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Guess who won the war against Japan?

The Chinese have a different name for it, but it seems that the Second World War in the Pacific was fought and won by China with some help from Soviet Russia. That was Chairman Xi's message in his gigantic military parade on September 3, shown above, on what the Chinese Embassy in Washington calls "the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War."

And who helped China in that endeavor? Sure, the United States did a bit, for its own selfish reasons, but it was Russian aid that was critical. According to the South China Morning Post, "US wartime contributions to China were driven by self-interest, while Soviets offered 'fuel in snowy weather'."

At the same time, it seems that Americans should love the People's Republic of China just as the Flying Tigers do! Toward this end, as the Chinese Communist Party has been doing for years, it conflates the US 14th Air Force with the American Volunteer Group, recruited in the summer of 1941 to help the right-wing forces of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek to battle Japanese aggression. (The AVG was needed because Stalin pulled Russian planes and pilots out of China, to defend European Russia against a likely German invasion.)

Similarly, the CCP conflates Chiang's army and government with Mao Zedong and People's Liberation Army. Claire Chennault was a great fan of the Generalissimo and his wife, known to Americans as Madame Chiang, and in 1945 would create Civil Air Transport as a paramilitary airline to battle Mao in the Chinese civil war. Indeed, the Old Man retreated with Chiang to Taiwan in 1949, and CAT was gradually taken over by the US Central Intelligence Agency to support the Western world in the Korea, French Indochina, and Vietnam wars.

Toward this end, China has long handed out plane tickets and hotel rooms to "Flying Tiger" veterans (broadly defined) to support their propaganda in the United States. Alas, no members of the AVG now survive, hence the need to pull in 14th Air Force crewmen, their families, and AVG fanboys. And of course they sing for their supper, as witness these excerpts from Chinese websites:

• "'It makes me want to come home and fight even harder to bring that spirit back to our country.' These words from Nell Calloway, granddaughter of World War II Flying Tigers leader General Claire Chennault, capture the profound impact of her repeated visits to China, where she has witnessed not only military parades but also deep currents of patriotism and historical memory.... As director of the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe, Louisiana, she actively preserves this history through exhibits, educational programs, and artifacts.... Through these efforts, Nell Calloway ensures that the legacy of China-U.S. wartime cooperation and shared bravery is passed on to future generations." (Guangdong News)

• "Any time, we as Americans and Chinese come together to celebrate our common history. That's a special time. In today's world, that's more important than ever. It's very important that we study and learn from that period 80 years ago," says Jeffrey Greene, chairman of the Sino-American Heritage Foundation. In August 1941, at a time when China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression was in a most difficult stage, U.S. General Claire Lee Chennault formed the "American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force" to help China fight invading Japanese forces. With their winged tiger emblem and the shark-mouth painted on their planes, locals nicknamed them the "Flying Tigers." The story of the Flying Tigers lives on. (Anhui News)

• This year is the 80th anniversary of the Chinese victory in its War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which was an important milepost in global history, along with the victory of the Allies in the worldwide anti-fascist war. Both the Chinese and American people were fighting together in the smoke and debris of the 1940s, pushing back fascism. Now, eight decades on, with geopolitical tension, the spirit of fraternity supplanted by suspicion, we are left to wonder how wartime allies became today's rival. (China/US Focus)

Blue skies! -- Daniel Ford. You can send humanitarian aid to Ukraine through Razom (a tax-exempt US-based charity). Or donate to the military through the National Bank of Ukraine.

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