Julius A. Barr (1905-1939) was born in Normal, Illinois and spent time as a personal pilot to Chinese military figures Zhang Xueliang (also known as the "Young Marshal" and "Peter Chang") and General Chiang Kai-shek in the mid-1930s. The collection contains a photograph album with three hundred and thirty-nine (339) black-and-white photographs, most likely taken by Barr, covering his time in China.

The collection includes photographs and assorted reunion publications, circa 1940s, related to the American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers" collected by AVG member Jesse R. Crookshanks.

The Flying Tigers Association Collection consists of textual and visual materials related to the First American Volunteer Group (AVG), also known as the "Flying Tigers," from World War II. Materials from various members include logs, correspondence, identity cards, and photographic prints. Most of the material is from dates of active service, 1941-1942, but some items are commemorative, primarily lithographs and reunion materials, circa 1990s.

Robert McCawley Short (1904-1932) was born in Steilacoom, Washington and worked in China as chief instructor at China's School for Military Air Tactics from 1931-1932. The collection contains licenses, financial documents, correspondence, photographs, ephemera, biographical materials, and clippings related to Short's brief time in China. Additionally, the collection has photographs, ephemera, and correspondence related to the identification and preservation of his memorial.