Curtiss Hawk H81-A-2, P-8103, #3 of the A.V.G. First Squadron, J. Richard ‘Dick’ Rossi, Rangoon, China, February 1942.

John Richard ‘Dick’ Rossi resigned his U.S. Navy commission in 1941 to join the American Volunteer Group (A.V.G.) under the command of Col. Claire Chennault. He arrived in Rangoon on November 12, 1941 with a group of other volunteers. Rossi’s first combat was over Burma the following January as a member of the A.V.G.’s First Pursuit Squadron. Dick became an ace during his tour with the A.V.G., with his final score 6.25 aerial victories. 

In an interview with Rossi from 1999, while not visible in photos, Dick said that his name was painted on the port fuselage immediately in front of the windscreen, but did not recall if the crew chief’s name was included like it was on Charlie Bond’s #5.

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