Late July of 1944 brought about significant changes the 3^rd Bomb Squadron, when they received orders to move from Moran to Dergaon. The new base was closer to the route they used to fly their B-25s over the “Low Hump” to reach Japanese targets in Burma. As they were making the move, my father, then-Sgt. James H. (“Hank”) Mills, had an encounter that he never forgot. As he was driving along a dirt road in an open weapons carrier transporting equipment, supplies, and two Chinese officers, a full-grown Bengal tiger stepped out of the bamboo thicket ahead. After discouraging the pilots from taking pot shots at the big cat, he made his way to the new base. Soon afterward, the squadron’s enlisted men were required to take “the long drill” from their tents to the flight line, twice each day, in response to the reported theft of two bottles of gin from their commanding officer’s tent. The case soon “petered out” from lack of evidence, and the squadron was declared “ready for operations.”

In mid-June 1944, personnel of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron, recently relocated to Moran Field in Upper Assam, continued to prepare for joining the fight in Burma, but bad weather prevented its B-25s from flying any combat missions for more than two weeks. "It is imperative that air support be given troops surrounding entrenched Japs at Myitkyina, but insurmountable weather always intervenes," according to the official squadron history. Every day, flight crews were up early and stood by, "hoping for a clear report to warrant flying through the Himalayan Pass down to the battle area,” but every night they returned to their tents "missionless.” With morale at a low ebb, tempers were short. Several incidents that led to conflicts arose during this period, including a disagreement that led to blows and required the attention of Gen. George E. Stratemeyer, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces' India-Burma Sector.

Maj. Chester M. Conrad served from March 1944 to February 1945 as commanding officer of the 3^rd Bomb Squadron, 1^st Bomb Group, Chinese-American Composite Wing. Known as "Chet" back home, he had picked up the sobriquet "Coondog" somewhere along the way (his radio call sign, according to my father). While previously serving in the 2^nd Bomb Squadron, his aircrew was credited with shooting down a Japanese bomber. Conrad, with his 3^rd Squadron, later provided air support to Chinese and American ground forces that retook Myitkyina, a Japanese stronghold used to attack Allied planes crossing the Himalayan “Hump.” He participated in many other successful missions, including a raid against storage facilities on the Hankow docks in January 1945. After his return to the US the following month, he continued to work with Chinese airmen. His military career was cut short in 1955, when then-Lt. Col. Conrad died as a result heart disease.

When Imperial Japanese naval and air forces attacked the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor and then the city of Honolulu on the island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, Paul L. Young, an American citizen of Chinese descent, was an eye-witness to the devastation. Displaying extraordinary courage, he was wounded while moving undamaged fighters away from those that were burning, earning him the Purple Heart. After spending twenty-three months with a heavy bomb unit in the Southwest Pacific, he served as intelligence and historical officer of the 3rd Bomb Squadron of the Chinese-American Composite Wing. One of the five missions he completed against targets in Burma during that period earned him a second Purple Heart.

Mitchells of the 3rd Bomb Squadron provided air support to Chinese ground troops as they retook the city of Myitkyina following a 78-day siege. “They knew we were paving the way.”