In Nanjing, an American delegation has paid homage to comrades who died helping China fight Japanese invaders in World War Two. The 21-member delegation is made up of former pilots of the Flying Tigers and the Hump Airlift, the Civil Air Patrol of the US Air force, and their family members. They came to pay their respects at the memorial monument on Nanjing's Purple Mountain on Tuesday.
They gave their lives in the fight against fascism.
And their names are engraved on the walls in memory of the sacrifice they made for the Chinese people. But today, it is their fellow Americans who bring flowers for them.
This is the 16th visit to China for Edward Komyati, former pilot of the Flying Tigers and the Hump Airlift. His feelings are as strong as they ever were.
Komyati said, "My most unforgettable memory comes when I came to the monument, I saw two of my classmates' names are engraved on the monument. I was able to come home, but they stayed."
During the Second World War, the Flying Tigers shot down 2,600 Japanese airplanes and killed about 70,000 Japanese soldiers.
The people of China will not forget their names, nor will peace-loving people all over the world.
(CCTV.com May 26, 2004)
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