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Nearly eight decades ago, on April 18, 1942, a band of airmen known as the Doolittle Raiders lined the deck of the USS Hornet in their B-25 Mitchell bombers, riding the uneasy waves of the Pacific Ocean. Readying to strike the heart of the mighty Japanese Empire - Tokyo - these bold and innovative airmen took the fight to an enemy who had earlier attacked the Hawaiian Islands. The airmen focused their surprise offense with what they had available to them, 16 medium bombers outfitted with just four 500 pound bombs; they chose to strike the enemy’s heart in aviation’s...

(Photo credit United State Air Force) Sad news—the last Doolittle Raider has died. Lt. Col. Richard Cole passed away Monday at the age of 103. Cole was the final surviving member of the daring raid on Tokyo by carrier-launched B-25s. As I wrote for his 100th birthday in 2015: Col. Richard Cole was the co-pilot of "Crew 1," which means he sat alongside Col. Jimmy Doolittle at the tip of the tip of the American spear aimed at Imperial Japan. The Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942, was a virtual suicide mission. It was a daring sea-launched bombing mission...

Just wondering if that would have put a halt to the Japanese aggression and given them a sense of what they were up against and what we were willing to do. Could it have saved thousands of American lives in the South Pacific? As an alternative history buff I’m curious about the opinions here.

On April 18, 1942 - 75 years ago Tuesday - 80 incredibly brave men in 16 bombers took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet to bomb Tokyo and other Japanese cities in retaliation for the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. It was called the Doolittle Raid, after the group’s charismatic leader, Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, a renowned avaiator even before the war. Doolittle’s B-25 was the first to take off from the Hornet. Sitting beside him was a quiet, lanky young man from Dayton, Ohio, named Dick Cole. On Tuesday, the 101-year-old will be at the National Museum of...

My Review and Build of Trumpeter Kit #05309, 1/350 New Orleans Class Heavy Cruiser, USS Vincennes, CA-45 REVIEW & BUILD, Doolittle Raid Vessel Note: You can see all the pictures in highest resolution at My USS Vincennes, CA-44, Flickr Album, or you can cloick on any of the pictures here and get a higher resoultion image. New Orleans Class Heavy Cruisers The New Orleans-class cruisers were a class of seven heavy cruisers built for the United States Navy (USN) from 1933–36. All of them were put into commission bb 1938. They were succeeded by the Baltimore Class Heavy cruisers...but the...

My Review and Build of Dragon Kit #1027, 1/350 Gleaves Class Destroyer, USS Grayson, DD-435 REVIEW & BUILD, Doolittle Raid Vessel Gleaves Class Destroyers The Gleaves-class destroyers were a class of 66 destroyers of the United States Navy built from 1938–42. They were designed by Gibbs & Cox. and these were the main production destroyers of the US Navy when it entered World War II. The succeeded the Benson class of which 30 were built before and into World War II. They were initially meant to be a part of a 24-ship class authorized for 1938–40. Bethlehem Shipbuilding, whichhad been...

One week after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt began pressing the U.S. military to immediately strike the Japanese homeland. The desire to bolster moral became more urgent in light of rapid Japanese advances. These included victories in Malaya, Singapore, the Philippines, Wake Island, Guam, and the Dutch East Indies, as well as sinking the British battleships Prince of Wales and Repulse. Only improbable, audacious ideas warranted consideration, because submarines confirmed Japan placed picket boats at extreme carrier aircraft range. One idea even involved launching four engine heavy bombers from China or Outer Mongolia to strike Japan and fly on to Alaska....

Richard E. Cole On Monday, one of the last two surviving members of the WWII “Doolitte Raiders” will celebrate his 100th birthday. As one of the original Doolittle Raiders, retired Lt. Col. Richard Coledefied all the odds in what was considered a suicide mission to bomb Japan in 1942. Mr. Cole was co-pilot for Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, who led 16 B-25 bombers on the mission that is considered an event that changed the nation’s morale following the devastating attack on Pearl harbor. He was one of 80 fighters who volunteered for the dangerous, top-secret mission. The Raiders planned...

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...

WARBIRD RADIO - The National Museum of the United States Air Force along with the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders announced this morning that the U.S. Air Force will host the famed Doolittle Tokyo Raiders’ final toast to their fallen comrades during an invitation-only ceremony on Nov. 9 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. On April 18, 1942, 80 men achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. Led by Lt. Col. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, these men came to be known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders. Today,...

Edward Saylor still vividly remembers the Chinese boy who helped save his life. In the days after his plane crashed into the waters just off China’s coast, Mr. Saylor, now 92, and four other Doolittle Tokyo Raiders were desperate and hungry — but they had survived a daring mission that was America’s first military strike against the Imperial Japanese homeland, four months after the infamous sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. “The thought hits you, where you’re at, what you’ve got to do. … We don’t speak the language, what do we do now? That’s what was going through our heads,”...

On Monday, the nation honored Col. William M. Bower, the last surviving pilot of the April 18, 1942, Doolittle Raid, the risky surprise attack on the Japanese home islands that bolstered American morale in the early, tragic months of World War II. Col. Bower died Jan. 10 at age 93 and was laid to rest Monday at Arlington National Cemetery. The Doolittle Raid was one of the gutsiest calls ever made by a president. Shortly after the Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a directive that the United States hit the Japanese homeland as soon as...

It was an exciting time for us. My unit was the first to receive the new B-25 medium bomber. When I saw it for the first time I was in awe. It looked so huge. It was so sleek and powerful. The guys started calling it the "rocket plane", and I could hardly wait to get my hands on it.

The Rev. Jacob Daniel "Jake" DeShazer, who was the oldest survivor of World War II's historic Doolittle Raid on Japan, died Saturday, March 15, 2008, at his home in Salem. He was 95. DeShazer stood out among the 80 Doolittle Raiders, 11 of whom are still alive. After spending 40 months post-raid as a prisoner of war, he returned to Japan intent on forgiving his former captors and converting them to Christianity. Over 30 years, he helped start 23 churches in Japan. Born Nov. 15, 1912, in Madras to a wheat-farming family, DeShazer graduated from Madras High School in 1931....

Republican Rep. John Doolittle barely won re-election in his suburban-mountain district east of Sacramento last November even though his party holds an immense (18-percentage-point) voter advantage, thanks to a torrent of revelations about his unseemly relationship with disgraced Washington influence-peddler Jack Abramoff. In the six months since the election, the news has gotten even worse for Doolittle, including an FBI raid on his suburban Washington home, apparently seeking documents about that relationship, and reports that Kevin Ring, a former Doolittle aide who later went to work for Abramoff, is talking to federal prosecutors. Doolittle has stepped down -- temporarily, he...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. ...................................................................................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel...

Dear Lord, There's a young man far from home, called to serve his nation in time of war; sent to defend our freedom on some distant foreign shore. We pray You keep him safe, we pray You keep him strong, we pray You send him safely home ... for he's been away so long. There's a young woman far from home, serving her nation with pride. Her step is strong, her step is sure, there is courage in every stride. We pray You keep her safe, we pray You keep her strong, we pray You send her safely home...

<p>An old adage says, "the more things change the more they stay the same." Some argue that today this maxim is irrelevant, but with war, it's undeniable.</p> <p>Sixty years ago this past week — April 18 to be precise — Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle led 79 U.S. Army airmen in 16 Army B-25 aircraft from the deck of the Navy carrier, the USS Hornet. Their mission: bomb five Japanese cities — including Tokyo, the Imperial capital — in the first U.S. counterattack of World War II. The parallels between that attack and the first battle in the first war of the 21st century are remarkable.</p>