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The Aero Club of Southern California (ACSC) has announced that it will present the Howard Hughes Memorial Award to Richard “Dick” Rutan in a virtual ceremony next month. Born in 1938, Rutan joined the U.S. Air Force after high school, going on to fly 325 combat missions in the Vietnam War and earn decorations and medals including the Silver Star, five Distinguished Flying Crosses, 16 Air Medals and the Purple Heart. Following his retirement from the service in 1978 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Rutan went on to pilot the first non-stop, unrefueled flight around the world in 1986 and has set multiple aviation records over the course of his career.
(Courtesy photo)
Dec. 20, 1941: First battle of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the “Flying Tigers” in Kunming, China, during World War II. The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force in 1941–1942, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was composed of pilots from the United States Army Air Corps, Navy, and Marine Corps, recruited under President Franklin Roosevelt’s authority before Pearl Harbor and commanded by Claire Lee Chennault. Their Curtis P-40B Warhawk aircraft, marked with Chinese colors, flew under American control. Their mission was to bomb Japan and defend the Republic of China, but many delays meant the AVG flew in combat after the U.S. and Japan declared war.