On Sunday. more than 60 years after serving as a Flying Tiger lighter pilot in World War ll. Glen Beneda returned to China to offer eternal gratitude to the men and women who saved his life by donating a glass coolie hat crafted by Jewels Durham of Ferndale to China’s newly opened Flying Tiger Memorial Museum.

Dedication to detail and storytell-ing is what led Beneda’s granddaughter, Janiel Rudy, to select Durham to craft a piece that would tell the story of Beneda’s experience with as much emotion as the former pilot. “When I first talked with her, l immediately got a sense of her enthusiasm and passion and I told my folks I think she’s the one.”

In order to come up with the design for this piece Jewels relied on photos given to her by Beneda’s daughter-in-law and other items from her own research. She first drew the unique markings of the Flying Tiger Squadron’s Bengal Tiger logo on paper then painstakingly sand-etched the designs into the layered glass. By carefully managing the depth of cut Jewels was able to control the variation in color and 3D appearance of her design.

Original article written by Megan Claflin October 13, 2010, Ferndal Record, Ferndale, WA
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