Show the greatest respect!
The control tower controller only repeated the military leader's words, but it made Chen Xu and the co-pilot feel extremely touched and honored.
They were touched because of the military leader's attitude. Such simple words were as heavy as Mount Tai.
It was an honor because the leader of the military had instructed him to pilot this Boeing 747 to represent the military in the airspace of Spring City. He wanted to show the greatest respect between pilots to the more than 20 Flying Tigers who were on board and the more than 20 Chinese Flying Tigers who were waiting at the airport.
The great sense of duty made the two pilots sit up straight. Chen Xu looked at the co-pilot beside him, whose eyes were already red, and suddenly said to him, "Number two, you're in command now!"
When the captain was controlling the plane, the second co-pilot had no control. His task was to complete the various tasks given by the captain, such as retracting the flaps, controlling the accelerator, and opening or closing the landing gear. However, once the captain said the words "you're in command", it meant that the captain had passed the piloting rights to the co-pilot.
The co-pilot did not expect the captain to suddenly pass the piloting rights to him for such an important matter. He instinctively wanted to refuse, but Chen Xu said again very firmly, "I'll say it again, you're in command now."
The co-pilot was stunned for three seconds, then immediately nodded solemnly and said with great excitement, "Understood, I'll be in command now!"
After that, the co-pilot immediately got into the zone and said, "Tower, China Airlines CA, turn two or three, request to descend to 300, begin circling!"
The control tower immediately replied, "China Airlines CA, turn two or three, descend to 300, Spring City Airport cleared for you!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, honorable members of the Flying Tigers, this is the captain's broadcast. Thank you for taking the chartered flight of China Airlines, and we are very honored to be chosen by you for this trip to China. Our plane is about to arrive at China's Spring City Airport. We have just received a request from the Spring City military, and the airport has cleared the area for us. Our plane will fly five laps around the airport at a low altitude of 300 meters, which is close to 1,000 feet. This is to show the greatest respect that the people of China have for all of you. Our plane will tilt slightly during the flight, so please fasten your seatbelts. We will land after the flight."
"Flight around the airport?!" The American Flying Tigers on the plane were very excited when they heard the news. They cleared the entire civil airport in a short period of time just to let the plane do a low-altitude flight around the airport. The people of Hua Xia had indeed given them more respect and attention than they had expected.
They had been in the United States for so many years after the war, but they had never been treated with such courtesy. Americans didn't know much about the Asian battlefield in World War II. In addition, there were many European descendants in the United States, so Americans paid much more attention to the European battlefield than the Asian battlefield. In the United States, although World War II veterans were very respected, the most respected ones were those who had been to the European battlefield. The most respected ones were those who had participated in D-Day, which was also the Normandy landing. Although these Flying Tigers didn't care about these things, they had indeed been relatively neglected for so many years. Now that they were valued by the Chinese people, it gave them great comfort.
When the China Airlines 747 descended to an altitude of 300 meters, this behemoth could be seen very clearly from the ground.
More than 20 old Hua Xia Flying Tigers sitting on benches stood up excitedly when they saw the familiar shark mouth paint of the large passenger plane beginning to descend.
No one told them which plane the American pilots had arrived in, but when they saw the shark's mouth, everyone knew that they had arrived!
The shark was here!
The Flying Tigers were here!
The old comrades were here!
The Hua Xia Flying Tigers, who were waiting for their old comrades to cross the border, did not expect to see such a spectacular and familiar scene. This was indeed a huge surprise.
This cartoon shark mouth was of great significance to the old American Flying Tigers, and to the Hua Xia Flying Tigers, it was also of great significance.
The plane got closer and closer, but it did not land on the runway. Instead, it changed direction not far from the end of the runway, tilted its body, and began to fly around the field.
The old Flying Tigers understood this move too well. In the war years, the highest way for fighter pilots to show respect was to fly the plane around the field at low altitude!
The members of the Flying Tigers from Huaxia saluted spontaneously and stared at the plane. Their bodies couldn't help but turn as the plane circled. They kept their eyes on the plane and the familiar shark's mouth that was full of blood.
One lap! Two laps! Three laps …
These old Hua Xia Flying Tigers couldn't help but burst into tears. It was as if the world had changed dramatically. It was as if they were no longer in a modern civil airport, but a simple military airport. It was as if the plane in the sky was not a modern civil plane, but a Flying Tigers fighter jet. It was as if they had returned to their twenties in an instant. The unique engine sound and whistling sound of a propeller plane rang in their ears. It was as if they heard the long sound of an air defense alarm, and they heard the command from their superiors. The blend of history and modernity made them tremble with excitement.
After five laps, whether it was in the plane or on the ground, the veterans were all in tears. The 747 finally aimed at the runway. The huge passenger plane raised its head and gradually descended in the air, like a ferocious shark that had drilled out of the water. It landed smoothly, pushed back, and decelerated. The plane left the runway and entered the taxiway, taxiing towards the area that had been prepared long ago.
