FreightWaves Classics: Art Chin was a World War II ace and flew for China and USA

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Organizations across the United States are paying tribute to “generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success.” FreightWaves joins in that tribute. An earlier article profiled the U.S. Coast Guard’s Melvin Kealoha Bell. A second article profiled Elaine Chao, who served the United States in a number of roles, including U.S. Secretary of Labor and U.S. Secretary of Transportation. A third article profiled Maggie Gee and Hazel Ling Yee, two members of the WASP during World War II.

In today’s article celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, FreightWaves Classics will profile aviation pioneer Arthur (Art) Chin.

Like Hazel Ying Lee, Chin was born in Portland, Oregon. His mother was of Peruvian descent; his father was Chinese. Born in 1913, Chin developed a keen interest in airplanes and flying at a young age. 

The desire to be a pilot for a cause

After Chinese forces occupied Manchuria in 1932, training pilots to fly for China in its war against Japan became a mission of the Chinese American community in the United States. Chinese American aviation schools opened in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and in Portland. Often the training was arranged by the Chinese Aeronautical Association. 

About 200 Chinese American men and women trained at these centers and then went to fly for China against Japan. In 1932, at the age of 18, Arthur Chin applied to a program that was funded by Chinese businessmen on the West Coast. Allan D. Greenwood, the State of Oregon’s aeronautics inspector, taught 34 Chinese American men and women to fly at Swan island Airport in Portland. His students were from throughout the continental United States and Hawaii. Before being accepted into the program, Chin and the others had to pledge their lives to Chinese army aviation and to the interests of China.

Determined to help save their ancestral homeland, Chin and 11 other Chinese-Americans left for China in 1933 to volunteer to fly for the Chinese Air Force.

These pilots joined the Canton Provincial Air Force in the province of Guangdong; they were the first American volunteer combat aviators in the fight against Japan. In 1936, the Cantonese air force was integrated into “the larger Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) under the nation’s central government (the Kuomintang of China, or KMT).” 

Because of their exceptional skill, Chin and Portland classmate John K. Wong were sent to Nazi Germany for advanced training with the Luftwaffe in 1936. After returning to China, Chin met and married Eva Wong, who was the daughter of a former Chinese diplomat and government official. They had two sons.

On July 7, 1937, a full-blown war between Japan and China began.

A flying warrior

As a ROCAF pilot, Chin was a leader, distinguishing himself in combat duty against Japanese pilots over China. Chin notched his first “kill” in aerial combat on August 16, 1937. He would down seven other Japanese aircraft. However, his combat career ended on December 27, 1939. The fuel tank of his aircraft was punctured by bullets from a Japanese airplane. Chin was forced to bail out of his burning aircraft. This was the third time he had been shot down. While he parachuted successfully to the ground, Chin suffered severe burns over 80% of his body, including to his face. As part of his long-term recovery from those burns, Chin endured several years of surgeries. 

He and his family moved into a house on Liuchow Airfield while he was recovering from his burns. When the airbase was attacked by the Japanese, his wife was killed in a bomb blast. He and his sons escaped to Hong Kong and then from that city during the Japanese occupation and returned to the United States to continue his recuperation.

World War II

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the ensuing entry of the United States into World War II meant that the war between Japan and China merged with the other conflicts. It became the China-Burma-India Theater. 

Once he was able, Chin supported the U.S. war effort by speaking at rallies and on the radio supporting the nation’s war bond effort.

Once he was able to fly again, Chin applied for work with the Chinese National Aviation Corporation (CNAC), which was an airline jointly owned by the Chinese government and Pan American World Airways, working under contract for the U.S. Army Air Forces to supply U.S. forces in the China-Burma-India Theater. 

In 1944, Chin made his way back to China to fly again. He was officially discharged from the Chinese Air Force on March 1, 1945. He joined CNAC on March 15, 1945, when he entered the company’s training school. He finished training on July 13. With a contract as a co-pilot, Chin reapplied and regained U.S. citizenship on July 21, 1945.

As a pilot for the China National Aviation Corporation (CNAC), Chin flew on a regular basis over the Himalayan Mountains (in an area famously known as “The Hump”) to transport supplies from Allied bases in India to both Chinese military personnel and units of the U.S. Army Air Forces for their fight against the Japanese. 

The flights over the Himalayas were very dangerous for Chin and the other pilots who took part in the airlifts. The flights were made all the more hazardous because of the lack of reliable charts, radio navigation aids, and adequate weather information for that part of the world – as well as the threat of Japanese aircraft.

Many consider the CNAC cargo pilots some of the most skilled aviators of World War II. Between March 1942 and August 1945, CNAC flew approximately 114,500 tons of supplies to China. In addition, the airline provided “low-level tactical airlift support over enemy territory during the Burma campaign by dropping supplies to Chinese and American ground forces, evacuating Chinese and British troops, and supplying the Ledo Road project with men and equipment.” To read about the Ledo Road, follow this link to a previous FreightWaves Classics article.

Post-war life 

After the Allies defeated Japan and World War II ended, Chin continued flying for CNAC for a few more years and became a fully qualified airline captain. While Chin was stationed in India with CNAC, he met and married his second wife, Vivienne Yang, who was also a CNAC employee. They had one child, Matthew. Chin retired from CNAC shortly after his 1948 marriage.

Chin and his family returned to the United States in 1949. He sought work as a pilot with various airlines but there were thousands of former war pilots competing for those positions. When Chin was not able to find work as a pilot, he became a postal employee in his hometown of Portland. He remained with the U.S. Post Office until he retired in 1980.

Recognition for his service

While serving in the Chinese Air Force, Chin attained the rank of major and received the Five Star Medal, two Orders of Renaissance and Honour 3rd Class medals, Order of Resplendent Banner with Special Rosette, Medal of Victorious Garrison 2nd Class, Awe-Inspiring Medal 3rd Grade, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign medal, World War II Victory Medal, and the Republic of China World War II Service Medal.

In recognition of CNAC contributions to the war effort (although they were technically civilians), former American CNAC aircrews gained veteran status in 1993. Therefore, on February 24, 1995, Chin (and other China National Aviation Corporation personnel) received the Air Medal for meritorious achievement for his flights between March 26, 1945 and August 14 1945. On that same date, CNAC personnel also received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Legacy

Arthur Chin is considered by many to be the first “ace” of World War II. He died on September 7, 1997, less than one month before his induction into the American Combat Hall of Fame at the American Airpower Heritage Museum. 

In 2008, the U.S. government renamed the Post Office in Beaverton, Oregon, the Major Arthur Chin Post Office Building in honor of his service.

Source: freightwaves - FreightWaves Classics: Art Chin was a World War II ace and flew for China and USA
Editor: Scott Mall