The Cavalcade of America, sponsored by the DuPont Company, maker of better things for better living through chemistry. Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by DuPont, presenting Ralph Bellamy in The Flying Tigers. Our radio drama is inspired by incidents recorded in the recently published book of the same name by Russell Whalen. Its story is one of that small brave band of American aviators who at this time last year were fighting in China against the Japanese. Miss Li Ya-ching, the famed Chinese aviator, is with us tonight as a member of the Cavalcade players. Miss Li will also be heard at the close of our program in an interview with Mr. Bellamy. Starring Ralph Bellamy as Al Fisher, pilot in The Flying Tigers on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by DuPont. One year ago, as a dazed and stunned America awoke to the full realization of the infamy of Pearl Harbor, a small band of gallant men produced a tiny ray of hope in a world blacked out in gloom. They were the Flying Tigers, whom Madame Chiang Kai-shek called, my angels, with or without wings. With too little ammunition, with planes taxed to the last ounce of endurance, with food and shelter where they could find it, they made history by defending the Burma Road lifeline into China. It is their valor that we salute tonight, the valor of the Flying Tigers. The time, January 1942. The place, the officer's quarters of a battered airport in a clearing just outside Rangoon. Hey, Norrie, how about checking on the weather before Flight B gets back? Stick around a while, Randy. It's early, Ed. I want to get the Tokyo News report on the radio. Is it five o'clock already? Yeah, that's right. Time for our daily laugh at those Japanese announcers. There, one day I'll tell you a story. Tokyo Radio reporting, the American Volunteer Group, commonly known as the Flying Tigers, at one time constituted our most important enemy in Asia. This ought to be good. The thousands of planes they brought with them from America represented a serious threat to our campaign in Burma. But today, January 29, 1942, we are happy to announce their utter and complete destruction. Listen to that, will you? Oh, turn that guy off, Norrie. Oh, get him. He reads for those Japs like a Dodger fan. Well, that's the fourth time this month Tokyo has reported our complete destruction. Yeah. I wonder where they got the idea we had a thousand planes. Well, I guess they figure we wouldn't try to defend Rangoon without them. Well, I'm glad they think we've got plenty. It might be really tough if they knew we only had 18 of these old crates on the field. I don't think we got 18 anymore, Randy. That ship I came down in yesterday won't go up again for a long time. When do you think we're going to get replacements? Replacements? With the Japs right around the corner in Mo-Main, it's going to be hard to get ammunition and parts into Rangoon. There's ain't nothing in New Plains. Yeah, I guess that's right. The only replacements we'll get are transfers from Squadron 2 up in Kunming. We won't get many of those either. They need all the planes and men they got. Didn't they send down any pilots today? Yeah, three of them landed a little while ago. Three? Is that all? Well, that practically doubles our personnel. Who are the three? I don't know their names. That friend of Smitty's is one of them. You mean the one that's always talking about Smitty's sister? Yeah, Al somebody. Al Fisher? That's right, Al Fisher. Boy, I'll bet he doesn't recognize Smitty after seven weeks of Rangoon. Uh-oh, Flight B is back. How many? Two, three, four, five, and five. It's tough, going down. Yeah. Well, maybe it bailed out. Maybe. Finley got back once after bailing out. Yeah. Stevenson didn't. I wonder who it was. Well, quit talking about it, will you? We'll find out soon enough. Come. Hi, everybody. Your troubles are over. I just flew down from Kunming to take the situation in hand. Oh, are you one of the new replacements? That's right, Al Fisher, wingman from Squadron Two. Hey, do you birds actually live in a dump like this? What do you think? Up in Kunming, we keep chickens in this kind of a shack. Well, this isn't Kunming. It's Rangoon. You sound kind of grim. Don't tell me the Japs have been giving you boys a shellacking. Never mind the small talk, Fisher. What's the good word from Squadron Two? Nothing much. Still haven't shot down a Jap yet. You'll get your chance down here. That's what I was thinking. You guys have been getting all the breaks. What do you mean? Well, figure it out. According to our contract, Chiang Kai-shek pays us 500 bucks every time we knock down a Jap Nakajima, doesn't he? At that rate, Rangoon must be a goldmine. Not exactly. No? You sound like you haven't had much luck. What's your score? Four Japs and three fingers off my left hand. Uh-oh. They play for keeps down around here, Fisher. You better keep your nose out of the arc of those Jap turret guns. Yes, and those monkeys have a remote control cannon in the tail. No kidding. I'll bet they shoot real ammunition. Get him. Where's my old friend Smitty, having