In coordination with the Yun Province Military Region and the Yun Province Armed Police Force, the Spring City Airport Fire Brigade, which had been stationed at the airport for a long time, dispatched six fire engines. They were ready on both sides of the taxiway that was a few hundred meters away from the red carpet welcome area. When the plane was about to taxi over, the six fire engines on both sides sprayed high-pressure water columns, forming three huge water gates. This was the highest form of etiquette in the modern aviation system, and it was also to show the greatest respect to these veteran American Flying Tigers who had made outstanding contributions to Hua Xia.
The veterans were once again pleasantly surprised.
Even their relatives couldn't believe it!
The low-altitude flight around the venue and the water gates on the ground — the etiquette given by Hua Xia's side really exceeded everyone's expectations. No one expected that they would receive such a grand welcome from Hua Xia.
Through the windows, the seniors and their families on the plane could see the firefighters standing on top of the six fire engines and saluting. Although they didn't know if these firefighters could see them, the seniors by the windows still raised their right hands at the first instance and returned the military salute to these young firefighters.
No matter how many times the two countries had been hostile and clashed in recent years, it didn't affect the young Hua Xia soldiers' respect for these veterans at all.
Li Mu, Liu Xinying, and the military region's representative, Chen Chengwu, who came in casual clothes, stood at the front of the red carpet. Behind them were more than 20 veteran Hua Xia Flying Tigers and their relatives. Next to them were more than 30 young people in black trousers and white shirts. These people were members of the military region's military band. This time, they came with musical instruments to perform for the ceremony.
The Yun Province military region put a lot of effort into this welcome, but considering that the Veterans Never Die Charitable Foundation was a non-governmental public welfare organization, and inviting veterans from the United States was also a non-governmental exchange activity, it was not appropriate for the government to directly participate, so they arranged for Chen Chengwu and the members of the military band to wear plain clothes. The Bureau Chief's consideration was very thorough. He wasn't worried about bringing any trouble to himself, but the most important thing was that he didn't want the Veterans Never Die Charitable Foundation to be announced to the public and let people think that the government was involved in it.
A non-governmental public welfare organization should ensure its purity. Under reasonable circumstances, it could seek help from the government, but it couldn't be influenced by the government. This was the words that the Bureau Chief asked Chen Chengwu to bring to Li Mu and Liu Xinying. This was his attitude and also his encouragement to the Veterans Never Die Charitable Foundation.
The plane passed through three water doors, slowed down, and finally stopped steadily in front of the horizontal red carpet. The ladder car immediately drove up and docked with the door, and then the flight attendants opened the door from the cabin.
Before the veterans could get off the plane, Chen Chengwu waved his hand, and more than 30 members of the military band in plain clothes immediately stood up and prepared their instruments. A conductor walked in front of everyone, raised the baton in his hand, and was ready at any time.
Finally, Paul Crawford, the oldest of the American Flying Tigers, slowly walked out of the cabin door with the help of his son and granddaughter. When he took the first step on the ladder, all the old Hua Xia Flying Tigers gave him a military salute. The old man immediately stopped and raised his hand to return the military salute.
At this time, the conductor of the military band made a start gesture, and the military band played the most famous military song of the United States during World War II, "Old-Soldiers-Never-Die, the just-fade-away."
Douglas MacArthur, the famous general of World War II, once quoted the title of this song in his farewell speech. Veterans never die, they just gradually fade away.
The music started, and all the old Flying Tigers were filled with emotion.
This song was extremely familiar to the Western veterans who had experienced World War II, and it was not unfamiliar to the Flying Tigers from Hua Xia. Back then, the American Flying Tigers, and even Chennault often played this song on the phonograph. Although the overall cultural level of the army in Hua Xia at that time was very low, the soldiers from Hua Xia who could participate in the Flying Tigers had a very high cultural level. They had always been taught by Western instructors, and English was a compulsory course. After becoming comrades with the American pilots, their listening and speaking English became very good.
One by one, the old American Flying Tigers walked down from the plane. Li Mu, Liu Xinying, and Chen Chengwu were at the front. They bowed and shook hands with each old Flying Tigers that got off the plane, and they welcomed them to Hua Xia and Spring City. After that, the volunteers guided these old American Flying Tigers to the Flying Tigers from Hua Xia, who had been waiting for a long time.
This group of old American people and the old Hua Xia people had been staring at each other for a long time. Fifty to sixty years had passed, and everyone's face had changed drastically. Almost no one could recognize each other anymore.
Paul Crawford, who was walking at the front, began to shake hands with the first Hua Xia Flying Tigers, Mr. Sun Xiaozhong, whom Li Mu had personally visited. After that, Paul Crawford excitedly introduced himself, "Hello, my name is Paul Crawford."
"Paul?!" Mr. Sun Xiaozhong asked him in English in surprise, "Are you really Paul?"
"That's me, and you are?"
"I'm Xiaozhong, SunXiaoZhong!"
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