The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1942-11-13
Japs Terrorized
By Demon Plan s
Of Flying Tie Hrs
Fuselages Painted to, | box
Like Shouts of SHARK
Spread Terror

WASHINGTON. - Children care
each other by making horrid face
and saying, "Boo!"
And so do men. They've been
doing it for hundreds of year, and
are still doing it.
Latest and most spectacular evil
dence of it is in the Far East lere
the american volunteer roup
("The Flying Tigers"), in S.
planes whose fuselages are amt
ed to resemble the shouts of iger
sharks, have struck terror int the
hearts of Jap airmen.
This is not to imply tha- the
Yankees under command of len.
Claire L. Chennault have had !uch
astounding success in sending APPS
crashing earthward merely tn Iugh
the use of paint and brush ar not
by vastly superior airmanship Nor
does it mean that the Jap lese
scare easily, says the Ch sago
Herald-American.
But psychologists and anthr iolo-
gists are of the opinion tina the
weird decoration of the Anne can
planes, which began as a grim ag''
is not without its psychologist ), eff
feet on the Nips.
It would be setting ones Stace
against the experience of all nam
kind to deny it, they say.
It's Old Stun. j
Ages ago, some bright soul az cong
the earliest representatives of IAN
kind on earth introduced an i'm 5va-
ton in battle by wearing the cad
of tiger or lion. that he had lied
with his spear. His appearance, was
as much of a shock to the Nea Ter
thai warriors on the other SIT as
the first British tanks were the
Germans in World War I.
The example was generally mi
tated, but soon it was found hat
wearing the head of an al nal
was hot and uncomfortable. S an
other innovator took to weari : a
strange headdress and paintin his
face to resemble the animal It's
still being done wherever prip tive
tribes exist-among the nativ OF
Africa and Asia and the P life
isles.
The Flying Tigers therefore ave
a good deal of human history t JUS
tify them in turning their ARP mes
into semblances of wide-mol he'd
tiger sharks with vicious arr y OF
teeth.
The lad who first suggested : /! to
them knew something of Japa iese
ways and thinking. The tiger s ark
is as much feared by the jap as
is the tiger by the n. tives of Blu ma,
Malaga, India and other far ca, err
countries.
Large numbers of Japs, an i and
people, garner their livelihoe al
sea, as fishermen. Their gres en-
envy is the swift-striking, tel pie
tiger shark, most vicious of al the
voracious shark family. Sup ,sti
tious Japs believe these shark are
demons.
Started in World War.
Japs don't like to die, even tftcugf
their leaders try to build up for 4 en
a legend of fearlessness in thxsace
of death. And they prefer, they
must die, not to be eaten by sharks
In their religion such an end Is
ously compromises their cha(tces
of entry into Jap heaven.
The practice of adjoining plane:
with characteristic insignia begsQ II
World War I and has been followed
ever since, though never with QUITE
the pictorial effectiveness achieved
by the Flying Tigers. Capt. E4dis
Rickenbaoker's Gath Aero squs1soI
in World War / adopted an uacls
Sam hat in ring as its coal o
arms"-a sign that German Ger:
soon learned to respect. -
The American Indian, eSpec. lly
those on the Pacific coast, says Or
Wissler, leading authority on. the
red man, painted his canoe inscmf
tation of animals.
A few weeks ago an Amefear
shipyard launched two new q sgt
ships as part of the Victory F. let
Each of these vessels has an aor
nous eye painted on either sid 90
the prov, where the anchor-ch I'M
slide. Workmen said this wa Il
put the "evil eye" on Axis sub IA
rines. The ships certainly prs en-