a workout in the local barbershop? You mean Squadron Leader Smith? He's on the field. He just landed. Oh, is that him leading the flight? Doesn't he do a victory roll anymore when he buzzes the field? No, not anymore. Well, how about some food? I'm starving. Don't expect any fancy menus down here, Fisher. For the past three days we've been eating nothing but cauliflower. What's the matter with the markets? Nobody to run them. Jap bombs chased half the civilians out of Rangoon. Killed most of the rest of them. Are you guys trying to frighten me? No. We're trying to tell you that things are a lot different than they were a couple of months ago, when the contracts we signed with China were new and shiny. This isn't a contract job anymore. We're at war. Sure, sure, I understand. Only I didn't sign up with China because I thought it would be an easy job. I signed up because I needed the money and I still do. Well, tell it to your Squadron Leader. He's coming in now. At ease, men. How did it go, Smitty? Oh, fair enough, I guess. Got 14 planes in all. Nine big rats, five little ones. Haynes didn't come back. Think he got away? No, I'm sure he didn't. I saw him land. Haynes, huh? Yeah, it's tough. We were wondering who it was. Yeah. Got a rotten break, Norrie. What do you mean? Trying to tackle too many of them at the same time. The first dive he picked off two of the rats and then when he came up again he tried to get another from underneath. He got it all right. The ship practically blew up in his face. The motor in the wings dropped down on him like a ton of bricks. How many did you engage? About 60. 40 in the first wave, 20 in the next. Well, don't feel too badly about it. That's a pretty darn good score, 14 to one. Loss of that one means more to us than their 14 due to them. The three new pilots come down from Kunming yet? Here's one of them. Well, hardest blower of them all. How did they happen to send you down, Fisher? I guess they wanted you to have the best man. They probably were trying to get rid of you. Ah, now, Smitty, that's no way to greet your future brother-in-law. Future brother-in-law? What are you talking about? Well, Carol and I are going to get married the day I get back home. Well, when did you decide that? Long time ago. We didn't want to tell anybody until we made sure it was going to work out. And you're sure now? Just as soon as I can run up some dough out here, I'll be sure. Rangoon's the place for it, isn't it? Yep. How many ships did you knock down today, Smitty? I don't know. You don't know? 500 bucks a plane and you don't know how many you shot down? Well, things have changed a lot, Al. You'll understand why when you've been here a little while. You still try to keep score, but for another reason. A better reason than 500 bucks? Yeah. You know this fellow Haynes who was shot down today? I heard about him. Well, he wasn't killed because that bomber blew up in his face, Al. He still had time to bail out of his ship. Well, what happened to him? Japs waited until he was floating down with his parachute. Then they machine-gunned him. Attention, men. Here comes Smith. All right, men, at ease. I asked you to come to the ready shack this morning and tell you a few things about the way you've been flying lately. Now, for one thing, we're taking too many chances, not paying enough attention to fundamentals. For instance, you, Randy. Yes? You're not extending your dives enough to outrun your opposition. That's what Stevenson did, and you know what happened to him. Yes, sir. Now, you've got to make sure you're in the clear before you level off your dive. If you don't, you turn around one of these days with a handful of rats in your tail. Okay, Smitty, I'll watch out for it. Okay. Now, you, Al. Ah, don't rub it in, Smitty. I know I haven't scratched the score sheet. You don't have to call it everybody's attention. Well, the reason you haven't connected is you're too eager. You open fire long before they're in range. You can't outmaneuver them, so wait for them to make a mistake. Take it easy, Al. Wait for your advantage and then go in and make the kill. Yes, sir. One more thing, fellas. Get low on ammunition, so don't spray it all over the Gulf of Martaban. Make sure every shot counts. All right, men, that's all. You know what's in trouble with you, Fisher? Yeah, I know. You've been shooting through a dollar sign instead of your gun sign. Look, Randy, I'm the guy that's losing the dough, and if you don't mind, I'll lose it the way I please. Quiet a minute, men. Message coming in from patrol flight A. What's the story, Gordon? Twenty medium bombers east, coming in at 5,000 feet. That's it, boys. Scramble. Randolph, Gordon, Fisher, Wilson, scramble. Well, what's the matter, Fisher? Why the sour puss? Did you hear what happened? For two hours we chased those lousy Japs, 20 of them. We never really got a square shot at one of them. First they ran low to keep us from diving, then they ducked behind the clouds, and they played the sun. They weren't trying to bomb Rangoon, they were trying to make us waste fuel. They were doing more than