China Repatriates Remains of U.S. Airmen Killed in World War II Supply Missions

Breitbart ^ | Nov. 10. 2026 | John Hayward

[chickenlips]

Military officials from China and the United States met at a ceremony in Chengdu, China on Tuesday for the ceremonial return of the remains of American airmen who were killed during Himalayan supply missions in World War II.

The ceremony was the culmination of decades of effort by American and Chinese officials to locate all of the air crews who died while flying “The Hump,” a supply route from India to southwestern China that was crucial for Chinese and American forces fighting against Imperial Japan.

Japanese forces were able to cut off the land supply routes through Burma in the spring of 1942, leaving the U.S. with no choice but to fly an incredibly dangerous aerial supply route over the Himalayas. The very first of these missions carried fuel that was used by the Doolittle Raid, the legendary bombing attack on Tokyo and other Japanese cities that shattered the aura of invincibility around Japan’s home islands.

The Hump got its name from the formidable flight plan pilots had to follow. They would take off from airfields in India that were barely a hundred feet above sea level, then climb to 18,000 feet to get over the Himalayas, and finally plunge 12,000 feet to reach destinations in the mountains of China. SNIP>>>>

Many of the aircrews brave enough to challenge The Hump did not survive. Pilots in the China theater spoke of running into “granite clouds” as they tried to clear the Himalayan mountains. The Hump became known as the “Aluminum Trail” because of all the wreckage strewn across its rocky fangs.

[chickenlips]

This is long overdue.

"In the later days of the war, after new routes opened and made flying The Hump unnecessary, the Air Transport Command tallied over 500 crashes and 1,300 crew lost. The U.S. government officially lists 690 American personnel as missing and unaccounted for. Those who survived crashes found themselves stranded in the forbidding Himalayas, or the almost equally hostile jungles on the far side of the mountains."

[Equine1952]

Flying supplies to Claire Chennult’s Flying Tigers. A lot were combat pilots too old to get a seat in a fighter. The AVG American Volunteer Group flying over Burma Pappy Boyington flew for the Flying Tigers. It’s good history to review.

[jagusafr]

I did my Squadron Officer School paper on Operation Matterhorn. Those were some hero flight crews.

[DesertRhino]

“The very first of these missions carried fuel that was used by the Doolittle Raid, the legendary bombing attack on Tokyo and other Japanese cities that shattered the aura of invincibility around Japan’s home islands.”

Yeah? They fly the fuel over the Hump, to San Francisco and load it onto the USS Hornet?

Sounds like some AI enthusiasm in the mix. No fuel from Asia was used in the raid. The planes were fueled aboard the USS Hornet, and all crashed or emergency landed (not intact). The only one that landed intact is one that made it to Vladivostok in the USSR.

[Equine1952]

True. Flying to try to stop the Japanese advance in China for the free Chinese, who followed Chaing Kai Shek (spelled wrong I’m sure) to Formosa, now Taiwan. Americans have and will fight wherever freedom is in danger. Sadly I figure here in the US is next.

[Equine1952]

Some of Doolittle’s men made it to bases used by the Flying Tigers on foot. The Chinese in those days helped US aviators sometimes. If those men had GPS more might have got to the AVG bases with their planes. I believe they all figured it was a suicide mission. Just hitting Japan at the time was important. Godspeed to all who have served. Bravery isn’t hard to find in the American military history or presently

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“the Air Transport Command tallied over 500 crashes and 1,300 crew lost”

Wow, I had no idea. Thanks for that bit of history.

[abigkahuna]

I noticed the same thing...those not old enough to know the difference are bound to get history wrong..

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"Pappy Boyington flew for the Flying Tigers"

He was born here in Coeur d'Alene and grew up at the foot of the lake in St. Maries.

Gregory “Pappy” Boyington resigned his U.S. Marine Corps commission in August 1941 and joined Claire Chennault’s American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as the Flying Tigers, flying Curtiss P-40s in China and Burma.⁠

He served as a flight leader until April 1942, when he left the AVG (breaking his contract early) and later rejoined the Marines. With the AVG he was officially credited with a small number of kills (roughly two in the air plus ground victories); he claimed six, a figure the Marine Corps accepted and counted toward his overall total of 28.⁠

He is far better known for his later command of Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-214 (the Black Sheep Squadron) in F4U Corsairs in the Solomons, where he scored most of his victories, earned the Medal of Honor, and was shot down and captured in January 1944.⁠

His time with the Flying Tigers was relatively short and sometimes contentious, but it was a real part of his combat career before the Black Sheep.

