Arthur Chin

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Arthur Chin
October 23, 1913 - September 3, 1997
Arthur Chin
Place of birth	Portland, Oregon
Allegiance	Canton Provincial Air Force, National Revolutionary Army
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	Second Sino-Japanese War
Awards	Distinguished Flying Cross

Major Arthur Chin (Chinese: 陳瑞鈿; pinyin: Chén Ruìtián; Cantonese: Chin Shui-Tin; October 23, 1913 - September 3, 1997) was a pilot and a World War II fighter ace.

Chin was born in Portland, Oregon to a Cantonese father and a Peruvian mother. Motivated by the Japanese invasion of China, Chin enrolled in flight school in 1932. Along with 15 other Chinese Americans, he left for China and joined the Guangdong (Cantonese) Provincial Air Force. After training in Munich Germany, he destroyed 9 enemy aircraft from 1937-1939. In 1939 his plane was hit by enemy fire and crashed. He parachuted to safety but was badly burned. Nevertheless, after several years of surgery he returned to China in 1944 to fly supplies over the Himalayas, a route known as the "Hump".

Chin is now recognized as America's first ace in World War II. A half-century after the war ended, the U.S. government recognized Chin as an American veteran by awarding him the Distinguished Flying Cross. About a month after Arthur Chin died, on October 4, 1997, he was immortalized at the Hall of Fame of the American Airpower Heritage Museum in Midland, Texas as the first American Ace, and an officially recognized Chinese American World War II hero.