Posted on 03/17/2008 6:05:21 PM PDT by SandRat
3/17/2008 - SAN ANTONIO (AFPN) -- Retired Staff Sgt. Jacob DeShazer, 95, one of the famed "Doolittle Raiders," who helped boost American morale in the early days of World War II with a surprise air attack on Japan, died March 15.
Born Nov. 15, 1912, in Salem, Ore., Sergeant DeShazer graduated from Madras High School in 1931. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940.
Sergeant DeShazer, then a corporal, was the bombardier of Crew No.16 flying the "Bat Out of Hell," the last of the 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to launch from the USS Hornet April 18, 1942, on the famous bombing run over Tokyo. Led by legendary aviation pioneer Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, the raid is one of the most studied and talked about missions in the history of aerial warfare.
All 16 bombers made it to their targets. However, they were forced to ditch or bail out over or along the Chinese coast because the task force had been spotted by Japanese picket boats, and Colonel Doolittle had decided to launch early -- more than 600 miles from the Japanese mainland and 200 miles farther out than planned.
Sergeant DeShazer and the rest of his B-25 crew were forced to parachute into enemy territory over Ningpo, China, when their B-25 ran out of fuel. The entire crew was captured by the Japanese the next day.
During his captivity, Sergeant DeShazer was sent to Tokyo with the survivors of another Doolittle crew, and was held in a series of prison camps in Japan and China for 40 months, 34 of which were in solitary confinement. During this time he was subjected to unbelievable cruelty, including being forced to watch helplessly while one of his friends died of slow starvation.
"My hatred for the enemy nearly drove me crazy," he said. "My thoughts turned toward what I had heard about Christianity changing hatred between human beings into real brotherly love. I begged my captors to get me a Bible, and when the emperor of Japan told them to treat us better, I got one."
Sergeant DeShazer was able to read the Bible for only three weeks. Still, its message had a lifelong impact on him. After his release, he attended college and then seminary in preparation to become a missionary.
Sergeant DeShazer returned to Japan in 1948, where he spent 30 years preaching and teaching Christianity.
He leaves behind his wife, Florence, and five children.
Staff Sgt. Jacob DeShazer, a member of the famed Doolittle Raiders, was the bombardier of Crew No.16 flying the "Bat Out of Hell, the last of the 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to launch from the USS Hornet April 18, 1942, on the famous bombing run over Tokyo. Sergeant DeShazer, 95, died March 15. (U.S. Air Force photo)
Another of the Old Ones joins the eternal patrol.
Another of our Greatest slips into the presence of God, and we are left with an unmistakable void. May he rest in peace.
I wonder what he thought about such a tactic being called "mercy" in the case of Terri Schiavo...and being carried out on television here in America.
“My hatred for the enemy nearly drove me crazy,”
“Sergeant DeShazer returned to Japan in 1948, where he spent 30 years preaching and teaching Christianity”
What a great man! I am humbled.
One more inverted goblet at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/
Click the Pic
You did well Sarg!!!!
The Doolittle Raid was one of the great stories of WWII. It inspired the country tremendously even though the actual damage to Japan was minor.
That RAT POS Ken Burns in his supposedly great documentary on WWII didn’t even mention it. Although he found time to mention the 442 Combat Team about 200 times (although I take nothing away from the 442). I just thought that it was outrageous that the Doolittle Raid was not mentioned.
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They’re leaving us, one at a time. How many Raiders left, I wonder.
Amazing story. Amazing man!
RIP. An inspiration for us all.
Imagine flying a plane like that off a carrier, without a catapult, over-loaded with munitions and fuel!
Only 12 Raiders are still alive, and only eight were able to attend the 64th anniversary reunion held in Dayton, Ohio, in April 2006. Seven were able to attend the 65th anniversary in April 2007 in San Antonio, Texas. The oldest Raider is now 95, and the youngest is 85. Seven are expected to attend the 2008 reunion.
USAF salute. God’s speed to you Sgt. RIP.
AR
From a Sailor...I wish I had been there to carry your plane, and...I wish you eternal fair winds and following seas.
Go to your reward. You earned it...how dearly you have all earned it.
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