Felix Smith o ile a fofa "Hump" holim'a lithaba tsa Himalaya nakong ea Ntoa ea II ea Lefatše, a kopantsoe le moeta-pele oa Flying Tigers e tummeng ka mor'a ntoa Chaena 'me ka lilemo tse ngata a khanna lifofane bakeng sa se neng se tla fetoha CIA-run Air America Chaena, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam le Laos -- ba ntse ba thunngoa khafetsa nakong eo.
O ile a nyala setloholoana sa morena oa ho qetela oa Okinawa 'me hamorao ea e-ba mookameli oa ts'ebetso ea South Pacific Island Airways e Hawaii.
Mohlomong ha hoa ka ha makatsa, ha molora oa Smith o hasana ho tloha ho sehahi sa Coast Guard Oahu bekeng e fetileng, hore moemeli oa mehleng oa CIA, mofofisi-'moho le eena oa Air America, pale ea Ntoa ea II ea Lefatše le batho ba bang ba mebala-bala ba ne ba le ka sekepeng.
"No. 1, e ne e le motho ea babatsehang -- ea babatsehang ho ba teng. Le sefofane se seholo, "ho boletse motsoalle oa nako e telele le mofofisi-'moho le eena Glen Van Ingen, ea neng a tseba Smith ho tloha bofelong ba lilemo tsa bo-1960 'me a boela a fofa bakeng sa Air America.
"Haeba u ne u tsoa torotsoaneng ea Wisconsin 'me u batla ho bona lefatše, u ka be u sa etsa mosebetsi o betere ho lona," ho boletse Van Ingen, 86, ka Smith.
Smith o shoele ka Oct. 3, 2018, Milwaukee a le lilemo li 100. Motsoalle Clark Hatch, ea lulang Honolulu, o re takatso ea hae ea ho qetela e ne e le hore molora oa hae o hasane Pacific ho pota Hawaii.
Mohlolohali oa hae, Junko Smith, o itse monna oa hae o bile le "nako e monate" ea ho lula Hawaii ka lilemo tse 21, ho qala bofelong ba bo-1970.
"O ne a rata Hawaii," o boletse joalo ka mor'a tšebeletso ea sehopotso e neng e le ka sekepeng sa Coast Guard Oliver Berry."(O ne a lula a re) lehae la hae ke Hawaii. Re bile le bophelo bo monate haholo Hawaii."
Lt. Cmdr.Kenneth Franklin, eo e neng e le molaoli oa sehahi, o itse, "Felix Smith o sebelelitse naha, 'me Balebeli ba Lebopo ba motlotlo ka ho hlompha bophelo ba ba sebelelitseng sechaba."
Smith o ile a tlaleha bophelo ba hae ba ho fofa - lintho tse tsosang takatso ea machaba le boithabiso -- bukeng ea hae, "China Pilot: Flying for Chennault Nakong ea Cold War."O ile a fofa pele bakeng sa Civil Air Transport, e ileng ea fetoha karolo ea CIA's Air America.
Setsi sa bohlale se ile sa etsa qeto ea hore se hloka bokhoni ba lipalangoang tsa sefofane Asia, 'me ka 1950 se ile sa reka thepa ea Civil Air Transport ka sekhukhu.
Motsamaisi oa sefofane sa "CAT" o phatlalalitse hore bafofisi ba lifofane ha baa lokela ho bua ka CIA ka mabitso mme ho e-na le hoo ba lokela ho bitsa baemeli e le "bareki."
Nakong ea Ntoa ea Korea, Smith o ne a reretsoe ho fofa ho ea Saipan.Ha a fihla Andersen Air Force Base e Guam, molaoli oa Sesole sa Moeeng o ile a thellisa Jeep ea hae ho ema 'me a re, "U etsa'ng moo?"Smith o boletse bukeng ea hae.
O ile a ngola a re: "Pele ke ka qapa karabo e hlomphehang, motho ea tsamaisang libetsa o ile a tsamaea le baahi ba ka bang 15 ba apereng lihempe tsa aloha kapa khakis e hlakileng, likatiba tsa lilithara tse 10, likatiba tsa letsatsi kapa tse se nang likatiba, lirifi tsa likhomo, meqathatso ea rabara kapa lieta tsa tenese.
