Taiwan Post 50 Anniversary of the Flying Tigers Coming to China

TAIWAN POST on 26 September 1990 issued a First Day Cover stamp marking the 50 anniversary of the Flying Tigers Coming to China (Formosa/Taiwan, Republic of China). The designer was Lee Kuang-chi.

In an effort to counter Japanese military aggression during WWII, Colonel Claire Lee Chennault, air advisor to China, under authorisation of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, formed the American Volunteer Group (AVG) --more commonly known as the "Flying Tigers"- on 1 August 1941.

This small force of at most 270 men, consisting of American pilots and ground crew personnel, provided an effective air defense for Yunnan Province in southwestern China and its neighboring Burma. The AVG was disbanded in July 1942 after the U.S. declared war on Japan.

The Flying Tigers fought heroically and selflessly. Their presence in China  lifted the morale of the Chinese people considerably during those difficult years.