# Colorado's current oldest veteran is a Flying Tiger

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorados-current-oldest-veteran-is-a-flying-tiger/848154>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [February 19, 2020, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorados-current-oldest-veteran-is-a-flying-tiger/848154 "2020-02-19T05:44:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorados-current-oldest-veteran-is-a-flying-tiger/848154/1 "2020-02-19T05:44:18Z")

</div>

I thought about combining subjects into one thread, but I decided that these two men deserved a dedicated thread.

Colorado Springs has long been a military town. Ollie Cellini may be the oldest veteran in the nation, and is apparently the last surviving Flying Tiger.

> [@](#):
>
> During WWII, an American fighter plane went down behind enemy lines in China.
> 
> The pilot, Maj. Dick Orr, was injured but alive. By a stroke of luck he was captured not by the Japanese but by Chinese troops, who controlled a narrow strip of land at the base of a canyon.
> 
> * * *
> 
> The man who mounted that rescue mission, thought to be the oldest living WWII veteran in Colorado, turned 107 on Feb. 10.

> **['Flying Tigers' hero is Colorado's oldest living WWII veteran](https://gazette.com/military/flying-tigers-hero-is-colorado-s-oldest-living-wwii-veteran/article_41a95e0a-49fe-11ea-9e34-5f999cd8aa6e.html)**
>
> During WWII, an American fighter plane went down behind enemy lines in China.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\
**Post date:** [February 19, 2020, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorados-current-oldest-veteran-is-a-flying-tiger/848154/2 "2020-02-19T17:45:48Z")

</div>

Cool.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorados-current-oldest-veteran-is-a-flying-tiger/848154/3 "2020-07-22T16:52:17Z")

</div>

Bumped.

The Flying Tigers are still remembered fondly in China: [Flying Tigers: These Americans mercenaries were the heroes of China during World War II | CNN](https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/21/asia/world-war-2-flying-tigers-intl-hnk-scli/index.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\
**Post date:** [July 22, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/colorados-current-oldest-veteran-is-a-flying-tiger/848154/4 "2020-07-22T19:36:55Z")

</div>

Very cool. And apparently that pilot in Colorado is still with us, at age 107.