The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Doolittle Raid (4/18/1942)

Should have left it up?...And miss my opportunity to innocently get a zing in, lol. No way. It was fate. :)

Good night all.

Good Night Snippy. Thanks for finding those goblets for us.

I thought I saw that you were going to AL this weekend?

Yeah, Easter Sunday.

Have fun!

If you haven't seen the movie, staring Van Johnson "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" as an adult, I recommend all see it. The movie has a lot of B25 shots and actual footage from the mission. The way the movie is made, it is difficult to tell when the movie footage cuts to the actual footage. Great movie.

I should go and rent it. It's been years and years since I've seen it.

Oil for food program corruption mash here

Stats on UN Oil for Food program Stats posted here

Thanks for the links GailA. Anything the U.N. runs is nothing but a scam.

Do that and let me know what you think. Also if you like movies, back to back, watch the movie "Always" about the areo-firefighters and then watch "A Guy Named Joe" on which "Always" is based on. You may have to buy "A Guy Named Joe", which again has Van Johnson, Spencer Tracy, and Ward Bond.

THanks for the great pictures of the 82nd in Afghanistan, SAMWolf. Those guys are simply awesome.

I've seen both "Always" and "A Guy Named Joe". I liked "Always" better I think maybe just cuz it's the newer one

Cast List Van Johnson ... Lt. Ted Lawson
Robert Walker ... Cpl. David Thatcher
Tim Murdock ... Lt. Dean Davenport
Don DeFore ... Lt. Charles McClure
Phyllis Thaxter ... Ellen Lawson
Stephen McNally ... Lt. Thomas 'Doc' White
John R. Reilly ... Lt. Jacob 'Shorty' Manch
Robert Mitchum ... Lt. Bob Gray
Scott McKay ... Capt. Davey Jones
Donald Curtis ... Lt. Randall
Louis Jean Heydt ... Navy Lt. Henry Miller
Douglas Cowan ... Lt. Everett 'Brick' Holstrm
Paul Langton ... Capt. Edward 'Ski' York
Leon Ames ... Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Jurika
Bill Williams ... Ens. Bud Fenton
Robert Bice ... Ens. 'Jig' White
Dr. Hsin Kung ... Old Dr. Chung
Benson Fong ... Young Dr. Chung
Ching Wah Lee ... Guerrilla Charlie
Alan Napier ... Mr. Parker
Ann Shoemaker ... Mrs. Parker
Dorothy Morris ... Jane
Jacqueline White ... Emmy York
Selena Royle ... Mrs. Reynolds
Spencer Tracy ... Gen. James Doolittle
William 'Bill' Phillips ... Lt. Don Smith
Morris Ankrum
Blake Edwards ... Officer
Herbert Gunn ... Lt. Bob Clever
Eddie Hall ... Joe
John Kellogg ... Pilot
Charles King ... Sailor
Jack McClendon ... Dick Joyce
Walter Sande ... General
Arthur Space ... Deck Officer Gordon Trigg ... Bit Part
Peter Varney ... Spike Henderson
Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams ... Bit Part
Steve Brodie ... MP
Ralph Brooks ... Sailor
Wally Cassell ... Sailor
Luke Chan ... Chinese Runner
Edith Leach ... Girl
Mary Chan ... School Teacher

Director(s):Mervyn LeRoy
Writer(s):Dalton Trumbo - based on the book by Capt. Ted W. Lawson, Robert Considine
Producer(s):Sam Zimbalist
Cinematography:Harold Rosson, Robert Surtees
Editing:Frank Sullivan
Music Composer:Herbert Stothart
Art Direction:Cedric Gibbons, Paul GroesseSet Direction:Edwin B. WillisRalph S. Hurst
Special Effects:A. Arnold Gillespie, Warren Newcombe, Donald Jahraus

JAMES H. DOOLITTLE (1896-1993)
Portrayed by Spencer Tracy

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)

Text of Citation:

DOOLITTLE, JAMES H. (Air Mission)

