Korean American Pioneer Aviators: The Willows Airmen

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Korean American Pioneer Aviators: The Willows Airmen is the untold story of the brave Korean men who took to the skies more than twenty years before the Tuskegee Airmen fought in World War II. The tale of the Willows Aviation School connects Korean, American, and Korean American aviation history. The book also correctly identifies the first Korean aviator and ties the origin of the Korean Air Force to the Korean American community who started the Willows Aviation School in 1920.

Reviews

The saga of the Willows airmen is an interesting one that needed to be told, and in doing so, Chang and Han add significantly to our understanding of Korean American history and the Korean nationalist movement. * Korean Studies *
Edward Chang and Woo Sung Han nicely piece together various historical documents to show how Korean immigrant leaders established and operated the Willows Korean Aviation School/Corps in 1920 to train fighter pilots in the independence movement against Japan. This book not only sheds much light on the pioneer Korean immigrants transnational independence movement, but also on their economic adaptation, racial experiences, community organizations, and military services in the U.S. during World War II. -- Pyong Gap Min, Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
Chang and Han shed light on and bring new evidence to a little known, but fascinating dimension of Korean American history and experience. -- David K. Yoo, University of California, Los Angeles
In this superbly researched study, Edward T. Chang and Woo Sung Han provide valuable information about an oft-cited but little-known chapter in the histories of the early Korean American community and the Korean independence movement. Chang and Han ably bring together these two histories in this fascinating study of the Willows Korean Aviation School/Corps. -- Richard S. Kim, University of California, Davis

Author Bio

Edward T. Chang is professor of ethnic studies and founding director of the Young Oak Kim Center for Korean American Studies at the University of California at Riverside. Woo Sung Han is advisor to the Republic of Korea Air Force Chief of Staff and board member of the Korea Center for United Nations Human Rights Policy.