John Richard Rossi was Born April 19, 1915 in Placerville, California. Schooled in San Francisco, he attended the University of California in Berkeley. He entered the Navy for Flight Training in the fall of 1939. On receiving his wings and commission in 1940, he was assigned as a Flight Instructor of Pensacola. “Dick” Rossi resigned his Navy commission in 1941 to join the American Volunteer Group, under the command of General Claire Chennault. He was undergoing a training program in P-40’s at Toungoo, Burma, when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Rossi had his first combat over Burma in January 1942, and his last over the East China front in July 1942. Most of his combat was over Rangoon. “Dick” Rossi was a member of the First Pursuit Squadron (Adam and Eve) of the AVG. He also did detached combat duty with the Second and Third Squadrons, having served under all the AVG Squadron Commanders. When the “Flying Tigers” were disbanded in 1942, Rossi joined the China National Aviation Corporation, flying supplies from India to China. By the time the war was over he had flown more than 735 trips across the Hump. He is president of the Flying Tigers Association-AVG. |
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