Wu Chaochen and the Relation of 14th Air Force Flying Tigers of the United States

 

                                                        Dr.  Shu-Liang Bob Wu                                 07-25-2021

The Flying Tiger God of the Republic of China Air Force - A Biography of General Wu Chaochen

 General Wu Chaochen and the 14th Air Force Flying Tigers of the United States

                                                                 General Wu Chaochen  (1914-2006)

This year 2021 coincides with the 107th birthday of general Wu Chaochen (1914-2006). This article is only to commemorate General Wu Chaochen. General Wu Chaochen, named Jingran, born in Beizhen County, Liaoning Province, was born on June 9th in the 3rd year of the  Republic of China (ROC). It is equivalent to the year of 1914. In the 22nd year of the Republic of China (1933), he was admitted to the 10th period of the Military Academy and transferred to the 5th period of the Central Aviation Academy School (Republic of China Air Force Academy Official School Period 5) in the following year. After graduating from the Republic of China Air Force Academy in 25th year of the Republic of China  (1936), he worked as a flight instructor at Luoyang branch of the Air Force Academy. Wu Yue, ROC Air Force Academy Official School Period 8,  the former Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force General Headquarters, was one of his students. The following year(1937), he volunteered to join the Anti-Japanese War and transferred to the 8th Group of the Air Force as a pilot of the 19th Bombing Team. Later, he attended the second period of the Air Force Staff University in 1940. After graduation, he was transferred to be the deputy captain of the 2nd Squadron of the First Group of the ROC Air Force. In 1943, he accompanied the team to India for training (B-25 bomber). This is the beginning relations of General Wu Chaochen and the 14th Air Force Flying Tigers of the United States. On May 29, 1937, General Chennault was invited by Soong Meiling to serve as a consultant to the Republic of China Aviation Committee and began training the Republic of China Air Force. After the July 7th Incident in 1937, the Soviet Aviation Volunteer Team came to China to support the war, and in 1941, the Soviet-German War broke out and the Soviet aviation volunteer team left from China to participate in the war. The ROC Air Force, which had not yet full wings, fell into a difficult situation. To support the ROC Air Force, General Chennault formed an American Air Force Volunteer Team, on December 11 of the same year, the American Air Force Volunteer Team entered Kunming. In July 1943, the Sino-US Air Force Mixed Wing (Flying Tigers) was established. The unit was cancelled until the victory of the Anti-Japanese War in September 1945. General Wu Chaochen's first mission was the 30 airplanes large formations of the Sino-US Air Force (Flying Tigers) to bomb the Japanese Hsinchu Airport in Taiwan on November 25, 1943. Later, General Wu Chaochen was promoted to the 3rd Squadron Commander station in India to assist the Allied forces which are fighting on the Burmese battlefield. In the important battle document of the Chinese Flying Tiger Research Society, the documentary of the heroic battles of the Sino-US Air Force mixed wing edited by the Ministry of National Defense has the following statement: In the important anti-Japanese battle in the 32th year of the Republic of China (1943), Wu Chaochen is the pilot with the most missions. He returned to China in the 33th year of the Republic of China (1944) to participate in various domestic battles, destroyed all Japanese trains parked at Kaifeng Railway Station, and risked his life to bomb the Yellow River Bridge at low altitude. In the 35th year of the Republic of China (1946), he was promoted to the commander of the First Group of the Air Force. Later, he carried out the mission as the captain and commanding members who participated in the victory of Siping Street. After that mission, the President Jiang Zhongzheng took a photo with him. 

                             President Jiang took a photo with General Wu Chaochen in 1946      

           

During the Second World War Sino-US Air Force Mixed Wing, General Wu Chaochen left many stories of the heroic and touching stories of the former anti-Japanese parachutists to people. Homepage of Chinese Flying Tiger Research Association (http://www.flyingtiger-cacw.com) has a group photo of the Flying Tigers members who returned triumphantly with General Wu Chaochen. On the front page of the China-Burma-India CBI English News letter also said the following statement as "Chinese pilots have learned their lessons well and now are carrying the war to the Japs in coordinated offensive strikes with the men of the AAF. In B-25s and P-40s they are bombing and strafing ground troops, supply installations and shipping in the China Sea".