that, Al. Those bombers were decoys. While you were chasing them, sixty more came in high and headed for town. We only had five planes left to go up and meet them. Oh, that was their plan, was it? Draw half of us out on a wild goose chase, and while we're away, come back in force for the kill. Did you get many of them? Fourteen. The other forty-six came right on through. Fourteen. Fourteen rats right overhead, and I had to go chasing all over the Gulf of Mardaban for the cheese. That's my luck. Did you hear what I said, Al? Forty-six got through to Rangoon. So what? Forty-six planes bombing Rangoon. You've got the nerve to talk about the score you missed. Well, I got a tough break, didn't I? What about the people in town? You ever stop to think what kind of a break they got? For crying out loud, Smitty, don't lose your sense of proportion. Just because you've been here a couple of months doesn't mean you have to break your heart for a bunch of coolies. They're used to these raids. Let me tell you something, Al. Nobody's used to an air raid. Well, what's the difference? Look, I want to ask you a question. Can't we get five hundred bucks for shooting down planes over the Gulf of Mardaban? Will you quit thinking about money all the time? Aren't you out here to get the dough? I'm out to get every Jap I can lay my hands on, whether it's in the air or the water or the ground. Get wise to yourself, Fisher. Outside of you, there isn't a man in this squadron who wouldn't give five hundred bucks to shoot down a Jap plane. Why don't you lay off of me? I told you why I joined this outfit. I told you why I'm so anxious to make dough. If I weren't in love with your sister, I'd... Oh, what's my sister got to do? Everything. Why do you think I signed up to fight Japs before America got into it? Because I like getting shot at? Why did you sign up? Because I wanted to make a pile of dough this year so I could ask your sister to marry me. I didn't think I had a right to without it. Listen, if I were in my sister's shoes, I'd have to have a lot more than money to marry a guy like you. Look here, Smith, I don't want you to let this get personal. Now, never mind that, Fisher. I've got some bad news for you. The next couple of days, we're going to have to help out the Chinese Army along the Salween River. That means straffing raids without a chance of shooting down Jap planes. We can send somebody else on those jobs. Everybody has to take his turn. Those are orders. Okay, Commander. Only it's a rotten way of getting even with me. Randolph to all pilots. Randolph to all pilots. Gordon and Moran, get to 20,000 feet and cover us from the top. Fisher, Clayton, and Headstrom follow me to strap the field. On the first pass, hit them from north to south. Let's go, you birds. Headstrom to Randolph. Watch the south end of the field. It's loaded with machine gun nests. Randolph to Fisher, Headstrom, and Clayton. Nice going, Lance. Now let's do it again. That does it, boys. Polished off about 30 Jap planes in those two swipes. Too bad this doesn't go on the score sheet, Fisher. You'd have cleaned up. But grounded ships don't count. Fisher to Randolph. Need your hat, Randy. Fisher, your engine's smoking. What's the matter? Are you in trouble? Just a wood log fire here. I'll have it out in no time. Gordon to all pilots, 10 rats coming in from the east at 10,000. Moran and I are going down to meet them. Watch your step, boys. Rand to Fisher. Come along, guy. Gotta get up there and give the boys a hand. Can't make it this round, Skipper. Oil pressure going down. Can't get any altitude. Can you limp home? I can try. Uh-oh. No use now. Pressure down to zero. I'll have to bail out. Give me a check on my position, will you? We're about 55 miles from the border. When you land, head northwest steadily. You can make the Salwin River that way and run into Chinese soldiers. Best of luck to you, Al. Okay, Chum. I'm bailing out. See you around, Chum. Here goes. Music You are listening to Ralph Bellamy as Al Fisher flying Tiger on the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by DuPont. As the curtain rises on the second act of our play, Fisher is staggering through Jungle Brush after having bailed out of his flaming plane. A group of Chinese soldiers, mistaking him for a Jap, fire on him as he approaches. Hey! Wait a minute. Don't shoot at me. I'm an American. I'm on your side. I'm an American, brothers. Flying Tiger, me, American volunteer group. Now, wait a minute. Hey, look at my arm. What do you think I am, a Jap? Look, you got me wrong. My name's Fisher. You're making a mistake. Look at the back of my jacket. There's a message on it. It's Chinese. Oh, now you've got to believe me. Wait a minute. I'll prove to you I'm a Flying Tiger. Here, look at this. Look at this banknote. Look at the signatures on it. Joe Finley, Scarsdale Jack Newkirk. Scarsdale Jack? You're quite a thing, Mr. King Ngo Ming. Yeah, yeah. Scarsdale Jack? Yeah, I'm a friend of his. You know Scarsdale Jack. He's my friend. Ah, Moon Jai Dong, Scarsdale Jack. Yeah, look. This is his signature on the banknote. Look, this