Inside a wooden box that Stewart Fontaine brought home from China 80 years ago lay treasures that shaped not just his life but his daughter's mission decades later.
Among them were two silk scarves hand-embroidered with the Flying Tiger emblem. One now rests with him in his grave, while the other adorns his daughter's shoulders at every memorial service for the veterans' reunions.
For Charlene Fontaine, preserving her father's legacy has become a life's mission. Now executive director of the Flying Tigers 69th Depot Repair Squadron Association, Fontaine hopes the bond forged between American and Chinese people during those difficult times could continue inspire new generations.
A Bond Forged in Fire and Friendship
Stewart Fontaine arrived in China in 1943 as part of the ground crew supporting the legendary Flying Tigers operations. Before the war, he had worked for Curtiss-Wright as an engineer.
"My dad had a Chinese coworker whom he greatly admired. This young man was incredibly smart, and the two of them bonded over their shared talent for fixing things," Charlene Fontaine recalled. "What one didn't know, the other would teach, and they learned from each other constantly. They also exchanged stories about their cultures. The young man shared food from his family and welcomed my dad into that part of his life."
For a young man who came from a large family of eight and knew what it meant to go without, this connection provided a sense of home in a foreign land.
"Dad truly appreciated that. It reminded him of home," Charlene Fontaine told China Daily. "That sense of continuity and connection meant a lot to him during his time in China, especially while working closely with the Chinese people."
Stewart Fontaine understood poverty. His family back in the United States wasn't wealthy, and he knew what hardship looked like. But nothing prepared him for what he would witness in wartime China.
The Chinese people's sufferings caused by the constant bombings struck him deeply. "They lost everything: their homes, their loved ones. Yet they persevered," Charlene Fontaine said. "They worked on the Burma Road, in the factories, on the airstrips. They did everything that was asked of them. Dad said their resilience and tenacity were phenomenal. That's what he admired most."
Even as war raged around them, Stewart Fontaine found himself captivated by China's natural splendor. Traveling along the Yangtze River to service planes at different air bases, he would speak for years afterward about the breathtaking landscape – the rivers, rolling mountains and lakes that reminded him of home yet were unlike anything he had ever seen.
When monsoon rain came, the dry, dusty roads transformed into thick mud that created major problems for vehicles and aircraft alike. The ground crews had to improvise constantly. They called the experience "Mud, Sweat and Gears".
But amid the hardship, Stewart Fontaine witnessed something that would stay with him for the rest of his life: the extraordinary determination of ordinary people.
"He saw mothers with babies on their hips working to help build runways, doing whatever they could to make sure things were safe and operational," Charlene Fontaine said. "He said it taught them all deep respect and compassion."
A Mission Rooted in Peace
After the war, Stewart Fontaine returned home in 1945 and resumed his work at Curtiss-Wright before moving to other companies and eventually joining Ford Motor Company. While at Ford, he completed his college degree in engineering, worked his way up through the ranks, and ultimately became a plant manager, a position he held until his retirement.
But the lessons he learned in China never left him. They shaped how he raised his children and what values he passed down.
"Dad used to say that we went to war because people were dying, people were hungry and starving, and they were being mistreated. Their freedoms had been taken away, and we wanted to help restore their lives and bring peace," Charlene Fontaine said. "He often told me, ‘I went there so that none of my children or future grandchildren would ever have to go to war.' He felt very strongly about that. He didn't want any of us to join the military. Instead, he wanted us to serve in other ways."
When Charlene Fontaine was 15, her father encouraged her to volunteer at the Veterans Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio to understand the true cost of war.
"I continued every summer for four years until I graduated high school. I wanted to help, and I wanted to learn," she said. "Dad had told me, ‘If you're going to be involved, you need to understand what war is really about from the other side.' Beyond the battlefield, he wanted me to see the lasting suffering: men who had lost limbs, veterans who couldn't concentrate or speak because of psychological trauma. In that hospital, I saw everything from A to Z."
Those experiences at a young age gave her a profound understanding that would guide her life's work. "That's why, now more than ever, I believe in maintaining our friendships and honoring the connections forged 80 years ago," she said.
Years later, as an international business consultant in the early 2000s, Charlene Fontaine found herself in China on a business trip with an unexpected day off. Wearing a polo shirt with the Flying Tigers logo, she joined a tour arranged by her client that took her to several villages.
What happened next would set the course for the next two decades of her life.
"I truly enjoyed the experience, but I kept hearing people say, ‘xie xie, baba,'" she recalled. "I didn't understand what they meant, so I asked the tour guide. He looked at my shirt and asked, ‘Was your father a Flying Tiger?' I said, ‘Yes, he was part of the ground crew.' The guide replied, ‘That's what they're saying. They want you to thank your father.'"
The moment was overwhelming. Village after village, people approached her with gratitude for what her father and his fellow servicemen had done.
That night, back at her hotel, Charlene Fontaine sat down and wrote an email to about 30 Flying Tigers veterans who were still in touch at the time. Their concern, she knew, had always been whether their service would be remembered.
"So, I wrote in bold letters: ‘You will never be forgotten,'" she said.
From that moment, Charlene Fontaine understood her mission. She began organizing trips and sharing her experiences with other Flying Tigers families.
"I kept telling our board members and everyone traveling with us: You will be humbled. You will cry. You won't know what to do with the depth of emotion you'll feel, because the Chinese people honor us. They support us. They want us to know how deeply grateful they are for what our fathers did," she said.
That experience inspired Charlene Fontaine to establish the 69th Depot Repair Squadron Association, an organization dedicated to preserving the legacy of all Flying Tigers, including the American Volunteer Group, the 14th Air Force and legacy squadrons.
"The Chinese people are committed to carrying forward the legacy of our fathers," she said. "Meanwhile, in America, we need to wake people up. This history isn't being taught in our schools. That's why one of our organization's missions is education. We're available to speak anywhere, because we want the younger generation to understand. It's so important."
Charlene Fontaine also serves on the board of the General Chennault Foundation and works with various organizations to preserve and promote the Flying Tigers legacy. This year, the foundation announced that the Chennault 69th DRS Scholarship is now accepting applications, designed to support individuals committed to carrying forward the legacy of General Claire Chennault and the Flying Tigers.
"Our fathers dreamed of peace. They wanted future generations to have education, meaningful careers, the ability to support their families and to live good lives," Charlene Fontaine said. "Today, we stand on the foundation of those dreams."