America's Story (part 17) - The Last of the Doolittle Raiders

smithsk.blogspot.com ^ | 11 April 2015 | smithsk

[NEWwoman]

wikipedia/Doolittle Raider RL Hite blindfolded by Japanese 1942

Ever hear of the Doolittle Raiders?

On Sunday, March 29, 2015, one of the last of the Doolittle Raiders, Robert Hite, passed away at 95.   [reference:  Robert Hite, 95, Survivor of Doolittle Raid and Japanese Imprisonment, Dies - NYTimes.com ]

And his obituary included the photo, shown above in this public domain picture.  And it can be found on wikipedia with the following description:

U.S. Army Air Force Lt. Robert L. Hite, blindfolded by his captors, is led from a Japanese transport plane after he and the other seven flyers were flown from Shanghai to Tokyo. Hite was co-pilot of crew 16 (B-25B s/n 40-2268 Bat out of Hell, 34th Bomb Squadron) of the "Doolittle Raiders". After about 45 days in Japan, all eight were taken back to China by ship and imprisoned in Shanghai. On 15 October 1942 three were executed, one died in captivity. The four others, including Hite, were liberated on 20 August 1945.

And here's some background to this story.

December 7, 1941  

The Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, caught America by surprise and the country was not prepared for war.

Below is an inspiring clip for the Pearl Harbor (2001), where FDR gathered his top advisers to come up with plan to strike back at the heart of Japan.

(reference:  https://youtu.be/PFhY6IaUJ40 )

The Doolittle Raid

In the clip above, the scene ends with the entrance of Captain Francis S. "Frog" Low.  This submarine officer formed an ingenious strategy, launching army bombers from an aircraft carrier.  This gave birth to the Doolittle Raid.

* Spring of 1942

Those early days of the war, American moral was at its nadir.  Imperial Japanese forces in the Pacific had pushed American troops into retreat.  Many men were lost in the fall of the Philippines, culminating in the infamous Bataan Death March.

* April 18, 1942 

Meanwhile, Lt. Colonel James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle trained and lead a crew of 80 to strike back.  So on April 18, 1942, sixteen B-25s took off from the desk of the USS Hornet, 650 miles south of Japan.
    

For more about this, read:  Doolittle Tokyo Raiders - Official Web Site of the Raiders

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo became the title of the book (1943) written by Ted Lawson and the movie (1944)  as shown in this clip below:

( reference: https://youtu.be/laLYsAUu1-0 )

Those critical 30 seconds, April 18, 1942, was a great moral boost for America.  Though the war would not end for three more years, September 1945, the Doolittle Raid gave hope that we could win.

For a list of the 80 men that took part in the raid, 5 men in each of the 16 planes, check out:  Doolittle Raider 80 Brave Men

The sacrifice 

Here are the causalities of the brave men who suffered and gave their lives:

* One man, Faktor, was killed on a bail-out after the mission

* Two men, Fitzmaurice and Dieter, drown in a crash landing off the China coast

* Eight men, Hallmark, Meder, Nielsen, Farrow, Hite, Barr, Spatz, and DeShazer,
     were captured by the Japanese:
     *  Three men executed by firing squad:  Hallmark, Farrow, and Spatz
     *  One died as a POW from malnutrition, Meder
     *  The remaining four, Nielsen, Hite, Barr, and DeShazer,
          survived 40 months of prison,
          most of which was in solitary confinement
     *  And Hite lived till 95, passing away March 29, 2015

* Capt. Ted W. Lawson  survived his plane's crash off the coast of China.
    Though the underground rescued him, his injured leg had to be amputated.
     He lived to write the book, turned movie:  Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo

Now only two of the original Doolittle Raiders survive as I type (April 11, 2015):  retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher.

* April 12, 1945

FDR would not live to see the allied victory over Europe or Japan, as he died on April 12, 1945.  But this Commander-in-Chief, struggling with a debilitating handicap, gave courage to the country to carry on, to take risks, to do what it takes to win, and to never give up during dark days.

