Claire Lee Chennault served as a major general in the United States Army Air Forces by this time in the war. Renowned as a brilliant strategist, he surmounted seemingly-impossible odds to secure victory in the skies over China against invading imperial Japanese forces. This controversial commander known as "Old Leatherface" was beloved by the men who served under him and esteemed in both the United States and China, but he often ran afoul of other military leaders who lacked confidence in his innovative ideas and who favored their own agendas. Known best for his leadership of the renowned “Flying Tigers,” he left behind an enduring legacy.

In early October of 1943, newspapers across the US announced that the 14^th Air Force had officially adopted a new Flying Tigers emblem, with Maj. Gen. Claire L. Chennault's approval and endorsement. Former commander of the renowned American Volunteer Group that gained fame as the original “Flying Tigers,” as well as of the China Air Task Force that succeeded it, Chennault now served in command of the 14^th Air Force. Its effectiveness soon earned it the moniker, "the Fighting Fourteenth.” Carrying on the Flying Tigers legacy under Chennault’s leadership, the 14^th went on to win air superiority in China. In his memoirs, Chennault later praised the accomplishments of his air force and wrote, “It was a record of which every man who wore the Flying Tiger shoulder patch can be proud.”