                      General Wu Chaochen and the 14th Air Force Flying Tigers of the United States

It is known that during the Republic of China Air Force General Wu Chaochen served in the Sino-U.S. Air Force Mixed Wing in World War II. The military reporter General Liu Yifu, the author of the ROC Air Force History, has been on missions with General Wu Chaochen’s B-25 bomber on many occasions, and gave General Wu Chaochen the following statement:

Flying tiger god  Wu Chaochen , super bombed to defeat the enemy's soul, pilot general Wu exist in any dust stage, heroic pilot and brave fighters of general Wu Chaochen.

In 1990, my father, General Wu Chaochen, and my mother, Ms. Wu Huayingxue, returned to my father's Beizhen County (now Beining City) in Liaoning Province to visit relatives. In 1990,  Dr. Shu-liang Bob Wu took a group photo with his parents in Beizhen County, Liaoning Province.

                                    

                                                    Dr,  Wu and parents in hometown Liaoninge China in 1990

General Wu Chaochen visited his element school in Wu's town that he attended the school during his early stage of life (1920 through 1926). He saw the school was very old that need some repair work. In that moment time, he decided that he will re-establish the elementary school. With his hard effort to save money for many years, A brand new Wu's town elementary school has been build in November, 2002 under his generous donation. He attended the new elementary school opening ceremony with his families. The local county education department of Beining City government give a citation of General Wu Chaochen donation of building the school. Since the Wu' town elementary school is underneath of the mountain name of "The General knee down to worship of his mother", General Wu Chaochen has accomplished his will to respect and worship his mother. Later, they visit the former site of the Flying Tigers airport which is the Guilin Yangtang Airport (currently located at the U.S. Flying Tigers Memorial Park in Guilin) ​​and Ertang Airport. General Wu Chaochen was in the 14th Air Force Flying Tigers led by General Chennault after July 1943. He served as the deputy captain in the 2nd Squadron of the Air Force First Group . At that time, the Chinese Air Force First Group was commanded by General Li Xueyan. The Chinese leader (deputy commander) of the Sino-U.S. Air Force Mixed Wing was the former Air Force Commander-in-Chief General Xu Huansheng. General Wu Chaochen, he came to Taiwan with the government in the year of 1949. Later, he graduated from the National Defense University for the 6th period, the Air Force Staff University advanced class for the 1st period, and the U.S. Air Force Staff University. He served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Penghu Defense Command Headquarters,, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force First Wing, and the Director of the Personnel Department of the Combatant Command Headquarters, Deputy Director of the War Training Class of the Combatant Command Headquarters, Deputy Commander of the Taichung Division of reserved military person, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Matsu Defense Command Headquarters, and Chief Education Officer of the Air Force Command and Staff University. He retired in the 60th year of the Republic of China (1971) as a major general of the Air Force. General Wu Chaochen, who immigrated to the United States with his children  in the 68th year of the Republic of China(1979). He adheres to the school motto of "Dear and Sincere", is loyal to the party and the country, is enthusiastic to help others, and actively participates in club activities. It is very unfortunately that General Wu Chaochen passed away in Los Angeles, California on September 13th, 95th year of the Republic of China (2006). Friends and his relatives here regretted that they had lost a patriotic role model and mentor. General Wu Chaochen and Ms. Hua Yingxue (1921-2019) has been married for 67 years. Ms. Hua Yingxue (Wu Huayingxue) passed away on October 10, 2019. Husband and wife love each other, support each other, share happiness and sorrow. They have 4 sons and 2 daughters, all of whom are married. He is loyal to the party and the country throughout his life, responsible for his duties, hardworking and self-reliant, courageous and fearless, honest and self-reliant, impartial and selfless, treat others with sincerity, love others with virtue, take care of the family, love his family, and enjoy the unanimous recognition and praise of people. He is a brave fighters and heroes. " General Wu Chaochen unfortunately died in Los Angeles, California on September 13, 2006, and was buried in the Rose Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. The script was poem and was originally written and presented to general Wu Chaochen by General Liu Yifum who is a ROC Air Force reporter. The poem described General Wu's great accomplishments as a pilot as follows, 

Flying tiger god  Wu Chaochen , super bombed to defeat the enemy's soul, pilot general Wu exist in any dust stage, heroic pilot and brave fighters of general Wu Chaochen.

General MacArthur once said that "veterans do not die, but wither.

General Wu chaochen is the father of the author of Dr. Shu-liang Bob Wu.

   The inscription of General Wu Chaochen  grave stone was written by military reporter General Liu Yifu.