Feature: A "Flying Tigers" veteran's bond with China

KUNMING, Nov. 4 (Xinhua) -- Harry Moyer, a 103-year-old U.S. veteran, usually playful and humorous, burst into tears as he sang the song "Auld Lang Syne" with teachers and students at a school in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

"It's one of the best things that have happened to me on this trip," said Moyer, wearing a hat embroidered with the pattern of the "Flying Tigers."

From Thursday to Friday, an over 30-member delegation of the Flying Tigers veterans and their descendants visited Kunming, the starting point of "the Hump," a vital airlift route over the Himalayas and the primary way the Allies supplied China between 1942 and 1945 in World War II.

On Friday, they went to the Kunming Foreign Language School, which commemorates "the Hump" route. They watched a musical play showing the Flying Tigers' adventure to open "the Hump" route. Over eight decades of memories came flooding back to Moyer during the play.

In 1941, Moyer was still a sophomore when the U.S. government recruited pilots, and he did not hesitate to sign up. He was then deployed to the Mediterranean theater to fly a P-40 fighter.

After he completed his mission in 1944, he had a choice, whether to go home or to go to China.

"I chose to go to China because I wanted to fight for China," he recalled, adding that he has always believed it was the right choice.

The Flying Tigers spirit is an example of how the United States and China can overcome great challenges together, Moyer said, adding that only when people meet and communicate more can they understand each other and avoid misunderstandings.

Moyer and the students together planted a cypress next to the monument named "the everlasting spirit of 'the Hump,'" wishing that the tree and the friendship between the United States and China become stronger.

"When we sang the friendship song in different languages, I knew this friendship transcends national boundaries," said Sarah Moyer, granddaughter of Harry Moyer, adding she will pass on this friendship.