NANNING -- Relatives of the Flying Tigers and researchers focused on the group gathered on Sunday at an exhibition preserving the history of the US volunteer pilots who fought alongside Chinese forces during World War II in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Clifford Ray Long Junior, the son of veteran Flying Tiger pilot Clifford Ray Long, told Xinhua that three generations of his family have left footprints in China, pointing to two photos on permanent display at the Liuzhou Military Museum. One shows his father during a 2004 return visit to China, and the other features Long Junior himself with his grandson at the Great Wall in Beijing in 2023.

Clifford Ray Long joined the Flying Tigers at the age of 19 in 1941. Long Junior shared the story of one of his father's most perilous missions, during which his aircraft was attacked by 13 Japanese fighters. Despite sustaining severe damage, he managed to regain control of his plane and survived a crash landing.