When Li Mu said the name of the Flying Tigers, the electronic silk cloth on the background wall was released in an instant. With a swish, all the background was revealed.
Only then did the media reporters present have the opportunity to see the background that had been blocked. When the old photo of the huge Flying Tigers fighter jet with the shark totem was revealed, everyone couldn't help but exclaim.
This cartoon totem designed by Disney blended perfectly with the fighter jet. In the turbulent years of gunfire, with such a cartoon totem, it didn't make people feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, it gave people an indomitable determination.
It was the first time for many people to hear the history of the Flying Tigers. Whether it was Li Mu's introduction or the background picture in front of them, it gave them a great shock.
"The movie 'Flying Tigers' will be a joint cooperation between Hua Xia and the companies of the United States. It will be created by actors from both countries. In the following shooting process, all the cast members related to 'Flying Tigers' will do their best to shoot this movie. We will respect the real history to the greatest extent and show the real and cruel war in history. We will let everyone know that just sixty years ago, in Hua Xia, such an extraordinary true story happened."
As Li Mu spoke, he cleared his throat and solemnly said, "Today, we are very fortunate to have Mr. Chennault's daughter and the two American Flying Tigers who once followed him to fight against the Japanese invaders in the sky above Hua Xia. Next, please welcome these three historical figures to the stage!"
Mr. Chennault's daughter and the two old Flying Tigers walked on the stage hand in hand. After bowing to them one by one on the stage, Li Mu walked down from the stage, leaving the stage to the three old people and the host.
The host introduced the three old people in the form of dialogue. After the introduction, he first asked Mr. Chennault's daughter, "As Mr. Chennault's daughter, how do you feel when you see a movie like 'Flying Tigers' about to start shooting?"
Mr. Chennault's daughter breathed a sigh of relief and said with red eyes, "It's hard to describe my current mood in words. When I was a child, a teenager, or even a young man to a middle-aged man, I had a lot of complaints about my father. When I was a child, he went to Hua Xia. I didn't know what he was doing there. Later, I learned that he went to Hua Xia to form a volunteer flying team, but I still didn't know what this organization was doing. Until last year, I went to Hua Xia …"
The host asked in surprise, "You went to Hua Xia last year?"
"Yes, last October, I first went to Sichuan Province, and then to some cities in the southwest, where my father had fought. The local government of Hua Xia introduced some surviving members of the Hua Xia Flying Tigers to me. When I heard from them what great deeds my father had done, I really understood him and what he did back then."
"After returning home, I found some American members of the Flying Tigers and read a lot of information about my father and the Flying Tigers. Then I felt more and more that in that era, Americans could abandon their families and go to the other side of the ocean to fight against the invaders for justice and peace. This was really a very, very great thing. I also hope that this real history can be known to the world. Therefore, the movie Flying Tigers means a lot to me. This movie is my biggest wish about my father. Now this wish is finally coming true. Now I only hope that I can live until this movie is released. At that time, I must take my family to see it."
The host said, "You will definitely live to a ripe old age. Not only will you be able to see this movie with your own eyes, but you will also see more movies related to your father and the Flying Tigers in the future!"
The old lady thanked the host and turned her head to the side, crying silently. Then the host began to interview the two American members of the Flying Tigers who had experienced the war.
These two members of the Flying Tigers were basically in their eighties or nineties. When talking about the war, the two of them seemed to have opened a chatterbox and could not stop talking.
One of the old men recalled the past and said, "In 1941, I was at the Country Flying Club in Texas, flying a small plane to spray pesticides on the farmland. Suddenly, one day, David Cruise, a pilot of the club, came to me and said that someone was recruiting fighter pilots. At that time, my biggest wish was to join the US Air Force, but I never passed the physical examination of the US Air Force. So when I heard that someone was recruiting fighter pilots, I immediately decided to give it a try."
"When I went to the registration office in David's car, I still didn't know who was recruiting pilots, and I didn't know where to go after being recruited. David told me that if I passed, I would go to Hua Xia to fight against the Japanese. I was very surprised at that time. I had never been to Japan, nor had I been to Hua Xia. I didn't even know where these two countries were, let alone what the war between them was about. Why would I want to go to Hua Xia to fight against the Japanese? In the end, I decided to go to Hua Xia, mostly because Mr. Chennault gave me a good salary, a salary that I couldn't earn in the US or Texas." "When I arrived in Hua Xia, I finally understood how cruel the people of Hua Xia were during the anti-Japanese war.
The brutality of the Japanese army was unimaginable. When we were training, we often heard that a village was shot or even buried alive by the Japanese army. The Japanese army killed almost everyone they saw in Hua Xia. Even the planes of the Japanese Air Force were targeted at civilians most of the time. At first, many American pilots, including me, went to Hua Xia with a sloppy attitude to get a high salary. But when we saw this with our own eyes, every one of us changed dramatically. In order to fight against the Japanese army, we began to train actively and fight with all our might. Sometimes, we would take off and land several times a day to fight against the Japanese Air Force … "
"Before going to Huaxia, we had never experienced the cruelty of war. I was just a country boy from Texas who knew how to spray pesticides on a small plane. But when I came to Huaxia, I realized that I was not just a country boy, but also a pilot who fought for justice. Every time we took off, we didn't know if we could come back alive. But when I thought about how we could protect the people of Huaxia every time we took off, and how we could save some people from being killed by the Japanese Air Force, we felt that it was worth it even if we had to sacrifice our lives. Because in our lives, we finally found something worth defending with our lives."
"As early as ten years ago, I had already made a will. I was too old, so old that organ donation was no longer accepted, so I asked my children to cremate me after I died. Half of my ashes would be buried in Texas, and the other half would be brought to Hua Xia to be scattered in the place where I had fought, in the river where David Cruise crashed …"
They fought side by side in Hua Xia for seven months and thirteen days, and fought 107 times together. One of the boys' plane was shot down by the Japanese invaders, and it crashed in a river in the southwest of Hua Xia. The other boy returned to the United States alone after the war ended. He married and had children. He took care of the boy's mother, who couldn't come back, until she passed away in 1963. The boy's biggest regret was that he couldn't bring his good friend back. His biggest wish was to go to the river and personally send a bouquet of flowers to him. After he died, he wanted his ashes to accompany him there … "
The old man's recollection made many people tear up. Many female reporters had already burst into tears. If one had not experienced the cruelty of war, one would never be able to understand it. Listening to the narration of those who had experienced it, one could only understand a little bit of the war. Even so, the story of two people leaving home and one returning home still made people feel sad.
The host then interviewed another member of the Flying Tigers, the old man named Paul Crawford. When asked about the old man's opinion of the film, the old man was filled with emotion and said, "I am very grateful to Director Spielberg. He took the initiative to show us the script of Flying Tigers. I never dreamed that there was a story in the script of this film that was so similar to my experience back then …"
"I asked Spielberg if I could tell this story at the press conference today, as it might reveal part of the movie's script. Spielberg's answer moved me very much. He said, 'The movie we're going to make is based on real history, not fiction. History can't be hidden by anyone in any form, so you can say whatever you want to say."
Speaking of this, the old man smiled and said, "So I decided to share this personal experience that I will never forget for the rest of my life."
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