is his signature. Look on the banknote. Tiger? Flying Tiger? Yeah, me, Flying Tiger. I'm your friend, Flying Tiger. Oh, you guys are talking. Okay, okay. Thanks for helping me, boys. I feel kind of weak. We should pick me to a farmhouse or something. Need a drink of water. Sammy, water. Farmhouse, water. Me, me, Flying Tiger. Don't shoot. Gotta fly. Flying Tiger, me. You must be quiet. You must rest. Hey, what's happened? Where am I? Do not worry, Flying Tiger. You are safe now. Wait a minute. What am I, what am I doing here? You have been in our house because you have been very ill. Oh, soldiers bring me here? Yes, that's right. The soldiers brought you here. Oh, tell me, where did you learn English? Oh, I studied with others at mission school. Oh, thanks a lot for taking care of me. Listen, what's that? That's guns, Japanese guns. But you will go before they come. Yeah, gotta get back to headquarters. My father has gone to tell the soldiers to bring oxcarts and they will take you to Lashiao. To Lashiao? That's where I gotta go. If I can get back there, I can tell the others. Oh, oh, my leg. Yes, you must not try to walk. Your leg is badly burned. I guess it was, all right. Well, nothing to do now but wait. Hey, I'm not a very polite patient. I haven't even asked my nurse her name. My name is Lao Ming. Lao Ming. Do you live here with your family, Lao Ming? Yes, I live with my father. Oh, got any brothers or sisters? My brother is in the army. My mother is dead. The Japanese killed her. Oh, I'm sorry. Air raid. No, not air raid. The Japanese used her for practice with machine gun. Oh, I see. Oh, I think the oxcart is here. We must put you on the stretcher. Yeah, I guess we better get going. All right, all right. Don't get excited, boys. We're coming. All right, easy does it. Just slide me onto the cart. I'm holding on. There, that's swell. All right, Lao Ming. Come on, get your father and get on. Oh, no. My father and I are not going. Not going? No, there's no more room on that cart. Well, you can't stay here. You can't stay behind and face those Japs. I won't let you. No, you must go. You can help win the war. Don't be a fool. They'll kill you. You will shoot down planes, and we cannot. You're a flying tiger. I won't let you do it, Lao Ming. Please, you're wasting time. No, no, no. Wait, Lao Ming. I'm not the one you want to save. Not me, Lao Ming. Not me. Get well, flying tiger. Get well soon, and come back and fight for China. Well, Doc, how's the patient? Extremely well, Smitty. For a man who was burned as badly as the fish he was, he's getting along fine. Don't mind the soft soap, Doc. When am I going to fly again? Well, we'll see about that in due time. Tomorrow? Hey, take it easy. You've been through the mill. As a matter of fact, I still don't see how you got yourself back to Bayes Hospital. If you're not sure, we'd never see you again. Listen, Smitty, I've got to get up in the air again. Yeah, you do like the doctor tells you to do. Stick around a couple more days and see how you feel. I can't wait a couple more days. The group will be disbanding in a week, and I've got to get at least one more ship before then. Only one? I thought you needed two to pull out your quarter. I don't know. I'm going to find out. Sounds like a raid on the field. It is a raid. I think it's a smart tactic, all right. Only got three men to go up in the air. See you later, Al. Yeah. Sounds like they're coming over for us. Well, there's no point in trying to get to shelter. We're in a fairly safe place here. I wasn't thinking about that. I was thinking about... Doc. I've got to get out there. I've got to get up in the air and help out. Get back in that bed, Fisher. Didn't you hear what Smitty said? It's only got three men to go up in the air. I've got to make it four. I've got to get up there and join you. You get back in that bed. I can't hear you, Doc. Keep the bed warm. I'll be back in an hour. Smith to all pilots. Let's stick close together, men. Only three of us. Got to break up their formation before we do anything else. Correction, please. There are four of us, Smitty. Al, Fisher reporting for duty. Fisher, what are you doing out of that hospital? Coming up to join you. Let them have it, Smitty, and I'll pick you up on the next dive. This is no time to show off, Fisher. Get back to that hospital. Not right now, Skipper. I've got to take care of my score. Okay, if you're that hungry for money, come on upstairs. You won't get food and credit for this one on the score. You'll have to share these rats with us. That's all right with me, Smitty. I've torn up my scorecard. What are you talking about? Torn up your scorecard? I don't get it. I don't blame you. But I mean it, Skipper. I didn't get it for a long time either. It took a ride in an ox cart to convince me. Uh, I'll get you now, Al. Thanks, Smitty. Well, let's get those rats. Let's get them for Haynes and Stevenson and Scarsdale Jack. Smitty? Yeah? While we're about it, let's knock off a few for a Chinese girl and her father. They're special friends of mine. Thank you, Ralph Bellamy. In a few