Sefofaneng se khutlang, Smith o ile a fofisa bapalami ba robong ba koetsoeng mahlo - bohle ba naha ea China ba koetliselitsoeng ho ba lihloela - le "bareki" ba bararo.Molumo oa tšohanyetso oa moea o phallang ka har'a ntlo o ile oa mo bolella hore lemati le leholo le butsoe 'me le koetsoe.
"Ha kea ka ka bua letho empa ke hlokometse, ka mor'a ho theoha, hore ke bapalami ba robeli feela ba theohileng. Ke ne ke nahana hore bareki ba rona ba fumane moemeli ea habeli, "Smith o ngotse.
Qetellong ea Ntoa ea II ea Lefatše, Smith e ne e le mofofisi oa lifofane le China National Aviation Corp. ea sebetsang tlas'a tataiso ea Sesole sa US.
Gen. Claire Chennault, ea neng a le ka mor'a Flying Tigers, sehlopha sa baithaopi ba Amerika ba lifofane ba ileng ba loantša Majapane Chaena, o ile a qala Civil Air Transport ho finyella litlhoko tsa Chaena ka mor'a ntoa.
Smith o ile a hiroa, 'me ka 1946 a fofela Hawaii ho ea nka lifofane tse setseng ho qala sefofane.
"Ha re fihla Wheeler Field, re ile ra sheba lebitla moo lifofane li neng li shoeletse teng," o boletse bukeng ea hae."Likoloi tsa rona tse 15 tsa Curtis C-46 li ne li shebahala joaloka litlou tse bolileng."
CAT e sebelitse mmoho le Mokha oa Nationalist oa China o etelletsoeng pele ke Chiang Kai-Shek.Ketsahalong e 'ngoe mesebetsing e mengata, Smith o ile a leka marotholi a moea a li-ingots bakeng sa likhetla le raese ho ea Taiyuan naheng ea China ha Sesole se Sefubelu se koala.
"Ho ile ha nka lipallo tse 'maloa ho ntša raese kaofela. Libolo tsa kolofo tse khubelu - lithunya tsa mochine - li kobehile ka tlase ho rona, "o ngotse.
CAT e tsamaisitse chelete ea silevera ea Bank of China ho ea Hong Kong pele Chiang a etsa Taiwan setulo sa Mokha oa Kuomintang.
Jack DeTour, moahi oa Honolulu le mofofisi oa sefofane sa Ntoa ea II ea Lefatše ea B-25, o ile a hopola ha a kopana le Smith ha oa pele a fofa ho ea Philippines ho ea koetlisa bafofisi ba CAT ka C-119 "Flying Boxcar" ho thusa Mafora Vietnam.
"Ke ile ka nka Felix e le e mong oa bakhanni ba lifofane ba molemo ka ho fetisisa bao nkileng ka ba hlahloba," ho hopola DeTour, ea neng a le Setsing sa Lebopo la Lebopo bakeng sa tšebeletso ea sehopotso.
Smith o ile a fofisa sefofane sa C-47 ho kena le ho tsoa Vientiane e Laos ho ea metsaneng ea Hmong moo libetsa li neng li akarelletsa lithunya le lithunya tsa flintlock.Ka sefofaneng se seng o ile a tsamaisa liqhomane tsa mabotho a 'muso, 'me ho se seng, a tsamaisa raese bakeng sa US Agency for International Development.
Bukeng ea hae ea 1995, Smith o ile a ngola hore "morao Bophirimela bo sebetsang, lilemo tse hole le 'Alice in Wonderland's' topsy-turvy domain, ke hopola nako e khutšoanyane ka mehatla ea bona, ke ipotsa hore na lintho tseo tse makatsang li hlile li etsahetse. sefahleho se tsofetseng."
This article is written by William Cole from The Honolulu Star-Advertiser and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.
Nako ea poso: Dec-02-2019