Some of the photos you see here came from the "CAT Bulletin" - the company news magazine that was published in Taipei, Taiwan.
Tall and handsome in his CAT uniform, Dad posed for this photo in front of our home before one of his scheduled Taipei-Hong Kong flights.
Family and visiting friends pose outside one of the CAT offices in Taiwan.
Though the capabilities CAT built up as a cargo
carrier on mainland China were to be used again and again throughout Indo-China,
Laos and other parts of Southeast Asia they were also increasing their scheduled
passenger services. Starting with scheduled flights to Hong Kong they soon added
Japan, Korea, Okinawa, the Phillipines and Thailand as well as the infamous
"round-island" which flew a domestic route on Taiwan of 244 unduplicated route
miles.
The first flights were carried out in plushed up C-46's; then
came the Skymasters and then in 1958, CAT inaugurated "The Mandarin Flight"
DC-6B services. "The Mandarin Flight", which was to become a favorite with
passengers throughout the Orient, represented an innovation of personalized
services and unique Chinese decor that mirrored its heritage as a carrier for
the Republic of China.
As children, our favorite trips were the ones to
the airport to pick Dad up when he returned from his flights. Each homecoming
was special - perhaps because we learned early on that coming home wasn't always
"routine".
Although there was an element of safety that we presumed with
Dad's assignment to the scheduled passenger flights there were other assignments
during this same period that elevated the risk factor considerably. We are still
trying to learn more about Dad's "quiet years" with the 34th Squadron of the
Chinese Air Force during the mid 60's. Called the "Bat Squadron", they operated
out of a restricted site flying the B-26 and other aircraft.
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