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Arthur Chin Wikipedia

Major Arthur Chin (Chinese language|Chinese: 陳瑞鈿; Cantonese (linguistics)|Cantonese: Chin Shui-Tin; pinyin: Ch??n Ru??ti??n) (October 23, 1913 - September 3, 1997) was a pilot and a World War 2 fighter ace.

Chin was born in Portland, Oregon to a Cantonese people|Cantonese father and a Peruvian mother. Sparked by the Mukden Incident|Japanese invasion of China, Chin enrolled in flight school in 1932. Along with 15 other Chinese Americans, he left for China and joined the Guangdong (Cantonese) Provincial Air Force . He would go to destroy eight enemy aircrafts from 1937-1939. In 1939 his plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed. He parachuted to safety but was badly burned. Nevertheless, after several years of surgery he returned to China in 1944 to fly supplies over the Himalayas. He is recognized as the America's first ace in World War II.

Thus, about one month after Arthur Chin died, on October 4 1997, he was immortalized at the Hall of Fame of the American Airpower Heritage Museum in Midland, Texas. as the first American Ace and an officially recognized Chinese American World War II hero.

Last Modified:   2005-11-07