moments, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Bellamy will return to the microphone to present our special guest, Ms. Li Yaqing. Meanwhile, we have a story of chemistry. From New Delhi, India, Sonia Tomara, famous foreign correspondent of the New York Herald Tribune, reports that at night the temperature falls below 40, and that American troops have donned a new winter uniform, dark olive green shirts and trousers with wool padded field jackets. Those are Army field jackets. Behind these jackets, worn by American soldiers, is an interesting story. The blouses worn by our soldiers in the First World War were heavy, heavy and so tight in the sleeves as to cramp a man's arms. No more of that, said the Army. This time we want something new and better, a jacket that gives a soldier freedom of action. It must resist wind, it must shed water, and it must be able to take a lot of punishment. The job of finding or creating such a jacket was given to the Quartermaster Corps. The Quartermaster Depot of the United States Army in Philadelphia maintains the largest fabric testing laboratory in the world, a laboratory that can handle 4,000 samples of material a day. Experts in the Quartermaster Depot went to work. They studied modern sport jackets and took all the best points. They tested fabrics for thread count, strength, resistance to wind and water, and so on. For their fabric, they chose cotton poplin because it's a good tight cloth that lends itself to mass production. Last but not least, they wrote specifications for water repellency. What was needed was a durable water repellent finish, something that could withstand cleaning under field conditions. There DuPont was able to be of service. DuPont's Z-Lan is one of the few water repellent finishes, one of the very few, able to meet the exacting specifications of the Army Quartermaster Corps. A field jacket, in fact any good garment treated with Z-Lan, may be washed or cleaned many times without losing its ability to shed water, because Z-Lan isn't merely a surface coating. It combines with the fibers in a really durable bond of protection against water. So during the past year, DuPont production of Z-Lan has multiplied many times. More civilians, too, need protection against the weather. Line men, construction crews working out of doors, air raid wardens. In fact, all civilians can wear Z-Lan treated clothing. With so much wool going to the armed forces, more and more clothing is being made of cotton, and Z-Lan makes cotton more practical for all-weather wear. Worn over light wool clothing, Z-Lan treated jackets enable the wearer to keep warm and dry even in wet, wintry weather. So Z-Lan serves not only the armed forces, but is one of DuPont's ever useful better things for better living through chemistry. And now, ladies and gentlemen, the star of our play tonight, Ralph Bellamy. Thank you. There's someone here tonight from whom I'm sure you'd like especially to hear, Ms. Li Yajing, who played the part of Lao Ming in our play tonight. Ms. Li is an expert aviator. In fact, I believe she's the first Chinese woman in history to pilot an airplane. Ms. Li has been through bombings in her native country. For a long time, even before the war, she was on the Japanese blacklist because of her antagonism to Japanese infusion. Being a woman of China and a pilot as well, she should be able to tell us something personal about what the flying tigers have meant to the Chinese people. Ladies and gentlemen, Ms. Li Yajing. Thank you, Mr. Bellamy. I think the Carver Gate play tonight has shown better than I can tell how the deeds of the flying tigers uplifted the hearts and still the fighting spirit of my countrymen in China. Those brave American boys showed the Chinese that we were not alone. They came when most needed, in one of China's darkest hours. They fought at our side. They struck fear in the hearts of our enemies. Fear of American power when awakened. Fear of what American wings will someday bring to Japan itself. Madame Zhang Gaishak called the flying tigers, my angels with or without wings. Truly, they were guardian angels to millions of my countrymen. I salute them and through them all the American people. I hope and believe that we will be friends in victory and peace as we have been allies in war. Thank you. Next week, ladies and gentlemen, the Cavalcade of America, sponsored by DuPont, will present the popular screen player Joseph Cotton in a new radio play, To the Shores of Tripoli. It is the story of eight United States Marines in Africa, eight Marines who raised the stars and stripes over Tripoli. Our play is not of today, but 138 years ago. Be with us again next week when Joseph Cotton plays William Eaton in To the Shores of Tripoli. Tonight's play was written by Robert Sloan, based on material from the book The Flying Tigers by Russell Whalen. The orchestra and original musical score tonight were under the direction of Don Bure. This is Clayton Collier sending best wishes from Cavalcade sponsor, the DuPont Company. This program came from New York. This is the National Broadcasting Company.