Rank and organization: Brigadier General, U.S. Army. Air Corps. Place and date: Over Japan. Entered service at: Berkeley, Calif. Birth: Alameda, Calif. G.O. No.: 29, 9 June 1942. Citation: For conspicuous leadership above the call of duty, involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. With the apparent certainty of being forced to land in enemy territory or to perish at sea, Gen. Doolittle personally led a squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews, in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland.

~~~

Remarks:

Doolittle led a special strike force of sixteen B-25 Mitchell medium bombers launched from the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (a feat for which neither the bombers nor the carrier were designed) to strike the Japanese mainland in retaliation for Pearl Harbor. The plan was for the B-25s to land in friendly territory in China, but the carrier was spotted by a Japanese patrol boat while nearly half again farther from Japan than the intended launching point. Although the Japanese boat was promptly sunk by the Hornet's escorting destroyers, it was impossible to determine whether or not it had radioed any warning, and Doolittle decided to launch from the extra distance, realizing that they would not have the fuel to reach the airfields in China. Two bombers crashed in Japanese-held territory and their crews were captured, and one landed in Russia (then a neutral country in the war with Japan) and its crew interned for the duration of the war. The remaining thirteen crashed in friendly territory in China, with one crewman killed and the remaining sixty-four eventually rescued, including Doolittle himself. But the airstrikes on the Japanese homeland, including Doolittle's strike on Tokyo itself, provided a much needed boost to American morale. Although the damage inflicted was nominal, the psychological effect on the Japanese populace and the high command was so disruptive that Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto redeployed his carrier fleet to defend the homeland against further raids, resulting in his defeat (and the sinking of four of the six Japanese carriers that had attacked Pearl Harbor) at the Battle of Midway six weeks later. In addition to the Medal of Honor, Doolittle was jumped over the rank of full colonel and promoted directly to Brigadier General.

Doolittle was a flight instructor during the First World War, and remained in the reserves while attaining his Masters and PhD in aeronautical engineering at MIT and then flying for the aviation division of Shell Oil. He held several flight speed and endurance records when he returned to active duty a year before the US entered World War II. After the Tokyo raid, he rose to command the 8th Air Force, the only reservist to command a numbered air force in the war.

The film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo was based on the autobiography, and shown through the perspective, of Captain Ted W. Lawson (played in the film by Van Johnson), an aircraft commander during the Doolittle Raid who lost a leg when his B-25 crashed in China. Although the film dwelt heavily on Lawson's relationship with his wife, Spencer Tracy's Doolittle was a major character in the film and it did cover the preparations, raid and aftermath with as much detail and accuracy as could be given considering that the war was still going on at the time. [After recently rereading Lawson's book and revisiting the film to compare and contrast it with Pearl Harbor, the authors have to rank this film as nearly up there with Gettysburg, in terms of both historical accuracy and faithfulness to the original book.]

