Editing Claire Chennault (section)

==Military Career:==
===World War I and Early Service:===
Chennault enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1917, initially rejected for pilot training but eventually earning his wings in 1919 after persistent efforts. Commissioned in the Army Air Service in 1920, he served at bases like Langley Field, Virginia, and Kelly Field, Texas. In 1931, he graduated from the Air Corps Tactical School and became an instructor, leading the “Three Men on a Flying Trapeze” aerobatic team. He authored The Role of Defensive Pursuit (1935), advocating for fighter aircraft superiority over bombers, a view that clashed with Air Corps doctrine.
===Retirement and Move to China:===
Plagued by chronic bronchitis, partial deafness from open-cockpit flying, and disputes with superiors, Chennault retired from the U.S. Army in 1937 with the rank of captain. That year, he accepted an offer from Madame Chiang Kai-shek to serve as an aviation adviser to the Chinese Air Force, which was struggling against Japanese invasion during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
===Flying Tigers (1941–1942):===
In 1941, with U.S. government approval, Chennault formed the 1st American Volunteer Group (AVG), nicknamed the “Flying Tigers,” comprising U.S. pilots flying P-40B Tomahawk aircraft. Trained in his innovative fighter tactics, the AVG achieved an outstanding combat record against Japanese forces in Burma and China. After the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941, the AVG was absorbed into the U.S. Army Air Forces as the China Air Task Force (later the 14th Air Force) in 1942, with Chennault recalled to active duty as a colonel, soon promoted to brigadier general (1942) and major general (1943).
===World War II Leadership:===
As commander of the 14th Air Force, Chennault led operations defending the Burma Road and supporting Chinese ground forces, often flying dangerous missions over the Himalayas (“the Hump”). He frequently clashed with General Joseph Stilwell, the U.S. Army commander in China, over strategy and resource allocation. Chennault’s high regard for Chiang Kai-shek led him to lobby President Franklin D. Roosevelt, contributing to Stilwell’s removal in 1944. He also collaborated with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Sino-American Special Technical Cooperative Organization (SACO) for intelligence, including trading aerial photography for data on Japanese movements. Frustrated by interference from the OSS and General George Marshall, Chennault retired again in July 1945, citing health concerns.