Chinese-American WWII hero dies

A Chinese-American World War II veteran who maintained the iconic shark-nosed fighter planes for the Flying Tigers in China has died at the age of 94.

Jerry Chen, who died Tuesday night in in Los Angeles, was recruited by the US Fourteenth Air Force (14 AF) as a mechanic in 1943 in Kunming, China's Yunnan province.

The 14 AF, commanded by General Claire Chennault, absorbed the 23rd Fighter Group of the US Army Air Forces, which replaced the American Volunteer Group, known as the "Flying Tigers", after it was dissolved in 1942.

The 14 AF adopted the Flying Tigers nickname and conducted highly effective fighter and bomber operations against the Japanese invaders along a wide front.

Chen's job was to repair and maintain the P-40 and P-51 fighters under the guidance of the US engineers.

Chen participated in an event honoring the Flying Tigers hosted by China Daily USA in San Francisco in 2017.

"My first job was to learn how to maintain a fighter," he recalled. "Quite often, we saw the planes crash in front of our eyes. Then we dismantled the planes and saved the operable parts for other aircraft."

He also rode aboard C-46 Commando transports on numerous missions as a mechanic.

Chen was born in Changsha, China in 1926. After the war ended in 1945, Chen moved to Hong Kong and later to the US.

For his wartime service, the Chinese Central Military Commission, China's top military body, awarded Chen a medal in 2015 on the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

He also served as an adviser for the Flying Tigers Museum in Zhijiang.