050 - The Blood Chit

The fear of becoming a Prisoner of War was on the mind of every soldier, sailor, and aviator in the War, regardless of the country they represented. For the pilots of the American Volunteer Group, the trouble was twice as daunting as they could not speak Chinese and their physical features were very different from either the Japanese or Chinese. If they were shot down, they would often have to be wary of any and all peoples, friend or foe. 

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To assist the American pilots, they were issued a “Blood Chit”. The Blood Chit is a document established to assist any person assisting people in a foreign country. For the pilots of the AVG (American Volunteer Group), the Blood Chit was written in Chinese characters and read as follows: 

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“This Foreign person has come to China to assist in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue this person and help them in any way possible.”

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The plots of the AVG wore their Blood Chit right on the back of their leather bomber jacket, a cloth patch sewn into the jacket and easily removed if the pilot had to get rid of his jacket for any reason.
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Once the pilot was rescued, the Chinese National would often help the pilot in any way they could, whether it was providing food, clothing, and shelter, or getting them safely back to their home bases without being caught by the Japanese.

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