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.”

After spending the summer of 1944 bombing Japanese facilities in Burma, personnel of the Chinese-American Composite Wing’s 3^rd Bomb Squadron finally began the transfer to China. Chinese and American ground crews crossed “the Hump” and moved on to Kweilin (Guilin) in late August.  No Japanese planes struck in the vicinity of Kweilin during the day but "they did keep us in the foxholes night after night," according to a service publication. Barracks boys shouted the warning jing bao! ("air raid") as they ran from room to room, turning off lights and banging on wash basins to wake anyone who may have slept through the warning siren. The threat soon became more dire. On September 8, as the squadron’s B-25s were completing the move, the Japanese 11^th Army overran Lingling, only 125 miles farther to the northeast. Then began their advance toward Kweilin.

Major General Claire Lee Chennault, in command of the 14th Air Force and formerly of the American Volunteer Group, envisioned and implemented his grand experiment--the Chinese-American Composite Wing. His purposes were to rehabilitate the Chinese Air Force fighting under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, head of the Republic of China, and to provide good will and understanding between the Chinese and Americans for the future. The CACW proved to be enormously successful and played a key role in defeating the Japanese invaders.