Another film, The Purple Heart (1945) was a reconstructed account of the fate of one of the other B-25 crews of the Doolittle Raid who were captured by the Japanese, recounting their trial and execution for war crimes, but Doolittle himself was not depicted in that film.

Doolittle was also portrayed during the Tokyo mission by Alec Baldwin in Pearl Harbor (2001), but Baldwin's depiction of Doolittle as a foul-mouthed, condescending, arrogant egotist (which has drawn the wrath of just about everyone living who knew the real Jimmy Doolittle) is only one of the many historical distortions and inaccuracies which place this turkey in the Hollywood Abominations category.

The "Ruptured Duck"

OFFICERS AND ENLISTED MEN WHO RAIDED JAPAN - 18 APRIL 1942
LISTED BY PLANE CREWS IN ORDER OF TAKEOFF

Takeoff No.1 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 34th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle
Co-pilot Lt. Richard E. Cole (Surviving)
Navigator Lt. Henry A. Potter (Surviving)
Bombardier Sgt. Fred A. Braemer
*Gunner Sgt. Paul J. Leonard (Killed in bomb attack in Africa Jan. 5, 1943)

Takeoff No.2 (CRASH LANDING - China)
Crew from 37th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Lt. Travis Hoover (Surviving)
Co-pilot Lt. William N. Fitzhugh
Navigator Lt. Carl R. Wildner
*Bombardier Lt. Richard E. Miller (Killed in action in Africa Jan. 22, 1943)
Gunner Sgt. Douglas V. Radney

Takeoff No.3 (BAIL, OUT)
Crew from 95th Squadron, 17th Group
*Pilot Lt. Robert M. Gray (Killed in crash enroute to China from India Oct. 18, 1942)
*Co-pilot Lt. Jacob E. Manch (Killed bailing out of T-33, Las Vegas, Nevada, Mar. 24, 1958)
Navigator Lt. Charles J. Ozuk (Surviving)
Bombardier Sgt. Aden E. Jones
*Gunner Cpl. Leland D. Faktor (Killed bailing out in China after Tokyo Raid, April 18, 1942)

Takeoff No.4 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 95th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Lt. Everett W. Holstrom
*Co-pilot Lt. Lucien N. Youngblood (Killed in crash Feb. 28, 1949)
Navigator Lt. Harry C. McCool (Surviving)
*Bombardier Sgt. Robert J. Stephens (Died April 13, 1959)
Gunner Cpl. Bert M. Jordan

Takeoff No.5 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 95th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Capt. David M. Jones (P.O.W. Germany 2 1/2 years) (Surviving)
*Co-pilot Lt. Rodney R. Wilder (Died June 6, 1964)
*Navigator Lt. Eugene F. McGurl (Killed in crash after raid In Burma, June 8, 1942)
*Bombardier Lt. Denver V. Trulove (Killed in action in Sicily April 5, 1943)
Gunner Sgt. Joseph W. Manske

Takeoff No.6 (DITCHED OFF CHINA COAST)
Crew from 95th Squadron, 17th Group
*Pilot Lt. Dean E. Hallmark (Executed by Japanese Oct. 15, 1942)
*Co-pilot Lt. Robert J. Meder (Died in Japanese P.O.W. Camp Dec. 1, 1943)
Navigator Lt. Chase J. Nielsen (P.O.W. Japanese 31/2 years) (Surviving)
*Bombardier Sgt. William J. Dieter (Drowned after ditching following raid April 18, 1942)
*Gunner Sgt. Donald E. Fitzmaurice (Drowned after ditching following raid April 18, 1942)

Takeoff No.7 (CRASH LANDING CHINA COAST)
Crew from 95th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Lt. Ted W. Lawson
Co-pilot Lt. Dean Davenport
Navigator Lt. Charles L. McClure
*Bombardier Lt. Robert S. Clever (Killed in crash in U.S., Nov. 20, 1942)
Gunner Sgt. David J. Thatcher (Surviving)

Takeoff No.8 (LANDED IN RUSSIA) (INTERNED)
Crew from 95th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Capt. Edward J. York
Co-pilot Lt. Robert G. Emmens
Navigator/Bombardier Lt. Nolan A. Herndon (Surviving)
Engineer S/Sgt. Theodore H. Laban
Gunner Sgt. David W. Pohl

Takeoff No. 9 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 34th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Lt. Harold F. Watson
Co-pilot Lt. James N. Parker
Navigator Lt. Thomas C. Griffin (P.O.W. Germany 2 years) (Surviving)
Bombardier Sgt. Wayne M. Bissell
