The Flying Tigers (1942)

Synopsis
The Flying Tigers were a group of American volunteer aviators, flying against the Japanese on behalf of General Claire Chennault and Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek in the months just prior to World War II. John Wayne is the most responsible of the bunch, and John Carroll the least. It's bad enough that Carroll tries to beat Wayne's time with pretty Red Cross nurse Anna Lee; but when Carroll's negligence results in the death of veteran-flyer Paul Kelly, the man becomes a pariah to the rest of the pilots. In a picture like this, the only way a man like Carroll can redeem himself is go on a suicidal mission. Unable to serve in World War II due to health reasons, John Wayne spent the duration licking the Japanese and the Germans in front of a Republic Studios process screen. Flying Tigers was Wayne's first war picture, almost immediately followed by The Fighting Seabees, in which it is Wayne who is the goof-off who must redeem himself by dying nobly in battle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide