Beijing, Sep 2 (IANS): Veterans of the US "Flying Tigers" air squadron, which helped the Chinese fight the Japanese during World War II, have backed China's V-Day parade as an opportunity to commemorate the conflict and pay tribute to those killed.

International reaction to the parade has been mixed, with some media questioning the political intentions behind it.

"I do believe that a military parade or a military demonstration following a conflict is necessary," Xinhua quoted Flying Tigers member Allen Larsen at a Wednesday press conference ahead of the parade on Thursday.

"It is important to recognize those who participated in the conflict, some of whom never came back," he said.

Catherine Stevens, widow of Ted Stevens, who served in the squadron, said the parade would demonstrate Chinese progress since wartime. "I can understand why it is the way to celebrate, since China had so little at the time of the war. They seemed to have everything imported: aircraft, ships...."

"I'm assuming it's an opportunity for the Chinese people to show how far they've come in 70 years as they also remember the war," Stevens said.

Many foreign war heroes and their relatives will attend the commemoration parade in Beijing.