Gunner S/Sgt. Eldred V. Scott

Takeoff No.10 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 89th Recon Squadron
Pilot Lt. Richard 0. Joyce
Co-pilot Lt. J. Royden Stork (Surviving)
Navigtor/Baombardier Lt. Horace E. Crouch (Surviving)
*Bombardier Sgt. George E. Larkin, Jr. (Killed in crash on flight to China from India Oct. 18, 1942)
Gunner S/Sgt. Edwin W. Horton, Jr. (Surviving)

Takeoff No.11 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 89th Recon Squadron
*Pilot Capt. C. Ross Greening (P.O.W. Germany 2 years died March 29, 1957)
Co-pilot Lt. Kenneth E. Reddy (Killed in crash in U.S. Sept 3, 1942)
Navigator Lt. Frank A. Kappeler (Surviving)
Bombardier S/Sgt. William L. Birch (Surviving)
*Engineer Sgt Melvin J. Gardner (Killed in crash in Burma June 3, 1942)

Takeoff No.12 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 37th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Lt. William M. Bower (Surviving)
*Co-pilot Lt. Thadd H. Blanton (Died Sept. 26, 1961)
*Navigator Lt. William R. Pound (Died July 13, 1967)
Bombardier Sgt. Waldo J. Bither
*Gunner Sgt. Omer A. Duquette (Killed in crash in Burma June 3, 1942)

Takeoff No.13 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 37th Squadron, 17th Group
Pilot Lt. Edgar E. McElroy (Surviving)
Co-pilot Lt. Richard A. Knobloch
Navigator Lt. Clayton J. Campbell (Surviving)
Bombardier Sgt. Robert C. Bourgeois
Gunner Sgt. Adam R. Williams

Takeoff No.14 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 89th Recon. Squadron
Pilot Maj. John A. Hilger
Co-pilot Lt. Jack A. Sims (Surviving)
Navigator/Bombardier Lt. James H. Macia, Jr. (Surviving)
Engineer S/Sgt Jacob Eierman
*Gunner Sgt. Edwin V. Bain (Killed in action off Rome Italy, July 19, 1943)

Takeoff No.15 (CRASH LANDING - CHINA COAST)
Crew from 89th Recon. Squadron
*Pilot Lt. Donald G. Smith (Killed in crash in British Isles Nov. 12, 1942)
Co-pilot Lt. Griffith P. Williams (P.O.W. Germany 2 years)
Navigator/Bombardier Lt. Howard A. Sessler
Engineer Sgt. Edward J. Saylor (Surviving)
Gunner Lt. Thomas R. White (Medical Corps)

Takeoff No.16 (BAIL OUT)
Crew from 34th Squadron, 17th Group
*Pilot Lt. William G. Farrow (Executed by Japanese Oct. 15, 1942)
Co-pilot Lt. Robert L. Hite (Japanese P.O.W. 31/2 years) (Surviving)
Navigator Lt. George Barr (Japanese P.O.W. 31/2 years) (Died July 12, 1967)
Bombardier Cpl. Jacob D. DeShazer (Japanese P.O.W. 31/2 years) (Surviving)
*Engineer/Gunner Sgt. Harold A. Spatz (Executed by Japanese Oct. 15, 1942)

*Deceased

~~~

Speakers up--launch

~~~

When asked where the bombers came from, President Roosevelt laughed and replied, "Shangri-La," referring to the mythical Asian kingdom in James Hilton's popular novel Lost Horizon. (The U.S. Navy promptly named an aircraft carrier under construction the SHANGRI-LA.)

What was interesting all the event were about the same.

Good Evening PhilDragoo.

Excellent material. That's the cover on the version of "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" I read. I remember it well.

Thanks for the pictures of the "Ruptured Duck" Can't tell you how many times living room furniture turned into the cockpit of that plane when I was a kid.

Spencer Tracy as Doolittle was great casting.
Alec Baldwin as Doolittle as an insult to the man's memory.

Love the sounds of those engines at the Reunion site.

Youre Welcome Texokie. Have you started Prayer thread #5 yet.

This is probably only the tip of the iceburg. Hubby has an interesting theory...these aid programs could be a magnet for pedophiles.......you want our 'goodies' for your family just send your kiddie to me at such and such addy.

When asked where the bombers came from, President Roosevelt laughed and replied, "Shangri-La"

Hey there PhilDragoo. What a great response, "Shangri-La".

BTTT!!!!!!!