An aerial drone photo taken on September 3, 2024 shows a view of the cemetery of the aviation martyrs in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: Xinhua

China recently released a list of 2,590 aviation martyrs from the US for the first time, who bravely fought against Japanese aggression. This list discloses the names, dates of death and military positions of these martyrs from the World War II, with adjustments and amendments based on research, according to Xinhua News Agency.

The list was published on the official website of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum Administration Bureau, in Nanjing, East China’s Jiangsu Province, on Monday. This list, which includes American aviation heroes who sacrificed their lives in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), replicates the original inscriptions on the memorial tablets at the Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall, according to a note posted on its website. 

Most of the aviation martyrs on the list were from the Flying Tigers, according to the Nanjing Anti-Japanese Aviation Martyrs Memorial Hall, said Xinhua. In 1941, a group of American volunteer pilots, officially known as the Flying Tigers, arrived in China to join forces with the Chinese people in the fight against the invading Japanese troops.

The information about the aviation martyrs was engraved on the monument in the memorial hall in 1995 and 2015. However, over time, much of the information about these martyrs has remained incomplete and difficult to verify due to the absence of original archives and pass of time, according to Xinhua.

The memorial hall also announced the addition of Jack W. Hammel’s name to the monument. Hammel, a pilot from Michigan, died at the age of 23 on July 25, 1945, in East China’s Jiangxi Province, after his fighter plane was hit by Japanese ground fire, according to Xinhua.

Multiple commemorative activities were held across China on Tuesday to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the victory against Japanese aggression and the world anti-fascist war.

Global Times