't know how he had the opportunity to be mixed up. FB: Ok, but you don't know anything personally about Carney or his CB: No, I don't know a thing about him he's about like Ba, ba black sheep. Boyington. I just knew Boyington, you couldn't depend on him. That's the only thing I knew about him. He wasn't in my squadron. I just hear what his exploits and I had no personal contact with him. FB: We'll just give you some names of various people and if you could just give your comments, if you know them at all, if you know any stories about them or anything else. On Chennault staff there was a person who a lot of us a lot of the guys have said they didn't what the hell he was doing over there. Harvey Greenlaw. 4 �CB: He was useless. FB: Name the guy and then try to give CB: I first Harvey, Harvey Greenlaw down in Taungoo. We never knew exactly what he was suppose to do, but he came out there in uniform all pumped up actually he was he seemed like a I don't know. I never knew what he was suppose to do and nobody and he come out there and say something and nobody pay any attention to him. Old Harvey was (laughter) he shouldn't have even been there. I mean. I felt sorry for the guy. I didn't have no part of him I thought he was useless, but I felt sorry for the guy. He was a lot older, he was old enough to be my dad I think. Of course he was married to Olga [?] who is another story. You probably heard her story. I think she was white Russian. From what I understand, of course she was upper crust what do you want to call her? Live in or live out she didn't' have nothing to do with us ground pounders. FB: What did you hear about Olga. We have heard a lot of stories about her. But I was just wondering from your perspective. Yeah, the sofa any kind of scratching and stuff CB: I just seen her around, you know. Everything I heard was what other people were saying because she didn't travel in my circle. I think probably a lot of it was true, but it was strictly, you know if I was in court and had to swear to it, she'd get off because I didn't know. I just do know that she had an awful lot of admirers and R. T. Smith is the one that can tell you about Olga Greenlaw? He knew her. The pilots knew her. I didn't. Let's put it that way. FB: What about Skip Adair? CB: Of course I knew Skip when he asked to come in the outfit. I didn't see much of him over there. But he was around. I 'd seen him around, but whatever he did I don't know what he did. Actually I had more to do with Chennault that I ever did with Skip Adair. Cause I talked to Chennault several times. He was always real decent to me. I don't think I ever did talk to Skip once we got over there. FB: You mentioned about your first impression the first time you met Chennault and this feeling that you, that you were always saying yes, sir and that kind of attitude. What were the later interactions you had with Chennault? Give us some of the examples of what you were talking about with him. CB: I knew Chennault from when we got there and Taungoo he called me in to go up to get a load of ammunition. Told me what he expected. And then I met him at Loiwing. He came down there and Eric [?] buzzed us with a BT9 or BT6 whatever it was. Looked to us like a zero and we had already been shot at morning and I remember him jumping out the window with the rest of us. FB: All right hold on a second that sounds like an interesting story right there. 5 �Chennault jumping out of a window? CB: Well, we go back to Loiwing. We got jumped on morning. We was in the barracks and they came over [?] were down running up the planes. Actually they caught us, running up the planes or just getting down. They knocked a couple of planes out, but they didn't do nearly the damage they thought they was gonna do. We went all back to flight line and how did that go? I had picked up old Lewis machine gun, old drum magazine, World War II design. I had been playing with the darn thing. We was a little bit jittery, well, they came over that afternoon and our guys were up there waiting for them. And they just, I don't think any of them got back, any of the Japanese got back. They just they were sitting up about 20,000 feet, the Japanese came in at 15,000. They just came down and knocked them down. We was all on the field and Eric had been out in a B in a trainer. I don't know what he was doing but he was coming back. Well, he buzzed the field. I had the Lewis gun and I set the thing up we had a little control tower it was bout 20 foot tall, 15 tall made out of wood. I set it up in the brace to start aim at him. And I said this is not a good way to grow old. I felt it there and went thru the barracks and I jumped out thru the back window and these were fac windows they just swung open and Chennault came out the other window there was a whole bunch of us including Chennault. Chennault came out he made a M1 turn and came back landed and Chennault chewed him out from one end to the other. I told Eric a couple of times, you know I should have shot you down. (Laughter). He said you probably would have. But that was the story on Chennault. Chennault he went with the rest of us now not if, ands, or but about it. FB: That was excellent 6 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v08 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 8 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden discusses the difficulties the AVG experienced in getting parts and ammunition, the trip to Loiwing and Lashio, and his impressions of fellow members including Skip Adair and 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/552bfee01d340bc3fed055708f303c83.mp4 2e8f73b09259d9b52467dc3e025bd4a1 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/a4f00f67ced0b9b38ab1c351f29c944a.pdf 7973e170a1f9875e68b444422fa2e21e PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 9] FB: Ok from Loiwing this was when you were traveling on the Burma Road. Left Loiwing, Loiwing, trip up the Burma Road this is when you got your leg burned. CB: We had to leave Loiwing because it was a fair weather base. In other words the rainy season was about to start and we had to pull out of Loiwing. I don't believe it was because the Japs probably did get in there, but we had to pull out of there because it was a fair weather base. Our warning net wasn't all that great. So anyway, we decided so he was going to a place about a half day's drive maybe a half day's drive called Mengshi. We was going to operate out of there. We went in there and found out we couldn't operate, planes came in and landed. I remember Bob Brook came in and asked me to count his ammo and I looked in his 30 caliber ammo cans and just the top belts had been moved out, maybe 20 30 rounds just move off. Well, he said I'll tell you what I was flying along and I found myself flying in a formation of Japs. I was sitting back. He said I flew up in back of them I checked my armor switch on and I came them a squirt and dove away. He said I got him. He said I wondered how many rounds he fired? That's what he wanted to know, I counted them and I don't remember what it was. Came time I found one of our 30 caliber bullets lodged in an ammo can. One of our guys had evidently been shooting and poked a hole in his plane because it was one of our own cartridges. It wasn't Japanese, one of our own bullets. And I showed it to him and I said hey, you got shot didn't you and he said I don't know who shooting at me I was shooting at them. FB: Well, what happened? CB: Well, anyway we spent the night there and then they came in the Chinese nationals brought in gooney bird or a C47, or DC3 and I had my choice of flying back to Kunming. I said no, I'd gone this far and I wanted to finish the trip up in the truck. Clarence Riffer was driving at the time. I was just riding shotgun. And so we took off from there for Kunming. And on the way up why we spent the night in the truck. We had a bunch of machine gun parts in this truck. It wasn't the same truck I started off from Magwe in. We had just a bunch of machine gun equipment, tripods, this and I don't know what all was in there. So we tried to make a fire and during the course of making the fire why old Clarence, or Rif Riffer the gasoline can caught on fire using he chucked on my leg and it burnt my leg pretty good. From there we went to Paoshan. We spent the night at the hostel at Paoshan and then we went deer hunting. Now the [?] of deer hunting was with tommy guns interesting. We didn't see any deers, but we got up and yonder trying to find them. And incidentally that area is a good hunting area. 1 �Around Kunming duck hunting, there is deer so they say I never did see one. I seen the biggest tiger I'd ever seen in my life. We driving at night and the tiger jumped in the road ahead of us in the lights and then bounded off. god, he looked like he was 15 foot long. He was moving out of our way and we went another way and stopped..Chinese, they don't like to be passed. They loose face if you pass them. We found to pass them, pass them on the inside don't try to go round them they'll try to push you off the cliff. You start passing them and they start edging the car off and you got a 1500 foot gorge there. So we passed on this side and we found the best way just fire burst from your tommy gun as you go by them just fire burst over their hood they give you plenty of room. FB: Lose face. CB: Well, the Chinese like a lot of the orientals there's a different face problem. They don't like to lose face and driving on the road when you passed if you went on the outside of the road they would try to push you off the road. Invariably on the Burma Road there was one place that was a cliff on one side and there was a big drop on the other. So we would try to pass on the right and they'd get ahead of you They just try to keep they didn't want you to pass them. So what we'd do we start going around them they'd let you on the right hand side cause they'd say well, I'll push this guy over, but as we'd go by I'd take my tommy gun and I'd shot a short 10 round burst over the hood of their car. I had no intention of shooting them, unless they shot back. They put the brakes on and boy they stop in a cloud of dust and give you the right of way. Might makes right is that what you'd call it? That's what we'd do. That's what I did anyway. I don't know what the rest of the boys did. FB: You had mentioned once before about Keith Christensen. CB: Keith Christensen was armorer was a Navy man. I think he got over there around November. He came over on one of the later boats. Keith was assigned to our squadron. Of course he had a saying that Chennault had called him in and said were having trouble with this 3rd squadron they don't know their job could you sort of straighten them out being you're an old Navy man. Do you know anything about synchronization? He'd been in the Navy since about 1936, 37. He'd been in the Navy a hitch. He and I got to be real good friends we still have this synchronization thing going on even to this day He and I we stayed together we roomed together in Kunming. Stayed together pretty much together, we sort of buddied up. He's older than I am. Just a heck of a nice guy course he. I can't say any more about him he's a real nice fella. FB: What was the synchronization thing though? CB: Well, that thing was said that we couldn't synchronize and he was going to show us how course this thing happened here not too many years ago when they came up to visit here. I put a sign out on the mail box Synchronization Class will be held at 1300 