A "Flying Tigers" veteran (L) in front of the a memorial to "Hump Air Route" in Kunming, capital city of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Despite the fatigue after days' visits to former war site, the "Flying Tigers" veterans and their relatives insisted on paying tribute to the monument to the "Hump Air Route" in suburban Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The delegation, organized by the 14th Air Force Association of the United States, arrived in Kunming on August 18. Accompanied by their relatives, 15 veterans have visited many "places of war memories". In addition, they also visited some scenic spots including the Kunming World Horti-Expo Garden.

By mid-day August 20, more than 60, including veterans and their relatives, visited the monument to "Hump Air Route" among pine trees and cypresses.

Opened in 1942, the 500-mile "Hump Air Route" was a major airborne passage connecting China and the Allied Forces during World War II, and the it saw the loss of 468 planes and the lives of 1,579 pilots and crewmen from the United States and China's air force.

84-year-old veteran Richard Hurd read carefully all the words and photos on the publicity windows for the "Hump Air Route" before dedicating flowers to the Hump Monument. When looking at photos, he read the plane models in them loudly.

"My aircraft was shot down by Japanese troops in the summer of 1944. I was rescued and sent by the Eighth Route Army to Yan'an, where I was lucky to meet Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai during my stay with the army for three and a half months," recalled a veteran soldier.

Just like him, all the veterans present were very excited at the sight of the monument upon reading the words about the route, Yunnan-Burma Highway and "Flying Tigers". Pointing at the photos, they told their relatives their past experiences.

The daughter of an 85-year-old veteran accompanied her father to China for the first time. During her four-day stay in Kunming, she got to know many stories of her father and her fellows. Talking of her feelings, she was in tears.

"The journey is very exciting. I have understood many things about what "Flying Tigers" did, which cannot be learned in the United States, as no schools there mention them in class," said the lady.

She added that she would tell her grand daughters about their great grandfathers' stories. "If I can help my tears, I will go to school to tell young people about the history."

The veterans, supported by their relatives, went down nearly 100 steps in the rain and headed for their next stop Guilin.

By People's Daily Online