Maggie’s Doolittle Raid - Great WW2 Story- Even better for Memorial Day

[hermosabeach]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doolittle_Raid

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After ​

Japan's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, with the United States ​

reeling and wounded, something dramatic was needed to turn the war effort around.​

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Even though there were no friendly airfields close enough to Japan for the United States to launch a retaliation, a daring plan was devised. Sixteen B-25swere modified so that they could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier. This had never before been tried -- sending such big, heavy bombers from a carrier.​

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The 16 five-man crews, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who himself flew the lead plane off the USS Hornet, knew that they would not be able to return to the carrier.​

They would have to hit Japan and then hope to make it to China for a safe landing.​

 

[hermosabeach]

But on the day of the raid, the Japanese military caught wind of the plan. The Raiders were told that they would have to take off from much farther out in the Pacific Ocean than
they had counted on. They were told that because of this they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety.
And those men went anyway.​

They bombed Tokyo and then flew as far as they could. Four planes crash-landed; 11 more crews bailed out, and three of the Raiders died. Eight more were captured; three were executed.

Another died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp. One crew made it to Russia.​

The Doolittle Raiders sent a message from the United States to its enemies, and to the rest of the world: We will fight. And, no matter what it takes, we will win.

Of the 80 Raiders, 62 survived the war. They were celebrated as
national heroes, models of bravery. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced a motion picture based on the raid; "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," starring Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson, was a patriotic and emotional box-office hit, and the phrase became part of the national lexicon. In the movie-theater previews for the film, MGM proclaimed that it was presenting the story "with supreme pride."​

Beginning in 1946, the surviving Raiders have held a reunion each April, to commemorate the mission. The reunion is in a different city each year. In 1959, the city of Tucson,
Arizona, as a gesture of respect and gratitude, presented the Doolittle Raiders with a set of 80 silver goblets. Each goblet was engraved with the name of a Raider.​

 

[hermosabeach]

Every year, a wooden display case bearing all 80 goblets is transported to the reunion city. Each time a Raider passes away, his goblet is turned upside down in the case at the
next reunion, as his old friends bear solemn witness.​

Also in the wooden case is a bottle of 1896 Hennessy Very Special cognac. The year is not happenstance: 1896 was when Jimmy Doolittle was born.​

There has always been a plan: When there are only two surviving Raiders, they would open the bottle, at last drink from it, and toast their comrades who preceded them in death.

As 2013 began, there were five living Raiders; then, in February,
Tom Griffin passed away at age 96.​

What a man he was. After bailing out of his plane over a mountainous Chinese forest after the Tokyo raid, he became ill with malaria, and almost died. When he recovered, he was
sent to Europe to fly more combat missions. He was shot down, captured, and spent 22 months in a German prisoner of warcamp.​

The selflessness of these men, the sheer guts ... there was a passage in the Cincinnati Enquirer obituary for Mr. Griffin that, on the surface, had nothing to do with the war,
but that was emblematic of the depth of his sense of duty and devotion:

"When his wife became ill and needed to go into a nursing home, he visited her every day.
He walked from his house to the nursing home, fed his wife
and at the end of the day brought home her clothes. At night,
he washed and ironed her clothes. Then he walked them up to her room the next morning. He did that for three years until her
death in 2005."​

 

[hermosabeach]

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So now, out of the original 80, only four Raiders remain: Dick Cole (Doolittle's co-pilot on the Tokyo raid), Robert Hite, Edward Saylor and David Thatcher. All are in their 90s.​

They have decided that there are too few of them for the public reunions to continue.​

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The events in Fort Walton Beach marked the end. It has come full circle; Florida's nearby Eglin Field was where the Raiders trained in secrecy for theTokyo mission. The town planned to do all it can to honor the men: a six-day celebration of their valor, including luncheons, a dinner and a parade.​

Do the men ever wonder if those of us for whom they helped save the country have tended to it in a way that is worthy of their sacrifice? They don't talk about that, at least
not around other people. But if you find yourself near Fort Walton Beach this week, and if you should encounter any of the Raiders, you might want to offer them a word of thanks. I can tell you from first hand observation that
they appreciate hearing that they are remembered.


The men have decided that after this final public reunion they will wait until a later date -- sometime this year -- to get together once more, informally and in absolute privacy. That is when they will open the bottle of brandy. The years are flowing by too swiftly now; they are not going to wait until there are only two of them.

They will fill the four remaining upturned goblets. And raise them in a toast to those who are gone​

Their 70th Anniversary
Photo ​

 

[pmclaine]

Lt Eugene McGurl is the aviator to the left in this photo....

He flew the Doolittle Raid and survived.

He was killed in 1943 flying in the CBI theatre.

He was from my town and has a small plot of land named McGurl Square in his honor.

Everytime we pass, and we pass it frequently, I tell my kids about the Doolittle Raid and what that man did, and what it meant to a Country on its knees

 

[pmclaine]

Thinking more on the topic......

Doolittle Raid has to be one of the more ballsy ops in the annals of war.

Lets take land based bombers.

