Jottings from the Granite Studio

It’s a busy research and teaching month…but hey, aren’t they all? Some quick links this Friday morning. Fans of aviation history, mercenaries, or John Wayne movies in general will be glad to know that the WW II-era aviation squadron “The Flying Tigers” are getting their own memorial park in Yunnan. The new park will be located about 20 miles southwest of the provincial capital Kunming. The American Volunteer Group got its colorful nickname from local Chinese impressed with their derring-do and bravery. In 1937 the KMT commissioned U.S. General Claire Lee Chenault to reorganize the Chinese Air Force. After working under T.V. Soong and later Madame Chiang herself, Chenault began hiring American and other foreign pilots in the spring of 1941. More history of the AVG can be found here. An estimated 2,264 U.S. “Flying Tigers” members and more than 900 Chinese airmen who fought along with them died in the war. A painting by Ming Dynasty artist Qiu Ying (1494-1522) sold for a record 79 million yuan ($10.68 million), Xinhua reported on Wednesday. An illegal mining operation in Inner Mongolia collapsed a section of the Great Wall last month. Provincial authorities have arrested four men for their involvement.