"At last I am in China where I hope to be of some service to a people who are struggling to attain national unity and new life"
-May 31, 1937;  Claire L. Chennault diary entry

The Brief History of the 14th Air Service Group


The 14th Air Service Group was formed in a very unique way in the summer of 1942. the famous Flying Tiger, General Claire Chennault, commander of the 14th Air force and General Stilwell, Supreme Armed Forces Commander in China, requested to have group of Chinese Americans who spoke Chinese and English fluently, to support the American Armed Forces in the China, Burma, and India Theater. Coincidentally, it was learned that such a group already existed and was employed by the 5th Air Service Command at Patterson Field, Ohio. Immediately, a high priority communication was sent to the War Department for confirmation and details. The answer confirmed that the existing group of twenty civilian workers were highly trained as radio communication technicians and was headed by Mr. Sing Yung Yee. Secretly, through the arrangement between the 5th Air Service Command and the War Department, Mr. Yee and his staff had agreed to enlist into the United States Army Air Force. Mr. Yee was then commissioned as Second Lieutenant in command.
By November 20, 1942, the 14th Air Service Group was formed with the first all Chinese American personnel assigned to the 859th Signal Corps. They received their technical training at Patterson Field, Ohio. The 1157th Signal corps was officially activated in Springfield, Illinois in April, and the 407th Air Service Squadron, in June1943. Ninety-five percent of the 260 men in this squadron were American of Chinese ancestry. The majority of them were screened from the 859th Signal corps, while others were transferred from other units. Simultaneously, other units of the 14th Air Service Group were formed and trained in Florida. These units included the 555th Air Service Squadron, the 2121st and 2122nd Trucking Companies, Headquarters Squadron, 1077th Quartermaster Company, and the 1544th and 1545th Ordinance Companies.
On January 14, 1944, the 1157th Signal Company was the first unit to embark overseas from Newport News, Virginia, to Cape town South Africa, the on to Bombay, India. The whole company was transported by troop train to Calcutta, India, and then by air over the Himalayan Mountains to Kunming, China.
In the same year, the 407th Air Service Squadron left Patterson Field, Ohio. They embarked from Newport News, Virginia, to Oran, North Africa, and then to Bombay, India. Many of the personnel were shipped to China by air, and the rest via the Burma Road at a later date. These men, with their administrative, electrical, and mechanical skills, helped service the aircraft in combat against the enemy. The rest of the 14th Air Service Group soon joined them in the China, Burma, India Theater.
At the end of the war, in August 1945, the majority of the 14th Air Service Group returned to the United States via Shanghai to Seattle, Washington, for their final processing and discharge.
The 14th Air Service Group was comprised of the following units:

Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron
407th Air Service Squadron
555th Air Service Squadron
1157th Signal Company
1544th Ordnance Company
1545th Ordnance Company
1077th Quartermaster Company
2121st Quartermaster Trucking Company
2122nd Quartermaster Trucking Company

Story reprinted from the 2001 Reunion Journal, Houston Edition.

The 987th Signal Operations Company (Special)


The 987th Signal Operations Company (Special), activated in Camp Crowder, Missouri, in 1943, had a table of organization, which included slots for 8 officers and 176 enlisted me. It was organized for services in China, with the dual objectives of providing communication services, and enhancing liaison between American and Chinese troops. At the time the Company went overseas, it had 8 officers and 114 enlisted men, just slightly over one-half of the activation strength. At Camp Crowder, the Company personnel received intensive training on radio and message center operations, and training on the use of side arms rifles, Thompson Submachine gun, .50 Cal Machine Gun, rocket Launcher and Grenade Launcher. Some members were dispatched to other U.S. Army facilities for specialized training not available at Crowder. On June 1, 1944, the Company left Camp Crowder for the China-Burma-India Theater, first by train to Camp Anza, near Wilmington, California, the Port of Embarkation; then by ship (S.S. David Gaillard) to Calcutta, India, with a short layover at Freamantle, Australia. The 60 day journey across the Pacific was made safely without escort of convoy. According to a post-war report, another troop ship (S.S. jean Nicolet) that left Wilmington 21 days ahead, traveling the same route, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Australia. The 987th was lucky. While in India, the Company stayed at Camp Kanchrapara near Calcutta, where its personnel fine-tuned their skills at the U.S. Army Post Signal School. On September 14, the Company left Calcutta by train and by river boat to Chabua, Assam, and from there, by air over the “Hump” to Kunming, Yunnan, China. After another 50 days of training to learn about field operation conditions in the Indo-Chinese front, the Company left Kunming for field assignment at Kaiyuan. From Kaiyuan, where Company headquarters staff established management and support services, operating field teams of 2 to 4 fanned out (mostly on horseback) to various remote locations to assist U.S. Army Infantry Liaison teams and the Chinese Army units guarding the border between Indo-China and China. Once in the field, the Company gradually took over communication services for the widely scattered Allied ground units. When the Company assumed operation of the two U>S> Army Headquarters Stations in Southern Yunnan, it became the sole manager and operator for he entire region. Additionally, the Company furnished communication services for Recon Patrol that penetrated into Japanese occupied Indo-China. After V-J Day, the Company was ordered to return to the States. On October 8, 1945, it was airlifted back over the “Hump” to Calcutta, and shortly afterward, the Company boarded the S.S. Marine Raven for a 37 day journey home. The Company was deactivated December 12, 1945 at Fort Lewis, Tacoma, Washington. Reprinted from the 2003 Reunion Journal, San Francisco Edition
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