hours. He and Joe Poshefko and their wives showed up and I said you ready for synchronization. Well, at least I know how to spell it. I had misspelled synchronization. I said I spelled it like it 2 �sounds. He said it don't even sound like it is spelled. And that's the story on that. And he hasn't let me forget it. FB: How once, during this whole period of time there was a certain amount of innovations that you had to make to keep the airplanes going and what not. There is a story of how you had somehow done a makeshift bomb. CB: Oh, yeah. Ken Jernstedt and gosh I wish I could remember his name. He was killed over there. They were going to plan a mission run down Moulmain. They had the planes ready to go and I just fooled around with, we had some British incendiary bombs, long silver, about that long, octagon shaped. They got a little pin the side of them and when the pin pops up they are armed and when they hit the ground they burn. Well, I bound them up with masking tape and you could put three of them in each flare rack and talked Ken you want to take them with you? I think he was a little dubious, but anyway he put them in and then we had some Canadian hand grenades and these were plastic. Only plastic hand grenades percussion grenades is what they are rather than fragmentation they make a big bang. You screw the cap on them and they had long piece of cloth and a lead weight on to them and when you threw it this stuff would spin off and when it hit the ground it would go off. We put them in flare rack tubes and put a big old cloth in the tail of it so theortically when it dropped the cloth would slow the tube down and the things would fall out. Well, we only used them once I was really scared of them. And I think they were too. But the other ones Ken told me when he came back he said you know I aimed that incendiary at the hanger but it bounced and went underneath a Betty Bomber and I got the bomber. And I still talk to him and said you never shared your bonus with me on that. He said no I never did and I ain't a goin' to. FB: You had made mention that there was an incident you recall regarding the Army Air Corps group coming in and assigned to do some sort of a morale mission. CB: We had a basic trainer land at Loiwing. Army pilot and a sergeant observer. They landed at Loiwing and came up and told us that they had been assigned to fly morale missions over the Chinese lines to make their presence known. This was an order that came up supposedly from General Stillwell. It was my understanding that Chennault told them to take that airplane and get lost because if they went down there and did that they were going to get shot down. Well, they took off and I don't know whether they flew their missions or not. I don't know what happened to them I never seen them again. But that was the story and this I remember when they landed that trainer. They wouldn't have a chance if they went down there. Trainer flying 90-130 miles an hour, well, it would have got shot down there's no doubt about it. There would be a Jap fighter there within 10 minutes. FB: There was a flare up amongst the pilots of the 3rd squadron during the latter part regarding these morale missions that were being ordered by somebody. Did you have any observation of that? 3 �CB: None at all. I didn't know I knew there was some grousing going on, but I knew nothing about it until after the war. I was reading some of the Sadell?, I didn't know a thing about it. FB: What I'd like to get into now this is sort of an over all picture. Where you part of any thing of those days when things were going 2 or 3 times they would have to go back up? CB: I don't ever recall anything like that. FB: Ok CB: We may have done it. We would rearm them when they came back and check them. Whether or not they took off again or not. But I don't remember. I just don't remember doing that. FB: OK, all right. CB: See when the 1st and 2nd went down to Rangoon, they no doubt did that cause they got real busy down there. Busier than we were. I think because after we left things got a little rougher than we had it.. FB: OK FB: I have a notation here April 42 CB: April 42 was when we was at Loiwing. [?] Berry ?got married there. I don't remember who he married. I didn't go to the wedding. They were married over at the pilot's quarters and I think that they had an alert. We had gone over there and on the way back we were stopped at a road block. I just remember we stopped at a road block and the Chinese one of the Chinese guards he had one of those Chinese grenades and he had this finger hooked on the ring and he'd hold it inside the car. And you don't drive away when some one is holding a live grenade in it doesn't prove to make your life very long. They were looking for a Japanese observer who had bailed out. Now whether we was coming back from his wedding it might have been I just don't remember. I just remember [?] got married. I don't remember who he married or if it was a local girl or American. I just don't remember. FB: This incident with the Chinese stuck a live grenade in there was that a common thing. Was that something that CB: Evidently it is one of their ways of stopping in a road block will keep you from going off because if you took off all he would have to do is hold drop the grenade and hold his finger in the ring and it would arm those grenades had a friction primer on them. You unscrewed the cap and there was a little ring and you put your finger in the ring and when you threw it the ring stayed on your hand and pulled the string and with the friction 4 �primer you ignited the fuse string. They used a regualr potato masher like the Germans used. FB: Where there any other incidents that you can recall where you had not just a confrontation but just that kind of an incident with the Chinese military? CB: No, one time I went down to Chinese anti-aircraft sentries have a 30 caliber machine gun modeled on an aircraft mount. And he had the belt in backwards. Not the bullets in backwards, but the belt. You had to put it in with the double link first if you put the single link in it scratched the truneon?. I showed him what was wrong with it. Well, he had to call his officer. His officer came over there the officer he didn't like it, but he did what I suggested do. I said it is not going to work this other way. But there was no problem he just didn't like me telling him how to run this machine gun. We did notice they were not all that eager to fire. We checked out a bunch of pilots on P-40's. They busted up some of our airplanes. Then we got that Republic Lancer P-43. We got a bunch of those in. The Chinese were busting them up all over the place. The clobbered a bunch of those things. Let's see what else did they do? They had those Russian fighters and when we would have an alert they would taxi them to the boondocks. They wouldn't take off with them. Of course they'd have got shot down it they had. They did go on a couple of bombing mission with their Russian made bombers. I don't know what ever happened on that. I think there was something called in the glory of it We just notice that they were loading them and taking off with them. FB: Why do you think the Chinese were reluctant to fight? CB: I don't think the air force was equipped to fight. Now they say they had some real good fighters later on in the 14th Air Force. I understood that when they went to pick up planes in Africa where they ferried them on in some of these guys would take off and go looking for trouble. They'd get over to Burma and they'd go looking for Japanese. So I think that they were under orders not to use those bi-planes. And of course it looked like they were bugging out, but I don't really believe that they were doing that. I think that they were just getting them out of the way because they couldn't because they were outclassed. FB: You made mention that some of the Chinese got checked out in the P-40. CB: Well, this was just before the outfit busted up. They brought a bunch of pilots in. Now all these pilots had a lot of flying time in other planes. They checked them out in the P-40. I don't know how many checked out 10, 12 whatever it was checked them out. I think they busted up 2 of our planes. I know they busted one up, but I think they busted two up. Calm down a little bit. Then they checked a few more out, but then they started getting these P-43, Republic Lancers that were coming in or they were flying those things. Those things had a, for instance, go into a high speed stall on take off if you reaped one around it would go right into its nose. I had talked to fellows who had taught Chinese pilots and seemed that over there at the time that when they were learning to fly that once they soloed that was it. They didn't need to know any more there were ready to do whatever they were supposed to do. Of course a lot of them were from rich, influential people they 5 �may have not had the qualifications they should had, but they had the pull to get in. Course that is just my own version of it. 6 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v09 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 9 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden describes his memories of traveling on the Burma Road and incidents with the Chinese military using grenades. 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/3f8d135dff58fc1e634beb4bccd4fa92.mp4 483588b4f077c578197d3bd5e9412b4d https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/7e86b6539490755ec2508f3f621f5777.pdf a1bdbcd742bdfa8353965c12ed61a9f4 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [BREAK – TAPE 10] FB: Let's begin with, the only time you saw Chennault get really upset. CB: The only time I remember about Chennault really being upset is that he lost his cool. There was a period of time when the army B-25 landed at Kunming. And Gen. Chennault came down, the regular operator was dead, the plane was full of holes, and we found out the story was that those planes were supposed to take off from India, fly to Kunming and then we'd take them from there. Well, the Army and all the glorious wisdom decided that they would make little bombing raid on Lashio. They knew nothing about Lashio. Not really. So they decided to bomb Lashio and they'd immediately run low on fuel and they got jumped by Jap fighters. Who were, I think were already in Latio. The radio operator was killed, they lost I think 3 planes, and they lost two of them. At least that's from my best recollection. This was landed and Chennault heard the story and he took his hat off and he threw it on the ground and kicked it. And I don't know what he said, cause he walked away with his back to me but he was mad. And the only thing I heard was this was unnecessary. Because he had places, they could have gone in to several other bases for gas if he'd known it, they could have bet on the whether, there's a bunch of things they could have done, but they didn't tell him. He didn't know about it. And this was really unfortunate and I guess they probably have that problem all of the time. FB: Around this time towards the end, there was some rumors that were strung around about the AVG is coming to an end, there's Army Air Corp coming in, I wonder if you could comment on that period of time. CB: Well, these rumors started flying there probably May. And of course we thought we were going to be abducted right into the service. But then we found out that beyond foreign soil, you cannot enlist, they can't draft you, it has to be voluntary induction which