TRAINING BASE RE-UNITES BURMA CAMPAIGN HEROES
The Chinese-American Air Force Training Command "somewhere in India" has reunited a former
armorer of the AVG and a Chinese armorer who lost track of one another during the chaotic withdrawal of Allied forces
from Burma. The American is S/Sgt. Moose Ruman, who stretches into the ozone 6 feet and 5 inches, and the Chinese is
Leon, who could bite him in the kneecap without stooping.
After a special discharge from the Army in July, 1941, Ruman left Hamilton Field, Calif., for Rangoon,
a water journey that ate up 35 days via Australia. His unit docked at Rangoon only long enough to eat a "rotten
breakfast," the entrained for Toungoo, where it was joined by Leon, only Chinese armorer allotted to the squadron.
Several days after the war broke out between Japan and the United States, Ruman's squadron was transferred
to Kunming and Leon, "who did a damn fine job," joined other squadrons selected to protect Rangoon. There from the
sanctity of slit trenches, he happily watched the AVG's ancient P-40-B's knock Zeros out of the sky.
When all Allied hope was lost, Leon grabbed a truck and drove up the Burma Road. Fifty miles from Kunming,
his vehicle rolled over and that was the last heard of the Chinese armorer until he popped up resiliently at the
training camp in India.
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