Item:
ONSV8041

Original U.S. WWII USAAF Pacific Theater CBI Blood Chit and Flying Tigers Patches Set

Item Description

Original Items: Only One Set Available. This is an excellent WWII Pacific Theater set, consisting of very nice "Blood Chit" bearing the Chinese National flag, as well as two hand-made patches related to the American Volunteer Group "Flying Tigers".  These operated before and during WWII in the China Burma India campaign of the Pacific Theater.

The set contains the following items:

- A very good condition condition original rayon fabric blood chit. It bears a World War Two printed Chinese National Flag with Chinese Characters and a temple stamp. It measures approximately 10 1/2 inches by 8 inches. These were often stitched to the back or inside lining of a U.S. Aviator flight jacket. This example is marked with control number 41, and these are part of the standard contents of a China Burma India Survival set. A blood chit is a notice carried by military personnel and addressed to any civilians who may come across an armed-services member – such as a shot-down pilot – in difficulties. As well as identifying the force to which the bearer belongs as friendly, the notice displays a message requesting that the service member be rendered every assistance.

- A hand crafted Flying Tigers V For Victory patch, made of painted and stitched leather. Often "official" patches took a long time to reach the theater, and originally the Flying Tigers were "off the books", so patches and other insignia had to be locally made.

- A hand crafted Chinese "Sun" emblem, with AVG (American Volunteer Group) written above, and CHINA below. As with the other patch, it is made of painted and stitched leather.

A very nice set, perfect for any Pacific War collection!

History
The idea of blood chit originates from 1793 when French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard demonstrated his hot air balloon in the United States. Because he could not control the direction of the balloon, no one knew where he would land. Because Blanchard did not speak English, George Washington gave him a letter that said that all U.S. citizens were obliged to assist him to return to Philadelphia.

In World War I, British Royal Flying Corps pilots in India and Mesopotamia carried a "goolie chit" printed in four local languages that promised a reward to anyone who would bring an unharmed British aviator back to British lines. The British officer John Masters recorded in his autobiography that Pathan women in the North-West Frontier Province (1901–1955) of British India (now modern day Pakistan) during the Anglo-Afghan Wars would behead and castrate non Muslim soldiers who were captured, like British and Sikhs.

In the Second Sino-Japanese War prior to World War II, foreign volunteer pilots of Flying Tigers carried notices printed in Chinese that informed the locals that this foreign pilot was fighting for China and they were obliged to help them. A text from one such blood chit translates as follows:

I am an American airman. My plane is destroyed. I cannot speak your language. I am an enemy of the Japanese. Please give me food and take me to the nearest Allied military post. You will be rewarded.

United States Armed Forces
When the U.S. officially entered World War II in December 1941, flight crew survival kits included blood chits printed in 50 different languages that sported an American flag and promised a reward for a safe return of a pilot. The kit might also include gifts like gold coins, maps or sewing needles. Many U.S. flight crews that flew over Asia had their "blood chit" sewn to the back of their flight jackets. Some units added the blood chit to the crew's flight suits while other units gave the blood chit out only for specific flights.

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