I had never heard of before and they set up some king of a board and interviewed everybody and asked what it would take to stay in. Well, I had made my mind up that I was going to go back to the States. Or I was going to ask for something I really didn't believe they'd give me but I was going to try and if I'd got it, I'd stayed. Well when I got, our squad commander was the one that interviewed us. And they said what do you say to stay? And I said if you give me the permanent board to the Master Sergeant, and you'd give me temporary First Lt., I'll stay. I never heard any more about it. That was something I didn't get and I didn't think I'd get, but I was going to try for it. That was the closest I'd ever got to getting the commission. Anyway, that was the whole story on that Of course, we'd had the big talk by this General, this General came in there, Burton or Britain, he came in. 1 �FB: Let's start again, the General came in by the name of Bissell. CB: There was a general that came in by the name of Bissell. And we weren't impressed, I know he wasn't impressed, we weren't impressed with what we saw, I think he thought that everybody was going to pop to and do whatever he wanted us to do and he laid it on the line, he didn't tell us, there was no kindness into it, he said if you don't go into the service, the Draft Board will meet you when you get off the boat or the plane, you'll get no help for transportation, in other words everything was negative. Then it just turned everybody off. He probably did more damage that anybody who were there, not if. And another thing Chennault did not, to me, did not ask any of us to stay. If Chennault would have said, Charlie, we need your help, I'd probably would have stayed, but he never did, and I heard later that he refused to do that. He was not going to push people into staying. I think he did call some of them like Tex Hill and some of them aside, and said I really need you, he did call some of those people in. But the most of the crowd he didn't, He didn't push us or say anything, so when the time come, we just left and we just walked away and left. We had a lot of Army people come in there. They were trying to teach us armors, aircraft armors, they had orders for people who knew nothing about aircraft armament, and they had one fellow who was standing out the flight line, he was scratching his back on the wing guns and as the guy in the cockpit turns on the switches and hits the relay and that put a burst to the middle of his back, blew him 15 feet away from the left. Of course, they didn't know if there was a padlock inside the aircraft, they had relays. If he hit one of those relays, that would fire the gun, you didn't have to pull the trigger, they'd fire the guns, and whoever was in there, they didn't know. And another fellow came by he was some officer, I didn't know who he was, he didn't like the way we had some stuff stacked there, he said this stuff should be stacked neat. and I guess we told him to get lost. But whatever it was, we didn't do it. And then we got, and when we do go in, these guys are really going to lay it in to us. I don't think they did because they needed all the experience at the time because these fellows didn't know, they were in Kunming, that was about it. Because it don't take long when you get under active combat conditions you know what to do and you learn it or you got big problems. FB: I wonder if you could comment on a particular aspect of what you talked about, when you went out to China, actually to Burma first and then China, one of the things that you made very clear, was that you guys already knew what you were doing, you'd already had the training and everything else, it was getting use to the conditions and everything but basically you knew your job. From that perspective and now you've had almost a year of experience what was your evaluation of the new people coming in? CB: My evaluation of the people coming in was that they were friendly, most of them, particularly the fellows we associated with, they wanted to learn but they didn't know anything. They were completely in the dark of what was going on. They were trying to train people that didn't have any experience in the aircraft [?] No doubt they would learn, they just didn't know, not no doubt they wouldn't learn, but no I think one of my biggest problems were that stuff we had was getting worn out. And of course, most of the fellows cam out alright. I didn't work with any of them hardly at all before I left because I left a little bit early. 2 �FB: Describe, CB: We did start to get aircraft invasion from the old H-81, P-40, we started to get the Emodels in and that was a lot better airplane it had 650 caliber machine guns underway and they had drop tanks and it had the place to put bombs in the wings and it was a much better aircraft. But we didn't have any, we were using Russian bombs, we were using Chinese bombs, most of them had to be adaptive to the aircraft, they wouldn't fit, we had some problems with ammunition and our gun sites on the old models were just about had it, the things were just getting worn out and P-models why, they were going to do alright. That was about it. Things were just, we'd had the stuff so long that actually the replacements, and they had to bring them from a long way, they had to go all the way to Accra, the Gold Coast to get them. FB: Let me ask you this, in a quote, unquote, normal army air Corp. operation, would this equipment that you had, been kept in service that long or what would normal military procedure be in that regard? CB: They'd had probably thrown it away and got new ones. FB: I want to hear that. In terms of the P-40s and the amount of wear and tear on them, and then say they would have thrown them apart. CB: Well, let's put it in perspective. If you don't have the equipment, you've got to use what you have. If you've got lost of equipment, you use the new equipment. And that's just the way it was. Now I know later on when I was over there again, we went through three bombers. None of them were any class 6. I mean they were totaled out, but when something would break, we'd get a new one. I know in China, we couldn't do it, we didn't have the stuff, we had to use what we had. And I don't think the Air Corp. was capable of handling it, they couldn't handle it, they didn't have the people that could do this, they didn't have the machine shops and all this sort of stuff, so my system, my idea of what it was, if it was broke, they'd have to get a new one. I don't think they could have coped with them. And what they did, they got new equipment, and I don't know what happened to the old P-40's because I left and they were still there. I wouldn't mind having one today, but.... FB: Let's look at, there was an incident you had mentioned about, of a plane exploding on the runway? CB: Oh, the Chinese plane? Well, the Chinese were flying a Russian-made biplane and it had a, I don't know what kind of engine it had, but I know it had four synchronized RussianScotch machine guns and that's an army's nightmare right there, to have four of those things. And the Chinese was fooling around with bombs and they had rigged a bomb rack for this aircraft. They'd hung the bomb beneath it, a bomb has got what you call an army vein on it. An army vein goes through an army wire which is hooked to the bomb [chakle?]. And when the bomb is dropped armed, this pin or wire stays with the aircraft, 3 �let's the propeller spin, well the propeller has got to spin so many times in order to arm the bomb. They didn't have one of these, so they had a mechanic hold the propeller over the bomb, the army vein, until he started taxying. When he started taxying, naturally the army vein spins off which arms the bomb, well now the bomb isn't going to off until something it knows strikes something. Well, it evidentially hit a rock and Kunming hit a lot of gravel and evidentially, he's taxying by and the plane just blows up - just completely disintegrates, we didn't find nothing of the pilot. And the engine, when it took off, it went, it must have gone into the air, 75 feet in the air, it was roaring, the engine all by itself, the tail went that way and the wings went and later on they had one of the Chinese pilots, he was going to give us a demonstration. He was going to give us a low fly-over. He comes bopping over and his airplane made a rather peculiar sound when he came over, but he came bopping over and all of a sudden the tail starts to go like this, and evidentially, the pilot didn't have a safety belt on, because all of a sudden when it went up, he just went sailing right out of the cockpit. He hit his leg on the horizontal stabilizer and got his shoot off, but he wasn't that high but he did get his shoot open and he came down with a broken leg. And we had heard that the Chinese had to shoot him because he did this. I don't whatever did happen to him, but I think his career as a pilot went down the drain. He didn't impress anybody. I know we all were standing there looking at him, it was funny in a way, because it actually did look rather hilarious, this guy getting thrown out of this airplane. And D. Poshefko was there with me, I think P.J. Prairie and there was about four or five of us armorers standing watching this whole procedure. FB: If you could explain how that came about and what actually transpired. CB: Well, our contract called for a year's engagement but with a 30 day leave with good counting, you got a 30-day leave. Now see they were organizing this outfit for the, it was really called First American Volunteer Group, there was another unit that followed us, and they were scarfed up when the war broke up and wound up in Australia. They were supposed to have a couple of fighter units and a bomber unit and all that stuff. So when the time came up, I had this 30-day leave and so we just got turned loose. early and we got a, we did get an Army transfer out of Kunming. The pilot told us, he drives me down there, he said I'll take you up because these guys were all for, it was William's trying to keep us from going anyplace. so they weren't supposed to fly us anyplace, but he said you be down there at the end of the runway, I'm leaving at such and such a time in the morning, he says, so I'll, we flew in to Karachi. We got into Karachi and we went to the American Council, and he said take a train, go to Bombay and sit, you'll be notified. Which is what we did, we were in Bombay 30 days and we found an apartment, there were 3 or 4 of us in the apartment with some British troops, soldiers, that was a nice place, except I got liver, kidneys, and every Wednesday they had kidney pie and those kidneys were raunchy because you could smell them cooking them in the morning. That was horrible. I found out you could buy Coca-Cola extract for $18/gallon and we'd get the Coca-Cola extract and a the bearer, the servant we had, would bring us in the seltzer water and we would get Indian Rum and we drank a lot of Rum-Coke while were there, now a gallon of Coke-extract goes a long ways. And we had, we put on a big party and we had a good time in Bombay, I forget who was with me, I think, I forget who was with me and all of a sudden they notified us, they said be at the boat dock and such a such a 4 �time and the Mariposa came in there and that's what we came back on, then they charged us a, I think it was supposed to be about $3/day for transportation, it was a troop ship. Well, I rangled my way on the gun crew so I didn't know anything about a, you