FLT. LDR. JOHN RICHARD "DICK" ROSSI - COLLECTION - HFSID 281206

DICK ROSSI
This collection of items, all signed by Flying Tiger ace Dick Rossi, include an autograph letter that he wrote to an autograph hunter, a printed biography signed with his birth name "J R Rossi" and a b/w photo of him in leather helmet, goggles and neckerchief.
Three items: 1) Autograph letter signed "Dick Rossi" in blue ink.Pencil notations on verso in unknown hand. 1 page, 6¾x8¾. In full: "Dear Sandra Lee, Sorry for the delay in answering your request. I was on a trip, and then didn't have seven copies of a photo, so had to order some. This photo [not included] was taking in Kunming, China, in December, 1941, at AVG Hostel #2. Our First Pursuit Squadron was housed here, near the airfield, the rest of the AVG was across town in a converted University bldg. Best regards,". Lightly toned and creased. Irregular top and left edges. Lightly rounded bottom right corner. Folded once and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition. 2) Biography signed "J R Rossi" in blue ink. Orange price label on verso. 1 page, 10x8, with 4¼x5¼b/w photo, one surface. Photo caption: "Flt. Ldr. J. R. Rossi, A.V.G.". Six-paragraph biography of Rossi's service in World War II, concentrating on his time in the AVG. Lightly soiled, creased and bowed. Lightly creased corners. Otherwise in fine condition. 3) Photograph signed "Dick Rossi". Black ink notations on verso in unknown hand. B/w, 7¾x10 overall, 6¼x9¼image, one surface. Lightly creased and bowed. Lightly creased corners. Otherwise in fine condition. At the urging of former U.S. Army Air Corps Captain (later General) Claire Chennault, serving as advisor the Chinese Air Force, President Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order (April 15, 1941) allowing reserve officers and enlisted men in the US armed forces to resign from active duty and join an American Volunteer Group (AVG) to fight with the Chinese Air Force in its struggle against Japan, which had attacked China in 1937. The AVG was actually short lived, seeing its first combat on December 20, 1941 - two weeks after Pearl Harbor - and being absorbed into the U.S. Army Air Corps on July 4, 1942. In the intervening months, the AVG, universally known as "the Flying Tigers", covered itself with glory. The Flying Tigers in their P-40 fighters, painted with the famous shark's teeth and eyes, destroyed a confirmed 299 Japanese planes and notched 153 more probables, losing only ten pilots in the air, three more on the ground, with three taken prisoner, while fighting in the China-Burma-India Theater. The Flying Tigers also compelled Japan to limit its terror bombing of Chinese cities, previously almost unopposed. Rossi (1915-2008), born John Richard Rossi, a former flight instructor in Pensacola, Florida, was a pilot and Flight Leader who flew his first mission with the AVG in January of 1942 and his last in July of that year. In that time, he notched a total of 6¼ kills, making him an ace. A member of the First Pursuit Squadron, known as "Adam and Eve", Rossi later served as President of The Flying Tigers Association-AVG.