Imagine a pair of fighter planes colliding in mid-air. It's an infernal scene: exploding balls of fire, a shower of red-hot metal fragments and the flesh and blood of mangled pilots....

Lt. Col. Hsu Teh-ying, currently based at air force headquarters, actually survived the fire and fury of a mid-air collision. Hearing this incredible story from his own mouth makes it appear even more miraculous.

Disaster: On December 17, 1985, an overcast day with poor visibility, squadron leader Maj. Hsu Teh-ying of Shuishang Air Base in Chiayi was at the controls of an F-5E fighter plane, leading three wing fighters through the day's program of a simulated dogfight.

At about 10 o'clock in the morning, after finishing their mission, Major Hsu led his wing planes back to base. Just when he had received clearance from the tower and was entering the approach path to the runway, a Chung Hsing training plane suddenly broke through the clouds and crashed into him.

The planes exploded on impact. The two pilots in the Chung Hsing were killed immediately, but the collision activated a device under the seat of the F-5E and Hsu, who had passed out, was ejected from the cockpit, his parachute opening automatically.

Covered with blood and unconscious, he floated down on the exercise yard of Hsintung Junior High School in Hsinying. After receiving first aid from a phys. ed. teacher who happened to be there at the time, he was transferred at once to Taipei Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei for further treatment.

Despair: It was more than a month before he came to. After 14 surgical operations, major and minor, his left leg couldn't be saved and was amputated below the kneecap. Hsu couldn't accept the fact of being a "cripple." He became mentally disturbed and more than once tried to kill himself. When his wife, Sheng Ta-min, found she couldn't make him see the light with affection and tenderness, she finally presented him with an ultimatum: She pretended she wanted a divorce. That finally snapped him out of it. He had been on the verge of a breakdown.

With the encouragement of his wife and doctors, Hsu worked hard at rehabilitation and gradually recovered in physique. Besides them, another person who helped him fight his way back was Cheng Teh-yi, who was left paraplegic, also because of an air accident.

Cheng became paralyzed in 1970 because of a parachute failure when he bailed out of his F-86 fighter. Relying on grit and determination, he faced up to reality and entered the military foreign language school, where he acquired an excellent command of both English and Japanese.

After learning about Hsu's accident, Cheng rushed to Tri-Service General and had no sooner met him than he blurted out, "You're really lucky, brother! You only lost a leg, while I can't move half my body." It was a sharp rebuke that taught Hsu to face life optimistically.

Deliverance: With Cheng's help and encouragement, Hsu audited classes at the foreign-language school too. His rigorous training there has made him fully qualified for translation work in air force history, which requires a strong grasp of English.

With his prosthetic leg, Hsu looks no different in appearance from ordinary people. He took up sports he had previously enjoyed such as swimming, table tennis and jogging. He has run the 100 meters in 21 seconds and the 5K in 21 minutes.

His passage from death to life has made Hsu do a lot of thinking. He frequently writes articles in the newspaper and reports to his superiors with suggestions, based on his own experiences, for improving the military's accident compensation and rehabilitation system. He regularly contacts bereaved families on his own initiative to help them fight for the treatment they deserve.

Hsu, who holds to no particular religious faith, believes that God, by preserving his life, has charged him with a special responsibility. Enabling the souls of those who have given their lives in service with the air force to rest in peace and helping those they have left behind to carry on without material hardship is his new life ambition.

(Wei Hung-chin/tr. by Peter Eberly)

Wu Tsai-hsi: Taiwas Ace Flyer

The Wu family of Hsinchu's Tamaopu is legendary in the air force. Beginning with Wu Tsai-hsi, this farming family has now produced a total of four flyers.

Wu Tsai-hsi was a U-2 spy plane pilot. His younger brother, Wu Tsai-chi, was deputy head of air force intelligence when discharged from active service; his cousin, Wu Hsin-chi, was lost in 1969 flying an F-100 over Penghu; his uncle, Wu Wan-chi, is at present working for China Airlines. All of them entered the air force thanks to the influence of Wu Tsai-hsi.

A heart set on flying: Wu Tsai-hsi was born in 1935, between the two world wars. As a young boy he became very interested in the allied and Japanese planes that frequently flew overhead.

Gazing up at the sky, Wu Tsai-hsi longed to soar up into the heavens in an airplane. On one occasion, when he had the chance to see the Japanese air force base in Hsinchu, he surreptitiously sneaked away with part of an airplane cover.

Wu Tsai-hsi did not come from a wealthy home and early every morning he would have to help with various farming jobs. But he was very advanced, frequently memorizing English while he was carrying water during his junior-high school days. This tough raising in English was another reason why, later on, apart from his flying skills, he also stood out enough to be selected to go to the United States to be trained as a U-2 spy plane pilot.

With his dedication towards flying, after graduation from junior high school, Wu Tsai-hsi passed the examinations to enter the N. C. O. class of aviation mechanics school. In 1954, he fulfilled his dreams when he graduated into flying school.