see the Navy had the radio, Army Coast Guard artillery, out artillery had the gun system, the weapons, they had one five-incher and two-three inchers in the fan tail, they had one big one in the front, they had a lot of machine guns. The Mariposa was fast, a submarine couldn't catch it. Unless it was ahead of it. Then we went unescorted. When we left, there was a bunch of, a whole bunch of us, they gave all the pilots to man the machine guns, we were never attacked there, but they, and I got on one of the candidates as a gun pointer, I had a young Corporal Sgt. there check me out, of course I told him I knew all about it, I didn't know a damn thing about it but they didn't either, so it didn't make any difference. So we came back on the Mariposa. And we came down and we stopped at Cape Town and as we left Bombay the riots broke out, that was in August, the riots broke out in Bombay, because I remember the British troops coming in there, they put a machine gun up in our room, up in the belfry, a little dorm they had up there, and I remember they had hobnail boots, and we could hear these guys running up and down the steps, a lot of racket, we didn't know what was going on, and as we got out of Bombay, we had a torpedo fired at us, and a ship, they said, I didn't see it, but they said it was a torpedo that had been fired at us, and then we went to Cape Town and we were degauzed at Cape Town. Now degauzing is when they rap a lot of cables around your ship and they demagnetize it for magnetic lines. And then we headed for the States and we came up around thru Panama, we'd seen all that stuff floating in the water and the German submarines were just blowing the heck out of everything in there. We didn't know at the time what it was, we'd got to [Wehauka?] and I got in trouble with the Customs and I had a first-aid kit that I'd got it out of a British fighter - it had a sea of ampoule of morphine in it and the Customs found it, and oh, they let it land on me with a ton of bricks. I said look, I'd been carrying this thing around for 5 months, it was sealed, I said it's a first-aid kit, it had injection violet which they use for burns and there was compresses and but they, I had an Indian suitcase and they went through that, they even tried to take it apart. They thought I was a, they had a live one. Anyway, they finally let me go. I said take it, throw it away, or you can have it, whatever you want. I said I didn't have any idea I was going to get in trouble cause I got this thing. They were, they went through my pictures, and the guy was taking out, he didn't take my negatives, but he was taking pictures he wanted to keep himself. He had it approved down here, he said he'd have to sensor these. And he took about 25 off me and, but he left the negatives, but he wanted them for himself is what he wanted. And that was the whole story. Then I went to my girlfriend's house, found out she'd gotten married while I was gone 5 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v10 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 10 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden discusses the final days of the AVG and the arrival of the Army Air Corps, in addition to their meeting with General Bissell to discuss the weeks ahead. 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/25e444c4b39481346f8233a54723e56a.mp4 dabb852c08b9a39cc17559cc94732042 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f289dfe8a25892d7fec8424b719bd413.pdf 36b6b5040fdd178eff409a1c63d25dfd PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Chuck Baisden Date of interview: June 8, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 11] FB: Finally, we'd gotten through to this point, these are all reminiscence kind of things, no specific questions per se, no incidents per se, more of your reflections on. The last few questions on war, your opinion, if you will, your reflection, just your own view of what has happened, so it's not so much the specific airplanes, or anything like that, it's more philosophic, your evaluation. To start off with, were there any deaths that occurred during the AVG period of time that had a particular impact on you? CB: I think the worst one was Johnny Fauth. Because Johnny and I were good friends, I knew he lived in the red line Ta. Johnny was an Atheist. He was a, because he got in some terrific arguments, he said if I get killed, throw me in a hole and cover me up, that's it. And so of course, that shook a lot of people up, but Johnny was a good mechanic and he and I were real good friends and I think Johnny Fauth was probably, really affected me as much as anything. And then of course, Pete Atkinson was another one and Neil Martin, all those guys were killed but Fauth was the one that I knew him, I bought his pistol for him, he slept in the, next to me in the barracks and that I think was maybe one of the things. We were all in the same boat and we all had an equal chance of buying the farm, so to speak, but Johnny Fauth was, and if you ever talked to this Ole Olson, he named his P-47 Johnny Fauth. I've got a picture of it in the back room that he named his P-47 after Johnny Fauth because him and Johnny were both mechanics together. FB: How do you look at the Military's attitude towards the AVG? CB: Well, the Military attitude toward the AVG, I can't blame the military some ways, they were pulling on a lot of, at the time they had the big Air Force, Air Corps expansion. They were pulling out qualified people. Now no squadron commander wants to lose people. Chennault had made a lot of enemies, Gen. Chennault had made a lot of enemies with the high ranks and that of course, he was one of the reason he was out of the Service. He was a, he just got out of the Service because they didn't want him around.. I had my own opinions of Gen. Chennault, I think Gen. Chennault was a brilliant tactician, I don't agree with him as far as winning the war with air power, there's no way he could have done that, but he was that way with it. Gen. Stillwell was on the ground power, you've got to have everybody. I really don't believe that the Japanese had attacked at us like they could have. I mean they'd wipe us out. There was no way we could have stood up to them. I don't think that they had thought they were going to run in to what they'd run in to, but I think, I also think that a Military outfit is a much better way to run a war, than with a voluntary unit. I put 20 years in the military in the sack and you see what they did at W-Sealed, these guys are well trained, they're well motivated, and that's the way 1 �you win wars. I really believed that if we'd have gone over there, they'd have really clobbered us. That would have been the end of the Tigers. FB: What about the military attitude about the AVG sort of at the end, they had a lot of treatment towards different, well they were trying to keep us there, there was a lot of jealousy - there were a lot of these fellows that wanted to make a name for themselves. I didn't have run in to any personal things myself, I didn't have any bone to pick with any of them. I just know what some of the fellows had said, I do know that the powers of B did everything in their powers to keep us there, and I think some of it was pretty petty, I think we could have done away, if Bissel had not done what he'd done, I think that they had probably would have made at least 50 percent of the AVG. FB: The last two questions and be careful, the last three questions, if you need some time to think about it, please feel free, and its brief history.. CB: I think the AVG accomplished in the history it was in, the biggest thing was that we were the only one's that were doing anything in America. We'd had Pearl Harbor, we had got wiped out of Pearl Harbor, we lost Corregidor, we'd lost the Philippines, the Navy was sunk, we didn't have equipment over there, and we were the only ones that were doing anything. And I think as a morale booster, it really helped the country. People were grasping for straws, they wanted something that they could hang on to. And say, hey, I'm an American and we're doing something good. As the war progressed, why then when we got in to it, everybody got in to it, then it had turned into a different story. But I think that's the biggest thing - it was a big book, it was like Jimmy Doolittle, Gen. Doolittle accomplished nothing as far as tying Japan on a hawk. But it was a big morale booster - it showed Japan it could be done and it showed at least we're trying to do something. but as far as military, it didn't do anything. FB: What do you think the effect was for the Chinese people? CB: From what I see of the Chinese, it was a big, they couldn't do enough for us - they had been bombed and bombed and bombed and well we were there to stop that and on the whole it stopped. And of course, when the 14th Air Force took over, the Japs never hit Kunming again - not to my knowledge. FB: What do you think you personally accomplished during that period of time? CB: Oh, gee, there was a period of my life, I don't think that I got over yet, at this stage of the game, but I learned a lot. I learned a lot about the traveling around, as far as my own skills as an armor, I had a lot of skills at that and it's something like, I just keep remembering it, it still comes back to me and then I loose names and some will pop up and I'll say, gee I was there, I was never dissatisfied that I joined the unit. I think that later on, there was some rumor that Chennault, Gen. Chennault was doing something, wanted to start something else up with the Chinese Communists, I didn't think I wanted any part of it. I never heard the whole story on it, but I had heard rumors that he was 2 �trying to get another thing going to fight the Communists, I don't, whether it was true or not. FB: How did the period of time during the AVG, how did that affect the rest of your life? CB: Well, I was through, I probably would have never Will. When I went back into the service, I got tied up with Ole Olson - we went into pilot training, and I met her on the west coast, so it probably changed my whole life, really, what I would have been doing otherwise, I probably would have ended up in Greenland with the unit that was stationed there at Mitchell Field, say I went to Greenland for a while and of course, I ran into some people later on, Phil Cochrane, he was, he and Jimmy Allison headed up the Commando unit and that was one hell of an outfit. It was the same thing as the Tigers. They got people in there, there was no T and R, table of organization, we had [Mario? Enrack?] floating around, shaking a stick at and we flew to, I flew up to 3 missions in one day and all I had time was to smoke a cigarette and we were over the bomb line, you might say it that way and Cochrane was a G.I. soldier from way back - as long as you did your job, we had some people come in there and they got a little ticked off because the guys weren't shaving and he put a thing in the bulletin board, Support Powers of B that don't look like our parents, now we're doing a job he said, but it would be nice if you did scrape off some of the rough stuff, the next time they come around, stuff like that. FB: Final questions, what is your own personal opinion, not that has to do with newspapers, or reporters, or anything like that, what does it feel like from you to be called a Flying Tiger? CB: Well, in a way, I'm proud of the name, I wasn't a pilot, and so I really wasn't a Flying Tiger, I'm a Flying Tiger in a sense, I did the job