Michael Sinatra, 32°, K.C.C.H.
1439 NW 97th Terrace, Coral Springs, Florida 33071-5945
sinatram@bellsouth.net

Bro. Chennault, nicknamed "Old Leather Face," organized the daring "Flying Tigers" and was a heroic symbol to the Chinese throughout World War II.

Photo: The American Heritage Picture History of World War II, 1966

During the Second World War, many of our leading American Army Generals were Freemasons. Among the most famous were Mark Clark, Omar Bradley, Hap Arnold, Jimmy Doolittle, and, of course, Douglas MacArthur. Little has ever been said about one of the most innovative Generals of the time and, in particular, of the Pacific Theatre, General Claire Lee Chennault 32°, K.C.C.H., a controversial military genius who was deactivated twice because of his strident efforts to modernize air power.

According to the records of Arlington National Cemetery, Bro. Chennault was born on September 6, 1890, in Commerce, Texas, but at age five he relocated with his family to Louisiana. A descendant from 18th-Century Huguenot immigrants and related to Sam Houston on his mother's side and Robert E. Lee on his father's side, Chennault faced a succession of challenges throughout his life. He always aspired to be the best at whatever he did, and he possessed a quick, retentive mind. Expecting the same of others, he hated to explain anything more than once, a trait he had learned to deal with when he became a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in Athens, Louisiana.

General Chennault was not a West Point Academy graduate as were most other Generals. Not being in possession of an Academy ring, he, like Doolittle, was often shunned, ostracized, and viewed as an inferior officer. Because of Doolittle's heroic feat in bombing Japan, Doolittle gained recognition, credibility, and rank. Chennault, on the other hand, was a maverick and a loner with the philosophy that "if your not with me, then you are against me." Consequently, he seldom received cooperation from the Army.

Early in Chennault's career, he tried to introduce the use of parachute troops, but he was ridiculed for the idea. He also advocated the use of more firepower for fighting planes. In 1936, he was the subject of jokes over his suggestion that four 30-caliber guns could be synchronized to fire through a propeller. The next year, Russian planes had that valued feature. Military leaders were not listening to Chennault since they did not believe fighters could shoot down a bomber. He had a brilliant mind and was far ahead of the military strategists of his day.

General Chennault, with typical military bearing, addresses an audience.

Chennault's short temper, insubordination, and unorthodox ideas forced him to retire from the Army in 1937. A few months after leaving the Army, Chennault was hired as a civilian consultant to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of China. For two years, Chennault taught Chinese aviators war tactics and fought the Japanese from his base at Kunming. It took Chennault a long time to convince Chinese pilots that their lives were more important than saving face. They simply refused to bail out of a crippled plane because returning without their planes would cause them and their families great embarrassment.

In October 1940, approximately one year before America's formal involvement in World War II, Chennault proposed American air strikes against the Japanese. In effect, these were covert operations against a country with which we had peaceful diplomatic relations. The bombing missions were to be carried out by American mercenaries paid by the United States Government through a private corporation. This newly formed unit, a covert entity of the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime predecessor of the CIA, referred to Chennault's team as the "American Volunteer Group" (AVG). They were to fly American planes (Curtis Warhawk P-40s) painted with Chinese insignias and later became known as "The Flying Tigers," a name the Chinese tacked onto the AVG. What made the plan all the more bizarre was President Roosevelt's approval of it.

On April 15, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Executive Order authorizing the formation of the American Volunteer Group. This Order permitted members of the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army Air Corps to resign from their branch of service with the assurance that they would be reinstated to their former rank or grade upon completion of their contract. Since we were technically at peace with Japan, the plan required some subterfuge. On July 23, 1941, five months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt formally authorized Chennault's air strikes against the Japanese. The AVG pilots, the first Americans to see action against the Japanese, were relatively small in number and never had more than 100 P-40s available. Of these, only 50 were generally in flying condition as finances and parts were hard to come by. Often AVG planes had their engine cowlings and spinners repainted different colors to fool the enemy into thinking the force was much larger than it actually was. As small as it was, the AVG was the only American force doing anything against the Axis.

Back in the United States, the Flying Tiger's name was taken to the Walt Disney Studios where the famous winged tiger leaping upwards from the base of the letter "V" (Victory) was created. The Tigers were now official.