"He had a kind of craze about flying," describes his brother, Wu Tsai-yao, recalling how Tsai-hsi used to lie on his bed moving his arms and legs as though flying a plane. His brain was just full of flying.

The rewards of ambition: Perhaps it was because Wu Tsai-hsi just loved flying too much that fate decided to literally give his life to it.

On February 17, 1966, Wu was flying his U-2 back from a mission over mainland China when he was pursued by 30 Communist Mig fighter planes, which he only threw off on reaching the Taiwan Strait. As he came to select a landing field he hit a snag: The cloud was too low at Taichung's Chingchuankang airfield, so he changed course to Shuinan. However, because the runway was too short and he made a wrong estimate, he crashed and lost his life. He had only been married eight months, and his son, Wu Hsing-hua, was born 42 days later.

Because Wu Tsai-hsi's flying skills had been so outstanding, he had also been selected to be a member of the air force's elite Thunder Tigers and sent to the Philippines to perform at an international flying show. It was in 1964 that he was chosen to train as a U-2 spy plane pilot in the United States. It was such remarkable performances that made Wu Tsai-hsi Taiwan's ace pilot. He was highly praised by former President Chiang Ching-kuo when Chiang became deputy Defense Minister, and is seen as a glorious figure in his hometown.

Village glory: After his death, the government changed the name of the Hsinchu elementary air force school to "Tsai-hsi Elementary." Local people also named the concrete bridge connecting Tamaopu with Chumen after him as a memorial. Chiang ching-kuo gave him the epitaph "Loyal and Righteous Professional" and shed tears at his funeral.

Looking out from the old Wu house, the deep blue sky you see is the same sky in which Wu Tsai-hsi used to fly. Because of his love for home, he would often fly his plane back over the village. "Everyone would look at him flying back and wave at him," recalls Wu Tsai-yao. The last time he flew back was just three days before his death, turning two circles over his old home before roaring off.

Today, his 82-year-old father, Wu Wan-hsuan, looks out from the door into the great void. Is it the image of his soaring son that appears in his mind's eye?

(Wei Hung-chin/tr. by Christopher Hughes)

Kao Ying: An Eaglet with Broken Wings

Like many other air warriors whose ambition lies in the blue sky, Kao Ying, born in 1958, loved airplanes ever since he was little. His father, Kao Chih-hsin, recalls, "He loved to make all kinds of paper airplanes when he was a boy."

I'm going to fly! Kao Ying was a diligent cadet at the Air Force Academy and made strict demands on himself. His grade in flying was first in his class one academic period, and when he came in second another time he was upset. He thought he had performed poorly and "let down his parents."

A sterling young officer was about to be born, but by a grim twist of fate, Kao Ying became a noble young spirit who gave his life before his ambition could be rewarded.

On September 9, 1981, Kao Ying and his flight instructor boarded a Model 090 T-33 trainer plane to carry out takeoff instruction. Shortly after takeoff, there was an engine failure. Due to insufficient altitude, Kao Ying's parachute failed to open completely and he fell to his death on the academy airfield. The instructor survived with severe injuries.

I once flew! Kao Ying had completed all his courses and was just two months away from graduation when the accident occurred. His father pleaded constantly with the school and with related units to award his beloved son, who had died before taking the final exam, the academy diploma that he had so longed for in his short, young life and the flying eagle badge that symbolizes a pilot has earned his wings. Unfortunately, the only answer he received was "not in conformance with regulations."

With the years, Kao Chih-hsin has gradually lost hope. What remains unchanged is that he and his wife still make the trip to the air force cemetery at Pitan every week and change the flowers on his grave.

Eleven years have passed, and the Kao's still can't help weeping when they talk about their beloved boy and his unfulfilled ambition. Perhaps Kao Ying's spirit, cut short before its time, also sighs at being unable to wear the badge that symbolizes that the eaglet has grown into a full-fledged eagle!

[Picture Caption]

Hsu Teh-ying, reborn from the flames, shows his from on the athletic field. (photo by Pu Hua-chih)

Hsu's wife, Sheng Ta-min, has been his constant support. The picture shows them while he was still flying. (photo courtesy of Hsu Teh-ying)

Lamenting the past--son, where have you gone? (photo by Chiu Jui-chin)

Wu Tsai-hsi's valiant demeanor can be glimpsed from old photographs. (photo courtesy of Wu Tsai-yao)

Flying was a dream Kao Ying died while realizing. (photo courtesy of Kao Chih-hsin)

Hsu's wife, Sheng Ta-min, has been his constant support. The picture shows them while he was still flying. （photo courtesy of Hsu Teh-ying）

Lamenting the past--son, where have you gone? （photo by Chiu Jui-chin）

Wu Tsai-hsi's valiant demeanor can be glimpsed from old photographs. （photo courtesy of Wu Tsai-yao）

Flying was a dream Kao Ying died while realizing. （photo courtesy of Kao Chih-hsin）