but I wasn't one of the guys that did the thing. Of course, I'm very proud of what I did, I wanted to fly an airplane real bad, and I never, I just didn't have the ability to do it. And I might say that I just, there was no outfit like it, there probably never will be another one. I know I felt left out for this, I felt like I was left out of it. Now I know I'm too old for it, the mind was willing but the body wasn't able. But I wouldn't mind being over there. That's an idiotic statement, but I still wouldn't mind being over there. But my wife would have something to say about that. 3 � 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_Baisden_Chuck_1991-06-08_v11 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Baisden, Charles Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-06-08 Title A name given to the resource Chuck Baisden interview (video and transcript, 11 of 11), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Chuck Baisden by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Chuck Baisden was an armorer of the AVG 3rd Squadron, "Hell's Angels." He joined the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in 1941 after signing a covert contract with Continental Aircraft Mfg. Co. He was with the first forces to reach Burma and was stationed at Mingaladon and Magwe, Burma and Loiwing, Mengshi, and Kunming, China. He left the AVG at the expiration of his contract in 1942 and enlisted as a T/Sgt. in the US Army. In this tape, Chuck Baisden reflects on the overall accomplishments of the AVG and the effect that period of time had 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/c85e139e93faf0887b78fa26d70830bf.mp4 4098b68548853e90db9ca28b7a4ffef7 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/f56f2cacd1fe630e50eb672cf6b8f7fa.pdf 351a45308f01801af883c581d60ef61d PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 1] FB: If you could tell us, what were you doing prior to even hearing about the AVG. CB: Prior to hearing about the AVG, being in bombers and the United States staying out of the war but wanting to help had set up an arrangement to ferry Lockheed Hudson bombers from Burbank to Montreal to turn over the RCAF, the Royal Canadian Air Force, and then they would ferry them on to the British. They selected a lot of we bomber pilots to go on TDY to Long Beach, California, pick up the bombers, ferry them to Montreal, come back with a parachute and go again, which became very boring. Of course, I was still in the bomber business and then, I got a phone call and that was my old buddy, it was "Jebbo" Brogger who knew I knew I wanted to get in fighters which I was trained in at Kelly field in 1939, and let me know that I had a chance to get in fighters if I was interested, and he gave me the name of – I think it was – wait a minute – FB: Let's just start with you got the phone call from your buddy. CB: Yeah, I got this phone call from my buddy at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, he said, "Charlie, you still want to get in fighters?", and I said, "You bet", so he gave me the name of Skip Adair whom he knew. He said, "You call him" and he gave me his phone number "and talk to him, and he'll tell you what your chance is to fly with the AVG in Burma to protect the Burma Road for the Chinese and under a guy by the name of Claire Chennault who used to be in the Air Force". I thanked him and I immediately called Adair and then he gave me the phone number of a Colonel Green whom I don't know this day who was in the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. "You just call him and tell him that you want to get in the AVG and he'll ask you a few questions". So I did that but I didn't do that until the following day, I got to talking to some of my buddies, Jim Cross 1 �and George Burguard who had come with me from McDill to do the same ferrying job and when I told them about the story and they were interested, so they said, "Look Charlie, we want to go too", and I said, Well, I'll mention your names", so the next day I called this number and Colonel Green answered and he asked me a few questions, I told him who I was, my qualifications and all and I said "I want to get in fighters" and I mentioned Jim Cross and George Burguard's name and he says, "Okay", and he says, "Probably within the next day you'll get a wire telling you what to do". Lo and behold, the next day my Commander got a wire at Long Beach. This was the forerunner of the old air transport command, it was called the Western Division of the United States Army Air Force Ferrying Division, just set up. He called me in, boy, and he was mad! "What the hell's going on?" Well, I explained it all to him and finally he settled down and sure enough, he had to publish orders that very day releasing Charlie Bond, Jim Cross and George Burguard from the United States Army Air Corps and I had to resign my reserve commission, all connections with the armed forces of the United States and I was told to report to my home in Dallas, Texas and I'd be notified later. So that's what happened. I went home and stood by, and eventually – I'd say within about a week, I got a letter from a CAMCO Organization, Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company. which later on turns out to be a background for the AVG and they gave me instructions to report to San Francisco, and I think it was early September, about the 10th of September of 1941 and paid my way, airline ticket and all, and that's how I ended up going to San Francisco and finding a lot of other characters just about like me, ready to go to China. FB: Now what was – when you met with the people in San Francisco at CAMCO – when you got to San Francisco and you got a chance to actually talk to the people at CAMCO, what did they tell you to expect – what did they expect of you and what did they tell you to expect when you arrived in China? CB: Well, when I got to San Francisco, the first – and I checked in with registration of course – and some guy came up to me and I can't remember who it was – I think it was one of 2 �the other guys who had already reported, and he says, "Just don't say anything to anybody what you're doing here, just register." And I registered and it ends up we had about 25 of the other characters there, and then we began to talk, and I recall now that I was told by Skip Adair the general concept of it was I would go over as a wing man, I would be paid $600 a month and this would all be in writing, and it would be for a year's contract and we were relief being organized to defend the Burma Road for the movement of lend-lease supplies up into China from Rangoon. He did say that also, you will get $500 for every airplane you shoot down, and this of course, made me perk up my ears. And we discussed this among all of the guys and they had been told the same thing, and we ultimately signed a contract which essentially said everything, but the $500 was not in the contract, however, it turned out,they faithfully did pay us $500 for every aircraft we shot down. FB: Why would you want to go to China – what was your motivation there? CB: I really jumped at the idea when I first heard about this from my buddy in McDill. I was trained in – at that date in those times, we called it Pursuit at Kelly Air Force Base, I was an Air Force guy, and lo and behold – and I've remembered this since '38 and '39 and the war was in Europe and we were trying to stay out of it in the United States – sort of, the hand-writing was on the wall – and the bomber concept was being pushed hard by the United States Army Air Corps and they began to expand the bombardment forces, so they took our class graduating in February '49 to pour into the expansion of bomber outfits and it took the top risk deal alphabetically. Well, Bond being it's top – but I was trained in Pursuits – lo and behold when they published – or the orders came out – I was assigned to second bomb group of V18's and D17's at Langley Air Force Base. I wanted to get back in fighters and also – now the three reasons why I went to the American Volunteer Group – I wanted to get back in fighters, and I wanted a regular commission. I figured if I went to the Far East – Burma and China, I was convinced, I was really convinced that we were gonna be in a war ultimately with the Japanese, and after a year I'd have combat experience and then I'd come back home and be on – I figured they couldn't help but give 3 �me a commission because I'd have combat experience. And the third reason, I wanted to buy my mother and father a home which was better than than the one they were living in, and that's the reasons I went to China. FB: What did you know about China? CB: China, in my opinion, was the other side of the earth and of course, being young, this is adventure and all and "Gee! – this will be interesting". I didn't know much more about China than what I studied in History class in High School and by the way, I never went to college before that.d FB: What about the Japanese, what did you know about the Japanese? CB: I knew where Japan was on a world map, I knew the Japanese were oriental, I could tell a Jap when I looked at one. FB: I was just thinking in terms of during that period of time there was a lot of – you'd go to a movie and there was always these films in front of – and newsreels and whatnot about the things that were happening in Europe and things that were happening in Japan, I was just wondering if that had any effect on you. CB: Oh definitely, that's – I was convinced based on what I was reading in newspapers, and being in the military – in the Air Force, and flying bombers and all, and you know, the war in Europe was already taking place and shaping up and President Roosevelt, listening to him talk, like I do now – president's talk – there was no doubt in my mind that the United States was going to be in a war, and everything seemed to fit for me, so the overriding reason is, I wanted to get back in fighters, so if there was a war I'd be fighting with fighters, not in bombers, and this gave me a year to get some money, and at $600 a month compared to $125 a month as Second Lieutenant, this was great, plus the adventure being in the Far East, and I just figured I would achieve my objectives and, fortunately, I did. FB: Once you were in San Francisco and they had you signed up and ready to go, you boarded a ship, can you tell us anything about the trip itself. 