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Claire Lee Chennault, 3-star general, in China

(2018-11-19 17:24:44) 下一個

 
Life magazine, August 10, 1942. Life cover displays Brigadier General Claire Lee Chennault; born in Texas, 1890; enlisted in Army Air Force, 1917; barnstormed around country in Army's flying circus, 1922; retired because of deafness, went to China to plan aerial defense, 1937; commanded A.V.G., 1941; made chief of U.S. Air Force in China, 1941

Legacy

In December 1972, Chennault was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, along with Leroy Grumman, Curtis LeMay and James H. Kindelberger. The ceremony was headed by retired Brigadier General Jimmy Stewart, and a portrait of Chennault by cartoonist Milton Caniff was unveiled. General Electric vice-president Gerhard Neumann, a former AVG crew chief and the technical sergeant who repaired a downed Zero for flight, spoke of Chennault's unorthodox methods and of his strong personality.[50]

Chennault was honored by the United States Postal Service with a 40¢ Great Americans series (1980–2000) postage stamp.[51][52]

Chennault is commemorated by a statue in the Republic of China's capital, Taipei, as well as by monuments on the grounds of the Louisiana State Capitol at Baton Rouge and at the former Chennault Air Force Base, now the commercial Chennault International Airport in Lake Charles. The Chennault Aviation and Military Museum, located near the entrance to Monroe Regional Airport, and Chennault Park, also in Monroe, are also named in his honor. Nell Martien Calloway, named for her grandmother, Nell Thompson Chennault, and the daughter of Rosemary Simrall and Simrall's first husband, Norman Hopkins Martien, Jr. (1926-2012), is the director of the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum in Monroe.[53][54]

A vintage Curtiss P-40 aircraft, nicknamed "Joy", is on display at the riverside war memorial in Baton Rouge, painted in the colors of the Flying Tigers. In 2006 the University of Louisiana at Monroe renamed its athletic teams the Warhawks, honoring Chennault's AVG Curtiss P-40 fighter aircraft nickname. A large display of Genl Chennault's orders, medals and other decorations has been on loan to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., by his widow Anna since the museum's opening in 1976.[citation needed]

For many years Chennault was viewed negatively within the People's Republic of China, due to his role against the Communist forces during the Chinese Civil War. However, this has changed slowly since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the PRC and the U.S., with Chennault being viewed more positively. In 2005, the "Flying Tigers Memorial" was built in Huaihua, Hunan Province, on one of the old airstrips used by the Flying Tigers in the 1940s. On the 65th anniversary of the Japanese surrender, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and PRC officials unveiled a statue of Chennault in Zhijiang County, Hunan.[55] The Kunming Flying Tigers Museum opened on December 20, 2012, on the 71st anniversary of the first combat in Kunming of the Flying Tigers.[citation needed]

On October 7, 2015, Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou awarded a medal commemorating victory in the War of Resistance to Chennault, which was accepted by his widow Anna Chennault.[56]

Anna Chennault receiving a commemorative medal from Taiwanese president Ma on her husband's behalf, 2015

Chongqing is also home to a Flying Tigers Memorial and Exhibition dedicated to Chennault and his aviators. It is opposite the former residence of General Stilwell.

Film portrayal[edit]

In the 1945 US propaganda film God Is My Co-Pilot, Chennault as commander of the AVG was played by the Canadian Raymond Massey.

Dates of rank[edit]

Insignia Rank Component Date
US-O2 insignia.svg First lieutenant Officers' Reserve Corps (Infantry Section) 27 November 1917
US-O2 insignia.svg First lieutenant Officers' Reserve Corps (Signals, Aviation Section) 27 November 1917 (accepted 5 March 1918)
US-O2 insignia.svg First lieutenant Regular Army (United States Army Air Service) 1 July (accepted 14 September) 1920
US-O3 insignia.svg Captain Regular Army (United States Army Air Corps) 12 April 1929
US-O4 insignia.svg Temporary Major Regular Army (United States Army Air Corps) 11 March 1935
US-O4 insignia.svg Major Regular Army (United States Army Air Corps), Retired 30 April 1937
US-O4 insignia.svg Major (restored to active duty) Regular Army (United States Army Air Forces) 7 April 1942
US-O6 insignia.svg Colonel Army of the United States 10 April 1942
US-O7 insignia.svg Brigadier general Army of the United States 22 April 1942
US-O8 insignia.svg Major general Army of the United States 14 March 1943
US-O8 insignia.svg Major general Regular Army (United States Army Air Forces), Retired 31 October 1945
US-O9 insignia.svg Lieutenant general United States Air Force, Retired 18 July 1958

Source:[57]

Awards and decorations[edit]

In addition to the above, Chennault received several other foreign orders and decorations.

Chennault, who, unlike Joseph Stilwell, had a high opinion of Chiang Kai-shek, advocated international support for Asian anti-communist movements. Returning to China, he purchased several surplus military aircraft and created the Civil Air Transport, (later known as Air America).[36] These aircraft facilitated aid to Nationalist China during the struggle against Chinese Communists in the late 1940s, and were later used in supply missions to French forces in Indochina[36] and the Kuomintang occupation of northern Burma throughout the mid- and late-1950s, providing support for the Thai police force. This same force supplied the intelligence community and others during the Vietnam conflict.[37][38][39]

Claire Lee Chennault
與約瑟夫史迪威不同,陳納德對蔣介石持高度評價,主張國際支持亞洲反共運動。 回到中國後,他購買了幾架多餘的軍用飛機並創建了民用航空運輸(後來被稱為美國航空公司)。[36] 這些飛機在20世紀40年代後期與中國共產黨人的鬥爭中為民族主義中國提供了援助,後來被用於印度支那法國軍隊的供應任務[36]以及整個20世紀50年代中後期國民黨對緬甸北部的占領, 支持泰國警察部隊。 在越南衝突期間,同樣的力量為情報界和其他人提供了幫助。[37] [38] [39]

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