John Richard “Dick” Rossi was born April 19, 1915 in Placerville, CA, grew up in San Francisco and attended University of California, Berkeley. He worked his way through college by working on ships at San Fransisco Harbor where it sparked an interest in the Merchant Marines. By 1939 he entered the Navy’s flight program and was soon an instructor at Pensacola Naval Air Station, where he met and befriended Robert Prescott. By 1941, Dick resigned from the Navy and joined Claire Chennault’s American Volunteer Group (AVG) – Flying Tigers. Dick was an Ace pilot with six confirmed kills and credit for at least one more.
When the AVG was disbanded in July 1942, Dick along with 21 other former AVG Flying Tigers, joined the CNAC (China National Aviation Corporation) to support China’s war effort against Japan. By the end of the war, Dick held the record for the most “Hump” flights over the Himalayas at 735 trips!
In the spring of 1945 while still in China working for CNAC, Dick received a letter from his old AVG friend, Robert Prescott, telling him about an idea to start an airline. Dick didn’t need much convincing and said, “I’m in for $10,000”. By June 25, 1945, National Skyway Freight Corp (later changed to Flying Tiger Line) was formally organized. Dick remained in China until 1950 when he arrived “state-side” to work for the Flying Tiger Line as a pilot, the company he had helped found just 5 years earlier.
Dick was a decorated military aviation hero including 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Presidential Citations, WWII Victory Medal among many others. He married Flying Tiger Line Flight Attendant, Lydia Rossi (nee Cowgill) and they had one son together. Dick retired from Flying Tigers in 1975, aged 60, with over 25,000 flight hours logged. Dick was president of the Flying Tigers pilot association until 2008 and a partner in the Hungry Tiger restaurant chain and was very active in many various aviation organizations. In retirement, he enjoyed working on his avocado ranch and supporting his son’s sports and scouting activities. Dick passed away in 2008 at the age of 93.