4 �CB: Well, after we were at San Francisco – staying by the way in the St. Francis Hotel for a fabulous week or two, we boarded ship, the Boschfontein, a Dutch motor ship in the harbor at San Francisco on 25th September, 1941, and I think we were the second contingent, or perhaps third contingent, certainly the second contingent– some thirty or forty of us with some Chinese missionaries and some American missionaries going back, and we sailed from the harbor on the 25th September, 1941, and for some reason or other – I don't know this date – I decided to write a letter to my Mom and Dad when we sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge because somehow or another I felt this was an historic time in my life and that was the starting of the first entry in my diary which produced that book. FB: Of the trip itself on the boat, one of the things I found interesting is that, you knew why you were going there, but your passports were rather creative in terms of what you guys were going as. CB: By the way, when I went over – we act separately completely from all relations with the armed forces, and my passport I picked up at the hotel from some of the administering people from CAMCO, Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company, my contracts and all, and my passport that identified me as a clerk, and this surprised me, but that was explained to me, that well, you know this is – not a lot of people know about this, and certainly we don't want the Japanese to know about this, and so forth and so on, and I began to check with my buddies, and Jeez, various names and occupations – it was crazy. FB: What were some of these occupations that you ran into? CB: One was a teacher, one was a musician – I think that was one of the characters, I forget who he was – of all things, he wasn't a musician. But it was all comical – didn't make sense. FB: You knew some of the guys that were on the trip, and you got to know some of the guys as the time went on, what were some of your impressions of some of the people you were going to China with? 5 �CB: We boarded the ship, "Boschfontein", Jim Cross and George Burguard and I, we'd all met at the hotel, and we had become associated with the other 20 or 30 of them, and we rapidly became very close with one another, all of use of a sort of military background, in other words, we came from the military, either army, navy, or marine corps – army air corps which is air force later on, and the marine corps and the navy, and our group which was representative of the overall outfit of about 52% navy pilots, some six or seven marines and the remaining air force, that was just about the cut of 35 or 40 of us aboard ship. Pappy Boyington was in our group, R.T. Smith, no Snuffy Smith, an air force guy, Dick Rossi was aboard, Bob Prescott who later became boss of the Flying Tiger Airline, so we rapidly became very close to one another, and before you knew it, we were acting as a typical bunch of fighter guys that had been together for years. FB: How did the trip………started out as a letter to your parents and that eventually motivated you to write – don't mention the book, I just want to talk about the diary itself. Start off with the fact that you started as a letter to your parents under the San Francisco Bridge. CB: As we sailed out of San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge, it was late in the evening, the sun had begun to set, and I remember going out on deck deep in thought and I actually remember wondering, gee, I wonder if I'm doing the right thing, and did a little soul searching and then went to dinner and went back in my bunk and I decided to let my folks, naturally I was thinking about my folks, also Doris, a girlfriend I'd left, and I thought I'd write them a letter and I sat down and I – for some reason or other I had purchased two or three of these little composition books and I started making my first entry: San Francisco, 25th of September, 1941, and I began to describe my thoughts: Am I doing the right thing, gee, China? Half way round the world? Young. I knew what I wanted to do and this made me think that I'm doing the right thing and I was content, but I ended up writing about three or four pages that night and then went to sleep. And the next day, come the evening, for some reason or other, I decided I'll write some more, 6 �and as a result I ended up writing a diary for my entire, almost exactly a year, every night just as faithfully and religiously as I could, I'd enter my writing for that day, my thoughts, my events, be they good or bad, my anger, my fears, my complete happiness, elations, my fights I had with some of the guys, the haircuts I had, I always included all of the events I possibly could, and I ended up with about four booklets full of events including – it was really my life for that one year, and ended up with August 17th, 1942 when I came back home and landed in Miami. FB: The diary you speak of talks about the trip over and you had mentioned also that a group of young pilots and how they acted and all that, what was the trip like? CB: Well, it took us almost two months to go from San Francisco to Rangoon, Burma with stops in between, and of course, the first few days – I think it took us six days, or seven days to go from San Francisco to Honolulu where we first ………we began to get in sort of a – not a rut, but a routine of how we would get up in the morning, go to breakfast – the ship couldn't have been over 200 ft. long – a small one. We didn't have much recreation. Eventually they put in a swimming pool for us, they had good food, little Javanese waiters, they had a bar and we made use of the bar – many times too much. We could walk around the ship, sailing most of the entire trip all the way over to Rangoon from San Francisco was really relatively very calm seas. I was worried at first about getting seasick but that didn't bother me. It took me about three days to get used to the drumming of the motors; this was a motor ship with diesel oil and running propellers and the sound – the droning of the sound – it took a little time to get used to that, at first I got headaches from it, but never any seasickness. We ended up in – if you will – hangar flying, even in those days, but none of us had been in combat but telling about stories, you know, where bombers, fighters – some of the guys had just graduated from flying schools, others like – I was actually a First Lieutenant at the time I entered. We'd talk about our earliest experiences. I didn't realize it at the time but two or three of the guys 7 �were married, the rest of us were bachelors, though some of the guys may have been divorced I don't recall, but we were young FB: (That's a good place to stop) 8 � 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_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v01 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 1 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond describes his background before joining the American Volunteer Group and his journey overseas from San Francisco to Rangoon. 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/b2e1fa64f68658c723e79042d1c45cd6.mp4 05f8d1bc9d233460d9c5a5609a8e4f94 https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/fd07889c47fe6f4f4043a67810150497.pdf a5ee40cfc2ac2009690f16319a8fe2fb PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 2] CB: …it was wild. There were two or three times – as a matter of fact after some hours at the bar before going to bed on two or three occasions there were brawls. I remember seeing one of the marine guys, Smith, next morning I saw him at breakfast, he had a split lip. Obviously he'd been in a fight and I found out later on – I think it was George Burguard hit him but they were both drunk and neither one of them remembered it. There was a lot of planning for the crossing of the equator which – we call it Neptune day and I learned later on from the other guys they did the same thing, so we planned a party for the group and this really turned out wild. Of course, there was a lot of drinking with it, the crew had put a swimming pool in one of the hatches of the ship with a tarpaulin around of course, and we had planned the celebration at the swimming pool and I ended up somehow or another writing the script for it and I turned out to be the queen of Neptune and I believe Gunvordahl or – I forget, maybe, no, it wasn't Dick Ross, one of the them was king, and we had a barber. Now the barber used a normal kitchen mop for washing dishes as the shaving brush and the shaving lotion was a concoction that you could smell ten feet from the guy that was carrying it. It was in a huge pail and we'd usually grab anyone at random, usually the guy that was most crocked and we would put him in the so-called barber's chair – and of course you had to hold him – first we'd smear him with this horrible concoction of dead fish, flour, you name it, and obviously always he'd holler and the first thing the mop would go in his mouth and I think a lot of the guys threw up and it was horrible smelling and of course, a lot of that got in the swimming pool, then ultimately all of us would get in the swimming pool, and finally, one of the guys, I guess it was revenge, got a hold of me and threw me in and somehow or another I got entangled 1 �in the net that we had used as a volleyball net by the way crossing for polo in the swimming pool. I got tangled up in that net and I felt sure I was gonna drown, but fortunately I untangled myself and got up above the water. But it turned out to be one of the wildest events we had and I assure you that next morning there was nobody for breakfast. FB: There was also quieter things that happened, I understand there was church service on board too. CB: Yes, you know, sitting on a lounge chair on the deck of a boat, I'd never experienced before, but I remember that I did it a lot just to have a good old sun bath, bask in the sun and sleep a little, take a nap and all, and in between one of the Javanese boys would bring up maybe a cup of tea, and snack; you had a lot of time to think and – where we were going, what we've done and all, and listening to other guys and exchanging stories – "Gee, Joe, what are you going over for? Charlie, what are you going over for? And "Do you think we're doing the right thing?" And we'd talk philosophically about it, then we'd exchange stories about the girlfriends we were leaving – "Are you going to get married when you get back?" "Oh, no", "Oh, yeah". And then finally, "Gee, we've got to do something about our bellies. We were gaining weight, every one of us was gaining weight, we didn't have enough exercise, so we developed a – we called it a "ring game". It's like tennis or volleyball except you threw a ring back and forth and that really got a lot of us in shape, besides walking around the deck, and on Sunday, we had [???] we had some American missionaries, God-fearing gentlemen going back to China and also some Chinese returning to China. Some of us actually – and I remember doing this for about a week – I'd studied lessons in Chinese with the idea of learning the Chinese language, but I rapidly lost interest – this thing's impossible – a few of the other guys did the same thing. On Sunday morning service – there were a lot of us in church – it was difficult to pay attention to the minister talking, thinking about the things we'd just done the previous 2 �day, there was no relation whatsoever. But it, amazingly, most of us on board ship did attend those services. FB: What kind of things were going through your mind while you were in the service? CB: Say again. FB: What kind of things were going through your mind while you were in the church? There's a reference to "Rock of Ages" and you were thinking about your mom CB: When I'd go to church, most of my thoughts would go back – carry me back to my mother, bless her heart, her stamina in taking care of six kids and then – we lived during the time of the depression – here I was about 27 years old and recalling the days of the depression and her greatest strength was her religion and she took us kids to church and so forth and I'd go back and think of her a lot and here I was attending services and, I must admit – looking back now – I think that it really helped and right now I could say I'm glad I did it because looking back now, knowing what I do now, it did tend to lift me and give us some moral. I think it probably helped a little too in our life aboard the ship. It was different, it was – looking back now, I knew that I was a little bit closer to God. FB: Before you left to go to China, what did you actually tell your