Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Celebrate 64th Anniversary

American Forces Press Service ^ | Steven Donald Smith

[Lion in Winter]

SandRat, Thank you so very much for posting this wonderful thread. I appreciate this information so much.

Lion.

[Lion in Winter]

Please, Come read about the heroes!!

[PzLdr]

The Doolittle Raid led directly to the Japanese attack on Midway [it allowed Yamamoto to ride roughshod over opponents of the plan], and set the stage for the turning point of the Pacific War, and our eventual victory. Japan never recovered from Midway.

[Uncle George]

Excuse my tears as I read of these REAL AMERICAN HEROS. I recall as a boy the news of the attack and I also cried then.

[investigateworld]

God bless'em all bump!

[righttackle44]

"As an FYI, David Thatcher is the last surviving crew member of the B-25 "Ruptured Duck", commanded by Captain Ted Lawson, (the author of "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" which the movie of the same name was based upon)."

I've read "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" many, many times since I was a boy, and watch the movie every time it comes on.

All the raiders were great men.

(I have not served. My tagline honors my son and my cousin.)

[mkjessup]

A beginning thought this morning, it occurred to me last night that there was something bothering me about the coverage of the Doolittle Raid by the media, and it was something that had been irking me for a while now and the sudden application of coffee finally brought things into focus about something that needs to be emphasized as even the American Forces Press Service has slipped into this trap:

"The raid achieved little in terms of damage inflicted on Japan..."

While technically true as to the damage wrought against Japan's military-industrial base, one issue seldom addressed is the fact that after the Doolittle Raid, Japan was forced to divert military resources to the defense of the Japanese Home Islands, as Doolittle and his men had proven that the United States was capable of striking Japan from the air in any way, and at any time. Japan had no way of knowing when the next attack could take place, and the militarists in charge could not risk that the Japanese people might begin to doubt all their propaganda about the invincibility of Japan.

So when we hear or read that canned claptrap about "The Doolittle Raid didn't inflict a lot of damage", we can solidly respond that it wasn't how many targets got blown up that counted, it was the fact that Japan's warlords were proven to have weaknesses, Doolittle's Raiders exploited those weaknesses with a swift kick to the Nipponese groin, and the Japs had no choice but to double over and protect their family jewels until Colonel Tibbets and Major Sweeney came calling in August 1945.

I am astounded that after 64 years, there has been no initiative to make the anniversary of the Doolittle Raid a national holiday.

Those brave crews deserve that, and more.

[Swordmaker]

My father was involved in the Doolittle raid... and, although not named, is mentioned in "30 Seconds Over Tokyo". In the book, the aircraft and crews were at McClellan Army Air Base north of Sacramento. They were there to have the final fine tuning of the engines (and whole engine replacement if ANYTHING was found wrong) before being flown to be loaded on the Hornet.

In the book, Lawson tells of being very upset when the crews were revving the engines beyond the manufacturer's specs while the planes were chocked and cabled to the ground. If I recall, they still had not been told what they were going to attempt to accomplish... especially the part about taking off in about a third of the distance the plane's manufacturer said was necessary, although they had already been practicing very short take-offs. Lawson was upset about the small rocks and dust that the engines were picking up and throwing against the planes and perhaps nicking the props. He complained to the ground crew chief... that ground crew chief was my Dad. He was the one in the cockpit revving the engines while his crew was checking for unusual vibrations, etc.

A couple of years before Dad died at age 85, he and I were at the Air Museum at McClellen and found pictures of his crew with the "Ruptured Duck" and other B-25 Mitchell bombers they had worked on displayed. My Dad called over one of the docents at the museum and proudly pointed to himself in the picture saying "That's me!" and asked if they would be interested in the names of the others in the picture. The docent called the museum's curator and Dad provided them with names and stories of the men in that picture and many others.

Later, my Dad also worked on the Enola Gay and a couple of the chase planes that followed her over Hiroshima. One of the chase planes was brought back to McClellan after flying through the mushroom cloud and a close friend of Dad's who lived about five houses down from us, picked up a rag in the back of the plane and wiped grease off his hands. Some nerdy types going over the plane with geiger counters yelled at him... grabbed him and took him out and literally scrubbed the skin off of his hands. Later (like 20 years) Dad's friend developed large and varied tumors on both hands... he outlived my Dad though.

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[Dog Gone]

Great account of the unsung heroes of WWII

[righttackle44]

". . .it was the fact that Japan's warlords were proven to have weaknesses, . . ."

The Japanese were in constant retreat after this--they did not win major battles. The ancestors in heaven were stampeded.

[JOE43270]

"Also, just in case you did not know this, he was shot down over North Africa in late 1942 and was a prisoner in a Stalag. He was also awarded a medal for his escape attempts. You have heard of the GREAT ESCAPE MOVIE, haven't you?"

Yes, I did find out about this years after I met him. Your right about the way you speak of General Jones, He earned the two stars though he was a GREAT GUY. He took some special time with us. That's the way I feel about everytime he stopped and talked with me. He did a lot for America that many people don't even know about.

[Lion in Winter]

My daughter still says he was so handsome and tall and a great dancer!!

I just wish we had a picture of the event.