China and the United States are more likely to view each other as military rivals now, but there was a time when they were close allies.

One of the most famous examples of military cooperation during World War II was the American Volunteer Group, more commonly known as the Flying Tigers. American and later Chinese pilots flew missions together against Japanese forces in the early stages of the war.

In 2002, a small group of volunteers, Americans and Chinese, set out to find some common ground, and discovered it in the most ironic of places–within the history of World War II. Now after interviewing and videotaping hundreds of Chinese and Americans, collecting thousands of historical photographs, and hearing stories both heartwarming and heartbreaking, they have found something eminently human in the midst of a story of the most inhumane. They have also discovered much about how China views this history and how problematic this history continues to be in China today, and about the continuing struggle of the Chinese to settle upon a workable understanding of the war’s historical events, and upon a truly meaningful social interpretation of this history.

The speaker, Patrick Lucas, is an anthropologist working and living in China for the past 20 years, who started the “Remembering Shared Honor” project with several partners in 2002 to document the history of China-US cooperation during WWII in China.

The event takes place Tuesday, May 18 at 7:30pm at the Chinese Culture Center. Tickets are RMB 50 per person. Click here for more information.

Photo courtesy of the organizer