parents you were gonna do? CB: When I had made up my mind to go to China and be with Chennault and AVG, naturally I told my parents about it and my brothers and sisters and Doris, who ultimately I married, I told them the very three reasons that I wanted to go to China, and I told them that I would be back after one year and to worry about me. At that time I had now idea of the intensity of the combat we would ultimately be involved in, probably fortunately. I would still have gone but I did my best to relieve them of any anxiety because my mom and dad had never been out of the United States, as a matter of fact, hadn't been very far out of state of Texas and my sisters and brothers – older brothers, younger brothers – and I let 'em all know I'd miss 'em. I remember shedding a few tears when I told my mother and dad goodbye, but I felt good about it and I told 'em I'd write 'em and thank goodness I 3 �did, and they wrote me. As a matter of fact we ultimately sent wires back and forth, and they'd read – when we got in combat over there – they'd read stories about it, and of course, they were very proud. FB: The trip over had a few stops, like the ship would dock at certain places, can you tell us a [??] about that? CB: The trip from San Francisco to Rangoon took a long time; first stop was Honolulu. We were allowed to go to shore about eight hours there and the most interesting thing there I remember is in one of the hotels, I was with a group of my buddies and one of them was old Pappy Boyington and we got sloshed but we just barely got back to the boat in time and it took us about a day or two to get over that, and then we had a long, long leg of the journey after that, that sail down past Christmas Island then around Australia with our first stop at Sarabaya, Java, the navy base for the Dutch there. We stayed there about three or four days, actually we stayed there about a week, and George and Jim and I in a bar one night met a local guy that said he would take us to the island of Bali. The island of Bali was a very fantastic – it was a fairyland really and the stories we'd heard of the – the women there supposedly didn't wear anything above the waist so we talked to this guy and he says, yeah, he'd take us over there. This turned out to be a wild side trip in an automobile that was driven – I think his name was Benny – at any rate, the wild ride through the roads of Java, then a boat trip across a straight where we loaded his little car on the boat and at night sailed across about a three mile straight and landed at the other side in the valley, and then up to a camp – it was a country club supposedly, and of all people who was running it, a blond headed Californian, so we felt perfectly at home, and we had a wonderful time on the beach and stayed there about two days, then the trip back which was equally wild. I guess we must have killed ten or fifteen chickens, one or two goats and probably just barely missed a lot of ladies, but we got back to Sarabaya, and lo and behold the boat had already sailed to go further up to the coast of Batavia, so the only we could do was get on a little narrow gauge railroad and catch the boat up at Batavia. 4 �Smitty, Smith was Curtis Smith, the ranking guy, military wise, so he was sort of boss – he jumped on us a lot for not showing up, but it was a terrific side trip. Then from there we were going along finally to Singapore. Singapore two or three days where we took a side trip to the little principality of Singapore where I remember sitting – or going through a room where this guy could serve a dinner for guests of a 125 people in settings of pure gold. And we passed by rubber factories and all – very interesting side trip. Then from there we went on up and finally arrived at Rangoon. FB: Now at this point you've had a lot of time to think about what you were going to be getting into, what you were going to see when you arrived in this exotic land. What did you actually find? CB: On the way over, I wondered and wondered what I'd be getting into, what Burma would look like, where we would train, and what China would look like, the people and so forth. Arriving at the port of Rangoon and getting my first glimpse of the city, port side, and then in the background, the golden domes of French – there's a ???domed pagoda right there at Rangoon, one of the largest in Burma. It was so strange and it made – everything was exciting. The smells and odors I had never sensed before in this foreign harbor which was typical of the middle east. The people, generally smaller than the Americans, much darker of course, and some just almost black. The streets and the homes, architecture and all was considerably different. I remember making a lot of entries in the diary about the difference of the country and then the little railroad that we used, the little narrow gauge railroad and the cars that we got on to go up some 160 miles to Toungoo in the center of Burma where we trained, it was like a local streetcar in a town. It must have stopped every fifteen or twenty miles. Very boring but very interesting. It was just different from anything I could imagine. FB: Once you arrived at the base, describe what you saw and what your reaction was, your feelings about finally getting there. 5 �CB: At Rangoon when we first landed, Skip Adair, Eric Schilling and one or two others of the previous group who had arrived had come down to greet us, and I remember Pawley – Mr. Pawley who was one of the top men of CAMCO, Central American Manufacturing Company, he even met us, and by the way, the first time we got paid, and sure enough he paid us what they said we'd get. As a side comment you might say that we knew we wouldn't need much money over there and most of us, practically all of us had made arrangements to just draw so much money and then have CAMCO, through their offices, deposit our remaining salaries in banks back in the United States. For instance, I had my money deposited in the Bank of [???] Houston in San Antonio, where I'd begun to use a banking service for a measly $125 a month – actually $75 a month as a flying cadet actually. But to get back to the point, going to Toungoo, Burma, when we get out the station there at Toungoo, we had another Studebaker station wagon meet us and I think Eric travelled on up with us on the train, and I remember the first thing coming to Kyedaw Airport where we were gonna train there, it was an RAF base, was the barbed wire around it. It wasn't the cyclone type of fence, it was just barbed wire, like around an old cattle ranch in the state of Texas. And a guard, a British guard – actually a Burmese in the British army, standing guard at the gate with a rifle. But no problem, we drove on in and then I saw a hangar. I got a glimpse of a paved runway, and then a glimpse of the rattan walled, Burma thatched – palm thatched roof of the little dormitories we were gonna be in. No windows, just open. Then they dropped us off there, we took our baggage and found bunks, cots with mosquito bars on 'em that we'd be using. Like a typical army barracks if you will but wide open to the rain and the wind and the heat and the mosquitoes. And then after we got settled there they took us to the flight line where we had typical operations shacks. One – only one hangar and the P-40's I first saw, a P40, and I remember thinking, Oh, I'm back in fighters. Then meeting the other group of people and then seeing an airplane, a P-40 come in and land and all, and I began to get excited then, and I was glad. 6 � 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_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v02 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 2 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond discusses the experiences aboard the Boschfontein including their stops in Honolulu and Singapore, in addition to their eventual arrival in Rangoon. 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/82d89d0bd3257ae0a99b3b9adb874357.mp4 f9fdafd1d58f297d57dc3613b79f465b https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/files/original/8d1bec4123d524b4654c5502c93f019a.pdf d80dcafda09d392008f894fbce08d075 PDF Text Text RHC-88 Fei Hu Films Flying Tigers Interview Interviewer: Frank Boring Interviewee: Charles Bond Date of Interview: February 23, 1991 Transcriber: Frank Boring [TAPE 3] CB: After getting settled in the so-called barracks and going over to the flight line to get indoctrination and learning where you'll have a parachute and where our aircraft would be parked and ultimately the first, second and third Pursuit squadrons where they'd have their area on the ramp and the one runway for some 4,000 ft. runway and where the old man, Colonel Chennault – of course at that time the old man, Colonel Chennault, the boss, that's what we called him and ultimately I met him, but before he gave us really a reception, an orientation speech, sort of a: "This is what we are, this is what we're going to do and ultimately we're gonna do this", I naturally began … FB: Stop there. If you could just tell us about some of the first – after you got settled in, before you met Chennault, your impressions of some of the guys you met, whether there were some that you recognized and what was the camaraderie like. CB: It turned out that when they assigned us to squadrons, Jim and George, George Burguard and Jim Cross and I ended up in the first Pursuit squadron. The Operations Officer was Frank Schiel, whom I had heard of back in the States but it was the first time I had really met him, a fighter pilot from the United States Army Air Corp and I remember the first briefing I got on the P-40 was old Eric Schilling and I had known Eric at Virginia Langley Air Force Base. He was in the Eighth Pursuit Group, I was in the Second. Eric I think remembered me but not as well as I remembered him, because he had a nickname. He was called Mortimer Snerd at Langley Air Force Base and it's only been just a few days ago that I really learned why, but I leave that up to Eric to explain that to you. He really knew the P-40, he'd experienced it before and he gave us a briefing on its flying characteristic. Goyette, a navy man, briefed us on the aircraft itself, the operation of it 1 �and cockpit orientation and so forth, and I remember meeting Bob Little who was a combat pilot out of the old eight suit? group and I remember I had to talk to him. We had a mutual friend, old Johnny Allison who ultimately came over to China in the Air Corps and I had a great respect for Bob Little because he was a fighter pilot. As a matter of fact, I learned a lot from him in actual combat, I mean in actual training in the aircraft. We had a control tower, a little makeshift control tower if you will, right by the runway, and we took turns being the control officer for air traffic control to the extent that our communications worked. I met Doc Richards, Doc Prevo, the dentist, Doc Bruce. Lo and behold I met the two nurses, Red Petach? at that time, Mary Jane Red Foster, and Joe and we – of course, I eventually met the parachute packer?, the weather man, our communications man, my crew chief, Walt Dolan – we rapidly became very close to one another. Of course, he was responsible for maintaining my aircraft and did a terrific job – kept that airplane flying. FB: What was your – you've walked us through a number of different things – what was this feeling that you had as you were meeting this person and that person, what kind of impression did you get about this group that you were joining? CB: