WORKING TOGETHER THEN, WORKING TOGETHER NOW

It is a great honor to represent the American Embassy at this ceremony to launch “American Aviators in China During the World War II.”  I bring the greetings of Ambassador Randt, who sends his regrets that he could not personally attend this ceremony.  He is in Washington preparing for the visit of President Hu.
 
I concur in today’s many words of praise to Chinese Peoples Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Beijing branch of the Sino-American Aviation Heritage Foundation, and World Flight magazine for producing such a handsome volume, full of thorough research.
 
The volume is full of stories of bravery, courage, and skillful flying by the Flying Tigers, the Hump Pilots, the Doolittle Raiders, and the men of the 14^th, 10^th, and 20^th Air Forces in China during World War II.  Some of them are here today, and this book salutes them.
 
But a thoughtful reader will recognize there is more in this volume than flying stories.
 
Although they were the heroes in the movies and in the newspapers, the pilots in the air were only the “tip of the spear.”  They will be the first to acknowledge that behind them were thousands of Americans and Chinese – specialists in maintenance, airfields, cargo, supply, communications, radar, intelligence, weather, building construction, and medicine.  As the war progressed, there were more and more Chinese aviators, many trained in the United States.
 
The individual Americans and Chinese who fought together in China during the Second World War may have played large or small roles, heroic or ordinary.  The point is that our nations were allies.  China needed what its American ally could provide.  The Americans in China needed what China could provide.  Many people played vital roles to turn the commitment into a reality.  This is their legacy to us today.
 
Let me fast forward 60 years.  Americans and Chinese again work together.  President Bush and President Hu will meet early this month, but it is the tens of thousands of Americans and Chinese who work together that strengthens our friendship.  Let me give a few examples.
 
Doctors assigned to the Embassy from the Centers for Disease Control of the Department of Health and Human Services are working side by side with Chinese doctors to prevent SARS, HIV/AIDS, avian influenza, vaccine-preventable diseases, and birth defects.  The United States supports biomedical research by Chinese specialists that has led to advances that have improved health in China, the United States, and around the world.  The Chinese and Americans who work together on these projects are worthy successors to the doctors and other medical professionals, American and Chinese, who supported the Flying Tigers.
 
The U.S. Department of Labor has cooperated with the Chinese government as they develop standards and practices to improve safety and save lives in China’s mines.  The Army civil engineers who built the Burma Road and laid down the runways would, I know, salute their efforts.
 
I met the three-star Army general who is superintendent of West Point toward the end of his recent visit to China.  He was eager to share the United States Military Academy’s methods in with Chinese counterparts – in education and in leadership.  I am sure the West Pointers who helped train and fought with the Chinese Army and Air Force during the war would be pleased.
 
My list of areas of cooperation between China and the United States could be a long one.  But let me mention only one more.
 
Americans and Chinese once again fly in the skies over Kunming.  An American company trains Chinese pilots in flight safety.  And the Ministry of Aviation and the Federal Aviation Administration are closely cooperating on air routes, air traffic control, and flight safety.
 
This book, which gives us so much knowledge of Americans and Chinese in the air sixty years ago, can make us think how our two nations can, once again, work together.
 
Thank you.
 
 

那时并肩作战，现在继续合作
 

美国驻华大使馆公使衔新闻文化参赞裴孝贤（Donald M. Bishop）先生
在《二战时期美国援华空军》系列丛书发行仪式上的讲话
北京，2005年9月4日

      我非常荣幸代表美国驻华大使馆出席本次《二战时期美国援华空军》系列丛书发行仪式，我还带来了美国驻中国大使雷德先生的祝贺。他很遗憾自己未能亲临此次仪式。他正在华盛顿为胡锦涛主席访美做准备工作。
 
      我完全同意今天对于中国人民对外友好协会、中美航空历史遗产基金会北京分会和《环球飞行》杂志的赞誉之词。他们出品了这样精美的丛书，其中富含了如此详尽的研究。
 
      这套丛书是对二战中飞虎队员、驼峰航线飞行员、杜利特尔袭击者以及美国驻华第14、10和20航空队诸多将士的英勇事迹和高超飞行技艺的完整讲述。他们中的一些将士今天就在现场。这套丛书是向他们的致敬！
 
      然而我坚信，任何一位用心的读者都会看出，在这些飞行故事之外，这套丛书蕴含了更多的意义。
 
      尽管小说和电影都把这些飞行员描绘成主要角色，但他们仅仅是空中的“长矛之锋”。他们深知，成千上万的美国人和中国人在他们的身后支撑着他们，那些维修、地勤、货运、供给、通讯、雷达、情报、武器、建筑和医护等方面的专家也同样功不可没。随着战争更加深入开展，中国飞行员也随之增加，这其中有许多都是在美国接受的培训。
 
      两国将士在中国并肩作战，他们贡献可能有大有小，事迹不尽相同，但需要关注的重点是：我们两国在那时是同盟。中国需要美国盟友能够给予的帮助，在中国的美国人也需要中国能够给予的帮助。许多人都扮演了至关重要的角色，将承诺变成了现实。这是他们留给我们的宝贵遗产。
 
      让我们结束对那时的回顾，回到60年后的现在。美中两国人民再一次进行了合作。布什总统和胡锦涛主席本月初将会晤，这是成千上万中美两国人民并肩合作，增强两国友谊的结果。请允许我举几个例子。
 
      美国卫生与公众服务部疾病控制中心委派到美国驻华大使馆的医生正在与中国同行一起并肩工作，进行预防非典（SARS）、艾滋病与和HIV病毒、禽流感、疫苗可防类疾病和先天性疾病等的工作。美国支持中国专家进行的生物医学研究，这种研究使中国、美国和全世界人民的健康得到了改善。中美两国人民在这些项目进行合作，这些医生和医学专家是那些支持飞虎队的美国和中国人民的接任者。他们是可敬的。
 
      美国劳工部已经跟中国政府合作，在劳动保护领域里制定标准和措施来提高中国煤矿工人的保障和生命安全。我知道，二战中美国军方修建缅甸公路和铺设飞机跑道的工程师们将向这些合作表示敬意。
 
      最近我会晤了一位即将结束访华的负责美国西点军校的三星上将。我得知，他非常希望能与中国同行分享美国军事院校在教育教学和培养领导方面的方法。我坚信，二战中帮助培训中国陆空军将士并与之并肩作战的那些美国西点军校将士将对此倍感欣慰。
 
      中美两国在不同领域的合作事迹不胜枚举。但是请允许我再特别提及另外一例。
 
      美国和中国的飞行员再次并肩飞行在昆明上空。这次是因为一家美国公司在飞行安全方面对中国飞行员进行培训。中国民航总局和美国联邦航空总署正在航空线路、空中交通管制和飞行安全领域进行密切合作。
 
      本套丛书使我们更多的了解了60年前美中两国空军在空中并肩作战的历史，它更能使我们深思我们两国如何能够再一次进行合作。
 
      谢谢各位！