Chennault now had the opportunity to test his flying tactics, as he was not under the US Army's eye. An outspoken advocate of pursuit aerial combat, as opposed to the U.S. Army's preference for strategic bomber tactics, Chennault now had the opportunity to utilize his strategies, and China was the testing ground. Chennault's warfare tactics, planning, execution of attack, and enemy kill ratios were outstanding to the extent that he embarrassed the Army Air Corps. In its brief six months of operation, the AVG was credited with 296 enemy planes destroyed against the loss of eight Flying Tigers. The AVG had the highest victory-to-loss ratio of any air combat unit in World War II. Although the Japanese planes were more maneuverable than the P-40s, the Americans had greater speed in a dive, superior firepower, and the advantage of being able to absorb battle damage.

Ill. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, 33°, G.C., at the time of the April 18, 1942, raid over Tokyo, Japan.

Chennault was an excellent teacher. He inspired confidence and a fierce loyalty. Even seasoned pilots forgot their prior training and adhered to Chennault's lessons in tactics. For over three months, he personally instructed and drilled a pilot until at last he was satisfied that the pilot was properly trained.

To the Army's dismay, it was necessary to reenlist Chennault into the Army Air Corps and promote him to Brigadier General. The Army Air Corps now became the organization Chennault was affiliated with, and his outstanding performance was credited to the Army, not the renegade Flying Tigers. The AVG was formally disbanded on July 4, 1942.

Doolittle was also promoted to the same rank a few days earlier. On his way to the United States via Calcutta, India, Doolittle visited Chennault at Kunming, China. Upon learning that Chennault was also promoted and not having been issued his stars, Doolittle gave him his own. The length of their Masonic cable tows, obligations, and vows tied these two men of completely opposite personalities.

True to form, General Chennault was outspoken about several other Generals that he felt were impeding the war effort in China. His comments sparked a furor, and in 1945, two months before the war ended, he was accused of various illegal activities, railroaded, and again forced to resign his commission. As a further insult to the man and his career, Chennault was never invited to the deck of the USS Missouri to witness the unconditional surrender of the Japanese troops to the Allied Forces, yet he had been engaged in fighting the Japanese longer than any other American, almost eight years!

As a civilian, Chennault founded the Civil Air Transport (CAT), becoming its President. This commercial air transport company, which carried relief supplies to China, nurtured a thriving transport business until 1949, the year Chinese communists grew in such strength and power that Chennault was forced to leave China.

The Chinese people felt a most gracious and heartfelt gratitude to Chennault and bestowed upon him hundreds of gifts, all of which he donated to Louisiana State University. They also presented him with the "White Sun and Blue Sky," China's highest award. He received at least 17 medals from the Army, including the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster.

As a result of chain smoking and serious bouts of bronchitis, Chennault succumbed to cancer and died on July 27, 1958. He was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. A few months later, the Lake Charles Air Force Base, Louisiana, was named Chennault Air Force Base in honor of the late General. Winston Churchill was appropriately quoted saying, "God Almighty, I'm glad he's on our side."

Brother Claire Lee Chennault was a member of League City Lodge No. 1053, League City, Texas, a Thirty-second Degree, Knight Commander Court of Honour, Orient of China at Shanghai (in exile), and a Noble of Islam Shrine Temple, San Francisco, California.

Sources:
Tigers Over Asia by Bernard Nalty 1978
EP Dutton, N.Y., N.Y.

The Maverick War, Chennault & The Flying Tigers by Duane Schultz, St. Martin's Press, N.Y, N.Y.

Arlington National Cemetery:
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org

American Volunteer Group:
http://www.flyingtigersavg.com

Famous Texans:
http://www.famoustexans.com

Michael Sinatra lives in Coral Springs, Fla., and has been employed by Comcast Corporation as their Fleet and Facilities Manager-Broward County, Fla., since 1986. Raised in 1978 and currently a member of Boca-Delray Lodge No. 171, Boca Raton, Fla., he is a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies of Lake Worth, Fla., and a member of Amara Shrine Temple, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Bro. Sinatra has been Venerable Master in the Fourteenth Degree for the past nine years. He was invested a K.C.C.H. in October 1997 and awarded the Double Eagle Award, Valley of Lake Worth, Florida, in May 1999.