I remember when I met Frank Schiel, I had a great respect for Frank and for some reason or another we hit it off very quickly, I guess primarily because I was going to be his assistant in operations. I was impressed by Eric's knowledge of the P-40 and Goyette's knowledge of the aircraft, the engine, props, armament and so forth. I met a lot of the armament boys. I remember meeting Rode the first time, terrific little guy. I remember meeting Pappy Boyington for the first time and I remember him from stories I heard from some of the other guys, he had been there about 48 hours you know. I thought, "who is this guy?" I was particularly proud of myself, I had been in golden gloves and I figured I could take care of myself with anybody but never with intentions in mind or anything but he was a very controversial character, but we had a respect for each other. Hennessy, I 2 �remember meeting old Hennessy who eventually turned out to be the General's pilot in a little beachcraft airplane. Kuykendahl. FB: What I'm looking for is – was there a sense of confidence on meeting these guys and how did you feel like –you were gonna to be going to war, you knew that, eventually and if the people you were gonna work with didn't give you any sense that they could do it, I would imagine you'd be quite worried. What did you actually feel when you got a chance to meet all these guys? CB: When I would meet one of the pilots or one of the airmen, naturally I'd think about his background. Eventually I'd learn to know the background of the people and I had gradually begun to have a respect for the guys. Some I knew were better than the others, just based on their experience and the way they talked about the airplane. Of course, there had been one contingent there before who had already flown the P-40. Here, I had flown B-18's and B-17's when they took me on as a volunteer and now I was going to get into a fighter but I was very confident of handling the airplane because I had graduated in fighter Pursuit aircraft at Kelly Field? and an old BT8 which was a forerunner of the P-47 ??? which turned out to be a fantastic airplane in the air force. That airplane was as much of a groundlooper as a P-40 turned out to be. I didn't like the idea that they told me I was going to have to fly an old BT14 or BT9 before they'd let me get in the P-40. This – I didn't like this idea, I figured I was better than that. But at any rate, firstly the airplane wasn't in commission so they had to put me in straight in a P-40 and after I took off in a P-40, very confident, as a matter of fact, on my first flight I was doing slow rolls, loops and all because I had been trained in it and I learned, fact is, to go into a terrific power dive and because of the propeller, the centrifugal force you get in a skid. I learned that. It was sensitive, but it was a great sensation, being in the airplane, and then came the landing, my first landing, and I admit I was tense. I'd been cautioned, "Don't dare try to put this thing down on three points with your landing gear in a tail wheel, land it wheel first and then stay with it – the rudder, later on if you ??? fight the rudder to keep it on a 3 �runway and I came in fast. Some of the guys later on told me we was holding the aircraft as – here was a bomber guy flying. But I came in fast then set the airplane down. I was tense but after I stopped and taxied back I was completely confident from then on of handling another airplane. FB: What was your first impression – your first meeting with Claire Chennault? CB: I think it was the second or third day – it was the second day we were there, the old man came in dressed in a – one of these desert sun hats, with a bush jacket on and I'd seen pictures of him and the minute he walked in to introduce himself and indoctrinate and orientate and really give a talk to all of us new arrivals, I thought, gee, he looks just like the pictures I saw and it immediately came into mind the term I remembered calling him "leather-face", and I could understand. He had a pretty deeply pocked face, that stern jowl. There was no doubt that his appearance immediately struck me as a real guy, a real leader, and definitely I'd read about him and history in the air force, and definitely a fighter pilot. And I rapidly learned that he was very hard of hearing but he covered it up greatly. And when he spoke he spoke in a slow voice. He never laughed out loud, he kind of chuckled. He reminded me of the way General Mays used to laugh. General Mays couldn't really laugh, just chuckle. He spoke very confidently. I was immediately impressed with his knowledge, and I just became enrapt in his talk about the Zero versus the P-40, it just all made so much sense. He told us the comparative weaknesses of [??] Zero versus the P-40 and this encouraged all of us. In my opinion, I just couldn't wait to meet one of these guys. And I felt that the rest of the guys felt the same way about him. He really impressed me and I think I remember saying, "This guy's a military man." Subsequently I, of course, got to know him much better later on and I would use the word "genius" in certain aspects of tactical air war for the redeployment and movement from base to base and his strategy, tactics and all. He was a genius at tactical air war, there was no doubt about it, and he proved to be. 4 �FB: In the United States you have been given an image of what the Japanese pilot was going to be like, but what did Chennault have to say about the enemy you were going to be going up against? CB: In the briefing about the enemy that we would be meeting, and of course, at that time you know, none of us had any knowledge of December the 7th – December the 8th over there to us when the Japs hit Pearl Harbor, but we felt, and I described them as the enemy, Japanese, we were going to protect the Burma Road and I expected and the rest of the guys too, we expected to meet Japanese in combat over the Burma Road to defend the supplies going up the Burma Road, so we talked of them in terms of enemy. The old man having been over there since as early as '37, '36, something like that, he knew 'em, and in my opinion one of his greatest strengths that lent to the performance of the Flying Tigers was the intelligence that he had of the Japanese aircraft, their pilots and so forth. The pilots of the Japanese army which the first ones we really met in most of our combat, up until the time of Hankow later on, they were disciplined all right, but they were regimented in their thinking. They were briefed for certain things; the flexibility wasn't like the old American boy, and this sort of gave me confidence as being a little bit, if you will, more capable of taking them rather than them taking us, and I think that's the way it really turned out in combat, until I remember up at Hankow later on when they brought the Japanese navy in, the Japanese navy pilots, definitely we could tell the difference in the capability of those pilots. And I remember one incident in combat, later on in Rangoon, Bob Deal and I cornered a little guy that obviously had to be a flight leader or a flight commander or a squadron commander, and I can remember distinctly right now, he had a yellow stripe around the fuselage of his airplane which indicated he was boss or something anyhow. We fought that guy for about five or ten minutes. I never could get a beat on him, here he was fighting two P-40's against him and finally Bob got a beat on him and shot him dead. My respect for 'em at that time wasn't the greatest in the world. 5 �I'd heard stories about, "Well, they've got bad eyes, they can't see." That's not true, they could see well. FB: During the day, what was your routine like? Your routine, what was the routine like around the base? Were you going to training sessions? You'd already met Chennault now? What was your routine? CB: We'd get up about 6.30 or 7.00, have a quick breakfast and then go down a line, and each one of us, at first centrally controlled until we were assigned to squadrons and operate with squadrons, if you will, decentralize. But we actually had a formal course that we were briefed on by the old man and I think it was some 60 hours of ground training and some 60 hours of flight training, then supposedly we would be qualified. We'd study the manuals, flight manuals of the airplane, we'd get briefed, we'd have special briefing's about, "Now if two of you are going out and practice combat, here's what you're gonna do", and they'd assign us to a certain area, and not specifically altitude really, we had wide open space, and if it was a test flight in engineering to take data on the airplanes and so forth, if it was a navigation flight, instrument flight, very little instruments really were used. We'd got to because the war came so quick. And gunnery, we got instant ground gunnery, and that was exciting. When we'd get on – come back, we'd fill out form 5, typically, pilots, fill out your form 5 telling something didn't work, and the crew chief really didn't, and a lot of the time we'd stick with the crew chief to remedy whatever comes in the airplane. The crew chief's, they turned out to be fantastic. We did things on those airplanes that we'd have been court-marshalled, the crew chiefs did, the maintenance people, we'd have been court-marshalled back in the United States. You just did not do this. They'd tear a carburetor completely to pieces and put it back together. And then, of course, we had have athletics in the afternoon. The old man wanted to keep us in shape. Some of us arrived there with the idea of, "I'm gung-ho", and "Lead me to 'em", "I wanna take 'em over". The old man saw this and we didn't have much transportation and I think one of the reasons we didn't have much transportation – he 6 �wanted us to walk. We all bought bicycles – we got into bicycling instead of walking, and then we had softball games. The old man played softball with us and boy, those softball games got wild – sometimes as wild as the bar got. No tennis, of course, no golf, a lot of court playing, except when old Red Probst? would get bad by losing a game, and he'd tear up a deck of cards and that made everybody furious because nobody else had a deck of cards. FB: We're going to get into also – there's a reference to – sometimes. 7 � 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_Bond_Charles_1991-02-23_v03 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Bond, Charles R., Jr. Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1991-02-23 Title A name given to the resource Charlie Bond interview (video and transcript, 3 of 12), 1991 Description An account of the resource Interview of Charlie Bond by filmmaker Frank Boring for the documentary, Fei Hu: The Story of the Flying Tigers. Charles R. "Charlie" Bond was Vice Squadron Leader of the First Pursuit Squadron "Adam and Eves" of the American Volunteer Group (AVG). Recruited by Skip Adair in 1941, he was inspired by photos of shark-mouthed Tomahawks of No. 112 Sqadron, RAF. He was the first to paint his P-40 in similar markings, setting the precedent for what became the trademark of the Flying Tigers. He shot down six Japanese fighters and one bomber. After the AVG disbanded, he rejoined the US Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics to train new fighter pilots. In this tape, Bond describes his initial impressions in the early days of the AVG and the camaraderie that formed among them, in addition to his first meeting with Claire 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