• SITE
• HOMES
• MOTORS
• CAREERS
• STUFF

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Alumni of the Flying Tigers, the famed volunteer force of U.S. pilots who fought in China at the start of World War II, had what could be one of the last reunions for the group as its numbers continue to dwindle.

The 300 Flying Tigers who made up U.S. Army Gen. Claire Chennault’s famed group of pilots, are down to 19. Just eight of those made it to a reunion in San Antonio on Friday.

“We’re the last of the Mohicans,” said Chuck Baisden, 88, of Savannah, Ga., the second-youngest Flying Tiger alumnus alive. “That’s the way it is. You come and you go.”

The Flying Tigers’ official name was the American Volunteer Group. The unit was formed with the financial backing of the Chinese government to help defend Chinese cities from Japanese attack before the United States entered World War II.