Yunnan Province: Robert Mooney Memorial

Updated: Sep 26

First Lieutenant Robert H. Mooney was a fighter pilot from Kansas City who came to China after Pearl Harbor.

Stationed at Yunnanyi, where my grandfather was also based, he shot down two Japanese planes heading for the base the day after Christmas in 1942.

One was a bomber, part of a 9-bomber formation.

After he pulled away from the initial attack and shot down a bomber, he went after a Japanese fighter.

The Oscar blew up, but Mooney's P-40 was also in bad shape.

However, Mooney was able to pilot his heavily-damaged fighter away from the towns of Xiangyun and Yunnanyi before bailing out in the hills.

Sadly, he bailed out too late; he later died from his head wounds, which were either from leaving the plane or from when he landed.

The local townspeople built a monument to him on a hill, and I felt so fortunate our guide, Frank, was able to find it.

Located near the Qinghua Caves, we walked up a number of steps, through the typical red dirt of Yunnan, past a pagoda, and back into a forest.

People are still bringing flowers to the Robert Mooney Memorial to this day, 83 years later.

Mooney is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

His father is also said to have built a replica of his monument in Lexington, Missouri.

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