Shantih (peace) to Dick Rossi, who died April 17.

J. Richard Rossi was born April 19, 1915, attended the University of California, and went to sea as a merchant mariner before joining the Navy. He earned "wings of gold" at Pensacola naval air station and was stationed there as a flight instructor when he was recruited for the AVG. As a Flying Tiger, he was credited with six air-to-air victories:

28 Jan 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
25 Feb 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter
26 Feb 1942: 3 Ki-27 Nate fighters
12 Jun 1942: 1 Ki-27 Nate fighter

When the AVG was disbanded in July 1942, Rossi stayed in China as a CNAC pilot, with 735 cargo flights over the Hump between India and China. Postwar, he flew for Chennault's Civil Air Transport then joined the Flying Tiger Line, from which he retired in 1971. For 50 years he presided over the Flying Tigers Association. He wrote about his AVG service for Western Flying magazine in September 1942; the piece can be read online at the AVG veterans' website (bottom of page).

His death leaves only four men now alive who flew for the American Volunteer Group.

How many Tigers still with us?

The American Volunteer Group was a unit of the Chinese Air Force, serving in Burma and China from December 1941 until mid-July 1942, when it was replaced by the 23rd Fighter Group, U.S. Army Air Forces. Its members were drawn mostly from the prewar military, so they were a bit older than most of the WWII generation. Several were prisoners of the Japanese, and of course almost everyone smoked and drank in those days. So it's a pretty exceptional man (and one woman) who's still with us from that group. Here are the 20 Flying Tigers (including 4 pilots) still around and, I hope, doing well:

Charles Baisden (armorer)
Charles Bond (pilot)
Carl Brown (pilot and CAF flight instructor)
Michael Callan (ground crew)
Otto Daube (crew chief)

Edwin Fobes (clerk)
Emma Jane Hanks (nurse; surnamed Foster 1941, married Petach 1942)
David Harris (headquarters staff)
Edwin Janski (propeller specialist)
Kenneth Jernstedt (pilot)

Albert Kaelin (clerk)
Robert Keeton (pilot)
Frank Losonsky (crew chief)
Kenneth Moss (weatherman)
Kee Jeung Pon (engineering specialist)

Joseph Poshefko (armorer)
* Randall Richardson (weatherman)
Rolland Richardson (communications)
Edward Stiles (crew chief)
Morgan Vaux (communications)

* Some AVGs went home early, got a "dishonorable discharge," and for that reason aren't recognized by the Flying Tigers Association. Mr. Richardson is one such, and there may be others.