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SINO
AMERICAN AVIATION HERITAGE FOUNDATION'S ARTHUR CHIN AVIATION ACHIEVEMENT
AWARD
Each
year the Foundation will present the Arthur Chin Aviation Achievement
Award. This prestigious honor will recognize an individual whose
outstanding contributions to the world of aviation as an aviator,
aircraft designer, aero-engineer, scientist, author, artist or educator,
best exemplifies the spirit of cooperation that exists between the
people of the United States and China.
The
award is named for Major Arthur Chin, a Chinese-American native of
Portland, Oregon, who in 1932 responded to Japan's conquest of northern
China by volunteering to defend the land of his ancestors as a pilot in
the Chinese Air Force. By
the end of 1939, Arthur had been officially credited with the
destruction of at least six enemy aircraft in aerial combat and in
company with two other fellow American-born Chinese fighter pilots,
shared the distinction of becoming the first American fighter aces of
the Second World War. In
December of that same year, while attacking an enemy bomber formation,
Arthur's aircraft was hit by Japanese gunfire and set ablaze. Badly burned, Arthur took to his parachute and though
terribly wounded, was eventually rescued by Chinese soldiers. Following several long years of painful surgery in the United
States, Arthur returned to the war in China.
Though the severity of his injuries prevented him from returning
to fighter operations, Arthur bravely soldiered-on by flying badly
needed supplies into China over the infamous "Hump" air route.
After the war, Arthur returned to private life in his hometown of
Portland, Oregon.
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