US veterans praise their forgotten ally

Nightmare's end

On Aug 15, 1945, Jay Vinyard, who served in the US Air Force between 1942 and 1946, was in St. Joseph, Missouri, with his wife.

"We heard the news (of Japan's surrender) on the radio in our hotel room. We watched from our hotel room window as the crowds gathered below on the streets to celebrate," he recalled.

"It was quite a sight; a once-in-a-lifetime event. Aug 15, 1945, will always be remembered by me as the day when victory finally arrived after so many terrible years of devastating conflict. It also proved that when two great powers such as China and the US agree on a goal and work together to accomplish it, they will always be victorious in the end."

In 1944, he was assigned to fly "the Hump", a vital airlift route over the Himalayas and the primary way the Allies supplied China between 1942 and 1945. Ahead of the 2015 Victory Day parade in Beijing, China awarded Vinyard a medal for his services.

"Like all members of our armed forces, I felt that day finally brought an end to a great nightmare, and that we would now be able to get on with the rest of our lives," he said.

US General Claire Lee Chennault, founder of the American Volunteer Group, was on his way back to the US when the Japanese surrendered. The squadron, better known as the Flying Tigers, was a legendary air corps that fought alongside the Chinese against Japan during WWII.

"He was of course extremely relieved, after eight years of combat, that we were victorious. He had served both countries to the best of his ability and now they were at peace," Nell Calloway, Chennault's granddaughter, said.

"The sign of the Flying Tiger during WWII was a symbol of victory for people of both the United States and China. When the war ended, this symbol never faded from the minds of people who were liberated, and it remains a symbol of fascination for people in both countries. People may not remember the history it represents, but they remember that it represents a historic moment.

"We have a responsibility to all who sacrificed so much to put aside our differences in a time of peace and make the world a better place."