Stick em on a short take off carrier.

and bomb the shit out of our enemies capital on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Fucken awesomeness and a can do attitude that America needs to return to.

 

[pmclaine]

As the sunset off Japan April 18, 1942 rational Japanese knew they had lost the war and unless they gave up right than Hiroshima was the end result.

They brought Hiroshima and Nagasaki upon themselves.

 

[Sean the Nailer]

Especially considering that they knew it was a 'one way trip' before they left. I'm right proud of those men, and all whom were involved in the raid. Even the supply clerks whom had to fill 'weird orders' for an aircraft carrier, all on down....

 

[uffduh]

Thanks for sharing this Hermosa. I knew the story of he Raiders, but had never heard about the reunions, goblets or brandy. A very cool tribute to the memories of their fellow airmen.

And good on Fort Walton Beach for commemorating a bunch of guys with some seriously huge brass balls.

 

[Dog&Jeep]

Jimmy Doolittle was my next door neighbor through most of the '80s. He was a very soft-spoken, dignified man.

When I first met hiim, I had trouble linking him to his legend. That trouble was forever resolved the first time he decided it was necessary to use command voice on some folks. I was extremely grateful he wasn't using it on me.

 

[pmclaine]

Jimmy Doolittle was my next door neighbor through most of the '80s. He was a very soft-spoken, dignified man.

When I first met hiim, I had trouble linking him to his legend. That trouble was forever resolved the first time he decided it was necessary to use command voice on some folks. I was extremely grateful he wasn't using it on me.

I understand he was a problem for Eisenhower.

Kept wanting to do shit like fly over enemy territory and act like an eager fighter Ace instead of a bronzed war hero.

He was one of the few that knew about the breaking of the Enigma Code and his capture would have jeopardized our greatest war asset.

I bet had Doolittle been captured the Germans would have told him their secrets.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

The first 'adult' book I read... in probably about 4th grade... was "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo." My best friend in elementary school and I discovered the "military section" of the library. And in it were books like Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, The Phantom Major, The Dambusters... and a really, really cool book with pictures of jets in it... and specifications. While classmates were fighting over who was next in line for the next Dr. Seuss book... Steven and I devoured every book on those shelves and then started building the model kits. Started off a lifetime of love for history and working with our hands! Last I knew, he was an engineer for Pratt and Whitney... And his kids were building models and reading "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo."

About 10 years ago, I acquired a first edition of that book... Incidentally, published during WW2. Which was a big deal, since rationing meant that only things critical to the war effort were allotted materials and manufacturing time. But books like Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, Guadalcanal Diary, They Were Expendable and Men on Bataan... were rushed into print to a news-hungry public. Many serialized by journalists who were covering the event... and only too happy to do their part to win the war.

Contrast that with latter-day reporting where the goal of the journalist is to throw sand in the gears, attack troops, aid and abet the enemy and otherwise cause the public to turn against our efforts....

Well, great thread! Later I'll post a photo of a small bit of Doolittle Memorabilia.

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[EddieNFL]

Had the privilege of meeting Master Sgt Ed Horton.

 

[Mike Casselton]

The first 'adult' book I read... in probably about 4th grade... was "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo." My best friend in elementary school and I discovered the "military section" of the library. And in it were books like Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, The Phantom Major, The Dambusters... and a really, really cool book with pictures of jets in it... and specifications. While classmates were fighting over who was next in line for the next Dr. Seuss book... Steven and I devoured every book on those shelves and then started building the model kits. Started off a lifetime of love for history and working with our hands! Last I knew, he was an engineer for Pratt and Whitney... And his kids were building models and reading "Thirty Seconds over Tokyo."

About 10 years ago, I acquired a first edition of that book... Incidentally, published during WW2. Which was a big deal, since rationing meant that only things critical to the war effort were allotted materials and manufacturing time. But books like Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, Guadalcanal Diary, They Were Expendable and Men on Bataan... were rushed into print to a news-hungry public. Many serialized by journalists who were covering the event... and only too happy to do their part to win the war.

Contrast that with latter-day reporting where the goal of the journalist is to throw sand in the gears, attack troops, aid and abet the enemy and otherwise cause the public to turn against our efforts....

Well, great thread! Later I'll post a photo of a small bit of Doolittle Memorabilia.

Cheers,

Sirhr

Men of Bataan.
Read that book in 2001. It was handed to me by an actual survivor and good friend Thomas Macdill.
He passed away in his home in the spring of 2015.
His name is listed in the back of the book.
I miss him.

 

[rob.sfo]

A month ago my 10 year old son and I visited the USS Hornet for a school project, on the day of the 76th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid. We heard an amazing first-hand account by Richard Nowatzki, who was on the Hornet during the raid, the battle of Midway, and other major events in the pacific. It's one thing to know the history and stories, it's another to hear it from someone who was there. I've been on the Hornet probably a half dozen times now, this was by far the best trip.

https://www.uss-hornet.org/calendar/76th-doolittle-raid-anniversary/

 

[Strykervet]

Great post, Hermosa.