---

The Coeur d'Alene Airport-Pappy Boyington Field (KCOE) is just three miles from us and has a plaque honoring him:

Medal of Honor Citation

The President of the United States in the name of the Congress takes pride in presenting the

MEDAL OF HONOR
to
MAJOR GREGORY “PAPPY” BOYINGTON for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

For extraordinary heroism and valiant devotion beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO FOURTEEN in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Central Solomons area from 12 September 1943 to 3 January 1944. Consistently outnumbered throughout successive hazardous flights over heavily defended hostile territory, Major Boyington struck at the enemy with daring and courageous persistence, leading his squadron into combat with devastating results to Japanese shipping, shore installations, and aerial forces. Resolute in his efforts to inflict crippling damage on the enemy, Major Boyington led a formation of twenty-four fighters over Kahili on 17 October and, persistently, circling the airdrome where 60 hostile aircraft were grounded, boldly challenged the Japanese to send up planes. Under his brilliant command, our fighters shot down 20 enemy craft in the ensuing action without the loss of a single ship. A superb airman and determined fighter against overwhelming odds, Maj. Boyington personally destroyed 26 of the many Japanese planes shot down by his squadron and, by his forceful leadership, developed the combat readiness in command which was a distinctive factor in the Allied aerial achievements in this vitally strategic area.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

---

The modern Black Sheep Squadron is Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 (VMFA-214), based at MCAS Yuma, Arizona, with Marine Aircraft Group 13 / 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. In March 2022 it was redesignated from VMA-214 and began transitioning from the AV-8B Harrier II to the F-35B, completing the changeover that year.⁠

The F-35B is the short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) variant used by the Marine Corps. The squadron continues to operate it today. The Black Sheep Squadron visited Pappy Boyington Field in June 2023. It was quite an event.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

"Pappy Boyington flew for the Flying Tigers"

He was born here in Coeur d'Alene and grew up at the foot of the lake in St. Maries.

Gregory “Pappy” Boyington resigned his U.S. Marine Corps commission in August 1941 and joined Claire Chennault’s American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as the Flying Tigers, flying Curtiss P-40s in China and Burma.⁠

He served as a flight leader until April 1942, when he left the AVG (breaking his contract early) and later rejoined the Marines. With the AVG he was officially credited with a small number of kills (roughly two in the air plus ground victories); he claimed six, a figure the Marine Corps accepted and counted toward his overall total of 28.⁠

He is far better known for his later command of Marine Fighting Squadron VMF-214 (the Black Sheep Squadron) in F4U Corsairs in the Solomons, where he scored most of his victories, earned the Medal of Honor, and was shot down and captured in January 1944.⁠

His time with the Flying Tigers was relatively short and sometimes contentious, but it was a real part of his combat career before the Black Sheep.

---

The Coeur d'Alene Airport-Pappy Boyington Field (KCOE) is just three miles from us and has a plaque honoring him:

Medal of Honor Citation

The President of the United States in the name of the Congress takes pride in presenting the

MEDAL OF HONOR
to
MAJOR GREGORY “PAPPY” BOYINGTON for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

For extraordinary heroism and valiant devotion beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO FOURTEEN in action against enemy Japanese forces in the Central Solomons area from 12 September 1943 to 3 January 1944. Consistently outnumbered throughout successive hazardous flights over heavily defended hostile territory, Major Boyington struck at the enemy with daring and courageous persistence, leading his squadron into combat with devastating results to Japanese shipping, shore installations, and aerial forces. Resolute in his efforts to inflict crippling damage on the enemy, Major Boyington led a formation of twenty-four fighters over Kahili on 17 October and, persistently, circling the airdrome where 60 hostile aircraft were grounded, boldly challenged the Japanese to send up planes. Under his brilliant command, our fighters shot down 20 enemy craft in the ensuing action without the loss of a single ship. A superb airman and determined fighter against overwhelming odds, Maj. Boyington personally destroyed 26 of the many Japanese planes shot down by his squadron and, by his forceful leadership, developed the combat readiness in command which was a distinctive factor in the Allied aerial achievements in this vitally strategic area.

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

---

The modern Black Sheep Squadron is Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214 (VMFA-214), based at MCAS Yuma, Arizona, with Marine Aircraft Group 13 / 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. In March 2022 it was redesignated from VMA-214 and began transitioning from the AV-8B Harrier II to the F-35B, completing the changeover that year.⁠

The F-35B is the short-takeoff/vertical-landing (STOVL) variant used by the Marine Corps. The squadron continues to operate it today. The Black Sheep Squadron visited Pappy Boyington Field in June 2023. It was quite an event.