Captain Ho Weng Toh has died on Jan. 6, 2024.

He was 103 years old.

His passing was announced on his nephew's Facebook post.

In his post, John Ho said: "With him ends a generation in my family; all my 10 paternal aunts and uncles have now passed. An era has ended. They were the ones who guided and pampered me (I got a lot of precious sweets from the galley whenever my uncle flew back to the hometown) when I was young.

“A precious generation who had a much tougher and unpredictable life, who sacrificed so much so that my generation could live a peaceful and much easier life. To him, and the rest of that generation, I say thank you”.

Last Flying Tiger

Ho was part of the China-America Composite Wing (CACW), also known as the Flying Tigers.

He was born in Ipoh in 1920.

CACW was a joint venture by the U.S. Air Force and the Chinese Air Force to fight against the Japanese invasion during World War II (WWII).

During the war, he flew 18 missions and operated a B25 Mitchell Bomber.

He was known to be one of the last surviving members of the Flying Tigers.

After the war, he resigned from the Chinese Air Force.

Ho returned to Malaya in 1951 and flew for the now-defunct Malayan Airways, which then split to become Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines (SIA).

In his time at SIA, he became the chief pilot for the Boeing 737 fleet in 1974.

He retired from flying six years later.

In November 2019, he launched his very own autobiography titled "Memoirs of a Flying Tiger: The Story of a WWII Veteran and SIA Pioneer Pilot".

It was former foreign minister George Yeo who convinced him to write his memoirs.

In December 2023, a short film based on Ho's life was released, called "Flying Tigers".

Interviews with Captain Ho

Top image by Jason Fan.