And the Doolittle Raid is part of America's story.

[NEWwoman]

You may be right, yarddog.

But I think back to Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas 1776. The American revolution was at its nadir and really the raid on Trenton wasn’t much. But it was a great moral booster.

[MrEdd]

When I was in public schools (in Tulsa back in the sixties) the Doolittle raids were part of the bare bones out line of world War two taught to elementary students. In high school we had a course on military history of the western world.

It is mind boggling that people can get a college degree now with no knowledge of this, or Corrigador, or the Bataan death march or the battle of the Hurtgen Forest.

I would imagine that they can't outline the Great War or the Spanish American War either.

As for me, I took up war gaming after ordering a subscription to Simulations Publications’ Strategy & Tactics magazine in seventh grade.

I went into the Marines at seventeen, got out after the Soviet collapse, and am now trying to replace my library with an electronic book library so I can change to a more mobile lifestyle.

[NEWwoman]

Amazing, FatherofFive, what can be accomplished when we are united and have a heart to win.

[NEWwoman]

Thanks for the kind words, GreyFriar

[NEWwoman]

Wow! razorback-bert

What a privilege to witness a part of history.

[X-spurt]

It was good to see again! Lots of B-25 film footage.

Being a VJ Day newby, I grew up hearing and reading all about Doolittle and the Raid. I feel like I knew all those guys.

In my book the best airplane ever built was the B-25. A few years ago I was privileged to get a ride on one at an air show. What a thrill! It was so easy to imagine being in one of the 25’s taking off that day in the Pacific on a most incredible adventure.

If I hit the Lotto, first thing I do is buy me a B-25!

[DuncanWaring]

The original plan was to launch several hundred miles closer, but they ran into a Japanese fishing boat (which they immediately sunk) and were concerned their presence was announced.

Really didn’t want to lose the Hornet.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

Some of the pictures in the movie were footage of the actual take off. In the real world the raid caused Japan to bring back aircraft squadrons from the then front to guard the homeland.

[yarddog]

Yes the fishing boat or maybe it was a patrol craft did in fact send a message but for some reason the Japanese did not take any action.

That extra 500 miles was probably critical too.

[yarddog]

The Raiders trained at Field 2 on Eglin. It was not far from where I grew up in rural Walton County.

It was pretty much out in the sticks away from everything.

[rlmorel]

One of my favorite scenes:

[rlmorel]

They didn’t take action because they thought they had a lot of time. They thought the American carriers would need another day or so.to get close enough to launch their carrier based planes.

[DuncanWaring]

Ping.

[onedoug]

Read Lawson’s book when I was about ten (1960). Still surviving David Thatcher was part of his crew.

Thanks so much for posting.

[zot]

Thanks for the ping. Only two of eighty...

[X-spurt]

30 Seconds being made in 44, even the movie set 25’s were authentic, probably the crews were regular 25 crews.

The Hornet footage, especially of Doolittle’s taking off fantastic.

Someone once said they imagined those boys were freaked out at take off, I say No, they were peein in the their pants excited with the thought of being first to bomb Japan.

[NEWwoman]

How interesting. I seem to remember that remote training site from the movie.

[NEWwoman]

Thanks for the kind word, onedoug. I understand only two raiders are left. Sergeant Thatcher and Lt. Co. Cole. The greatest generation is passing away.

[yarddog]

On some show they had a pilot who owned his own B-25 try to take off in the same distance Doolittle’s pilots did.

He did not even come close to making it.

The pilot explained that they had the advantage of the ship’s speed plus wind at sea can be pretty strong. Also he said they had 115 octane fuel back then.

[Flag_This]

"Also he said they had 115 octane fuel back then."

Doolittle pushed the Army Air Force to adopt 100 octane fuel in the 30s. He also convinced the British to use it and the higher octane fuel was one of the contributing factors to the RAF's success against the Germans during the Battle of Britain.