Blood chit

Help me and we will help you.A blood chit (Chinese: 血幅; pinyin: xuè fú) is a notice carried by military personnel and addressed to any civilians who may come across an armed-services member – such as a shot-down pilot – in difficulties.

"Chit" is a British English term for a small document, note or pass, representing a debt to be paid; it is an Anglo-Indian word dating from the late 18th century, derived from Hindi citthi.

[2] The first blood chit may have been made in 1793 when French balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard demonstrated his hot air balloon in the United States.

When the U.S. officially entered World War II in December 1941, flight crew survival kits included blood chits printed in 50 different languages that sported an American flag and promised a reward for a safe return of a pilot.

These recent government-issue items are a small sheet of Tyvek material [7] with an American flag and a statement in several languages indicating that the U.S. will reward anyone assisting the bearer to safety.

The main area of the document is printed in three columns with the same text in 15 Asian languages, including Malay, Burmese, Tamil, Thai and Bengali.

[10] Peter de la Billière also recounted that all RAF aircrew were issued with "£800 in gold, to facilitate escape in case of trouble, and also a chit written in Arabic which promised that Her Majesty’s Government would pay the sum of £5000 to anyone who returned an airman intact to the Allies.

"[11] Former Special Air Service Sergeant Chris Ryan also received the same type of chit and gave it to a Syrian driver during his escape from Iraq.

A "blood chit" issued to the American Volunteer Group Flying Tigers . The Chinese characters read: "This foreigner has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue and protect him". (R.E. Baldwin Collection)
Leaflet depicting an American aviator opening his flight jacket to show a Chinese farmer his "blood chit" in the form of an American flag. An arrow points to the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater of War insignia
A blood chit used by UN pilots during the Korean War . ( Australian War Memorial )

The text (in Chinese , Korean , Japanese , and English ) says:

I am an American (UNITED NATIONS) pilot. My plane has been shot down and I am helpless, but I want to get back and fight again for the peace of the world and your country.

If you will help me and yourselves by getting me to the nearest American unit, my Government will reward you. Help me and we will help you.

World War II leather blood chit (for flying jacket ) with US and Republic of China flags- translation: "This foreigner (United States) has come to China to help in the war effort. Soldiers and civilians, one and all, should rescue, protect, and provide him with medical care."
Blood chit issued to RAF Aircrew during the Gulf War 1991