HONORING THE TIGERS

Air Classics, Mar 2004 by Bergin, Bob

A MEMORIAL TO THE AMERICAN VOLUNTEER GROUP

On 11 November 2003, a memorial honoring the American Volunteer Group (AVG) Flying Tigers was dedicated in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. The dedication ceremony was attended by representatives from the AVG Flying Tigers Association, the American and British embassies, the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF), and the Free Thai Movement. Hosting the event was the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of Thai Aircraft, a group dedicated to preserving Thailand's aviation heritage.

The memorial is a simple marble obelisk with inscriptions on each of its four sides. The front states simply: "In memory of American Volunteer Group (AVG) Flying Tigers and Free Thais." Below the English words, the statement is repeated in Thai script. An inscription on the side honors AVG Commander Claire Lee Chennault and three AVG pilots: Squadron Leader Jack Van Kuren, killed in north Thailand on 24 March 1942; Flight Leader Charles Mott and William McGarry, who were both held as POWs by the Japanese in Thailand.

The ceremony was simple and dignified. A color guard composed of USAF and RTAF airmen posted the colors. Pastor Bates of the Chiang Mai Community Church gave an address that spoke eloquently of service to country and put the AVG Flying Tigers into an historical context.

AVG pilot and Chiang Mai Raider Maj. Gen. Charles Bond described the 24 March 1942 AVG raid on the Japanese air base at Chiang Mai. Haze and darkness made it impossible to make out landmarks until Bond spotted Doi Suthep, the mountain that stands like a sentinel over the airfield. Bond had overflown Chiang Mai before and now took the lead as the six AVG P-40s dove down to strafe the Japanese aircraft parked wingtip-to-wingtip on the ramp. The P-40s were so low that Bond could see Japanese pilots ducking their heads as they ran toward their fighters. Bond made a second and a third pass, then a fourth one as anti-aircraft fire grew more intense. he noted that one P-40 went down; its pilot imprisoned by the Japanese but he would be rescued by the Free Thai. Listeners commented how moved they were by Maj. Gen. Bond's remarks and how his vivid description of' the raid made them feel they were part of the action. An RTAF officer said that listening to Bond as RTAF OV-IO Broncos passed overhead gave him a bad case of goose bumps.

Wreaths were laid by Darryl Johnson, US Ambassador to Thailand, and Maj. Gen. Bond, and by the senior Free Thai representative, Prince Bhisatej Rajani. Also in attendance were US Deputy Assistant secretary of State Matthew Daley, former members of the Free Thai movement, and WWII veterans from Britain and the USA. The AVG Flying Tigers pilots attending were Charles Bond, Dick Rossi, Bob Layher, and Peter Wright.

The idea for the memorial began when AVG members and their families visited north Thailand in November 1994 to view the wreckage of William "Black Mac" McGarry's Curtiss P-40. The plane had crashed on the 24 March 1942 Chiang Mai raid. Japanese anti-aircraft fire was intense, but the six AVG Tomahawks that carried out the raid were credited with destroying 1 S Japanese aircraft on the ground. It was a significant victory at that early stage of the war when the Japanese seemed invincible and the Allies were seeing little but defeat in Asia.

While making a final strafing pass over the Chiang Mai field, McGarry's P-40 was struck by ground fire. McGarry tried to guide his damaged aircraft back to safety in Burma, but was unable to clear a ridge. he rolled the P-40 over, dropped out and parachuted into a jungle clearing. The aircraft crashed nearby. Its wreckage lay undisturbed in the dense jungle until it was discovered almost 50 years later by hill tribe hunters. In 1992, with the help of an RTAF helicopter, the Foundation for the Preservation and Development of Thai Aircraft moved the wreckage to the RTAF base at Chiang Mai, the same airfield the AVG attacked in March 1942.

During their 1994 visit to north Thailand, the AVG group also traveled to Lamphun, about 15 miles south of Chiang Mai, where John Van Kuren "Scarsdale Jack" Ncwkirk crashed on that same day in March 1942. Leader of the AVG's second Squadron "Panda Bears," Ncwkirk had heen in the thick of the action during the early months of the war when the AVG fought alongside the Royal Air Force in defense of Burma. At the time of his death, Newkirk was one of America's leading aces, credited with 10.5 victories over Japanese aircraft. he was among the first Americans decorated by the British when he received the Distinguished Flying Cross a month before his death.

On 24 March, when the six-plane flight of P-40s led by Bob Neale attacked Chiang Mai, Ncwkirk led a second element of four P-40s against a Japanese field at Lampany some 40 miles southeast of Chiang Mai. When no Japanese aircraft were found there, Newkirk turned the flight back toward the main action at Chiang Mai. En route, just outside the town of Lamphun, he dove on a ground target, possibly a Japanese armored vehicle. His wingman saw a ball of fire and realized that Newkirk had crashed.