CHENGDU, June 23 -- A Chinese American donated 358 objects related to the Flying Tigers, a U.S. air squadron that helped the Chinese fight Japanese aggressors during World War II.

Pedro Chan donated pieces including military uniform, letters, fly sheets, magazines and personal items, to the Chengdu Museum in Sichuan Province, southwest China, on Tuesday.

Chan, whose ancestral home is in Guangdong Province, heard stories about the Flying Tigers when he was growing up in Macao.

He began to collect WWII memorabilia in 2007 and has donated more than 7,000 items to the National Library and museums across China, most of them related to the Flying Tigers.

The American Volunteer Group (AVG), nicknamed the Flying Tigers afterwards, was formed in 1941.