66 years ago today - The Doolittle Raid

[Zachary]

Here are a couple of interviews with some men involved in the Doolittle Raid that you might enjoy:

Tom Griffin - Navigator on the #9 plane
http://link.brightcove.com/services/lin ... 1317867882

and

Charles Hollingsworth - deckhand on the USS Hornet
http://link.brightcove.com/services/lin ... 1467274160

Zack

[Steve Nelson]

Sadly, another goblet has been inverted since I took this shot last October.

SN

[Zachary]

Such a simple display, yet one of the most moving...

Zack

[Robbie Roberts]

I think we lost three in the last year... Less than a dozen of my heroes left- I have to make it to the next reunion(They are just concluding/have just concluded this year's)

Robbie

[JDK]

In an area of over inflate egos and propaganda boosted achievements, I feel that both the raid and Doolittle (one of the century's greatest aviators) stand head and shoulders above their contemporaries. A timely reminder.

Before we go off on the usual well worn path, I just read the following little items from the Wikipedia entry on the subject, and another item on that ghastly film Pearl Harbor.

Fate of the missing crewmen

Following the Doolittle Raid, most of the B-25 crews that came down in China eventually made it to safety with the help of Chinese civilians and soldiers. The Chinese people who helped them, however, paid dearly for sheltering the Americans. The Japanese military began the Zhejiang-Jiangxi Campaign to intimidate the Chinese from helping downed American airmen. The Japanese killed an estimated 250,000 civilians while searching for Doolittle’s men.[7] The crews of two aircraft (10 men in total) were unaccounted for; Hallmark's crew (sixth off) and Farrow's crew (last off). On 15 August 1942, the United States learned from the Swiss Consulate General in Shanghai that eight of the missing crew members were prisoners of the Japanese at Police Headquarters in that city (two crewmen had died in the crash landing of their aircraft). On 19 October 1942, the Japanese announced that they had tried the eight men and sentenced them to death, but that several of them had received commutation of their sentences to life imprisonment. No names or details were included in the broadcast. Japanese propaganda ridiculed the raid, calling it the "Do-nothing Raid," and boasted that several B-25s had been shot down. In fact, none had been lost to hostile action.

After the war, the complete story of the two missing crews was uncovered in a war crimes trial held in Shanghai. The trial opened in February 1946 to try four Japanese officers for mistreatment of the eight captured crewmen. Two of the missing crewmen, Sgt. William J. Dieter and Cpl. Donald E. Fitzmaurice, had died when their B-25 crashed off the coast of China. The other eight, Lieutenants Dean E. Hallmark, Robert J. Meder, Chase J. Nielsen, William G. Farrow, Robert L. Hite, and George Barr; and Corporals Harold A. Spatz and Jacob DeShazer were captured. In addition to being tortured and starved, these men contracted dysentery and beriberi as a result of the poor conditions under which they were confined. On 28 August 1942, pilot Hallmark, pilot Farrow and gunner Spatz were given a mock trial by the Japanese, although the airmen were never told the charges against them. On 14 October 1942, these three crewmen were advised that they were to be executed the next day. At 16:30 on 15 October 1942, the three were taken by truck to Public Cemetery Number 1 outside of Shanghai and put before a firing squad.

The other five captured airmen remained in military confinement on a starvation diet, their health rapidly deteriorating. In April 1943, they were moved to Nanking where, on 1 December 1943, Meder died. The remaining four men (Nielsen, Hite, Barr and DeShazer) eventually began receiving slightly better treatment from their captors and were even given a copy of the Bible and a few other books. They survived until they were freed by American troops in August 1945. The four Japanese officers who were tried for war crimes against the eight Doolittle Raiders were all found guilty. Three of them were sentenced to hard labor for five years and the fourth to a nine-year sentence. DeShazer eventually became a missionary and returned to Japan in 1948, where he served in that capacity for over 30 years.

Historical inaccuracies found in the film include, but are not limited to:

the film's depiction of James H. (Jimmy) Doolittle as a loud, foul-mouthed, arrogant egotist (as opposed to the warm, genial, brave, and modest man he was reputed to be) and a scientific dunce (in actuality he held a PhD in aeronautical engineering from MIT) drew the wrath of a large number of people who had known the man in his lifetime.[6]

Really not the man to caricature that way, while it might apply to other, sometimes over-airbrushed airmen...

Interesting. Comments?

[Robbie Roberts]

And The Rev. Jacob DeShazer just passed away within the last couple months...

I intend some day to name one of my sons "James Doolittle Roberts" in his honor. First, I gotta do the preliminaries- get married, etc... But it is my plan(Another son would be "Dougas Bader Roberts" I'd name one "James Stewart Roberts", but I think two "James" would be confusing...) And that would be in the agreement before any marriage... Jimmy Doolittle is another one of my Heroes, with a capitol "H".

Robbie

[RyanShort1]

It really tore me up when I figured out I wasn't going this year. Got started too late and couldn't get things worked out. Hope to get some reports if possible. Would like to have something to put up on my reunions page.



Ryan

[Chicoartist]

. . . Really not the man to caricature that way . . .

Agree 100%. Not because it's an insult, which it is, but because Doolittle's life and accomplishments far outstrip any Hollywood writer's imagination - that's not to mention his completely humble attitude, something sorely lacking in many "heroes", no matter what their accomplishments. Men like that don't come along often, maybe once in every few generations, and for that reason the best course is not to caricature the man, but to simply lay out the facts of the man and his events as they happened ... that will be impressive enough.

As to the movie itself, I found it entertaining and worth my money for the one viewing, and I generally don't lose any sleep over "inaccurate" Hollywood films, but I agree with most sentiments that the danger of such 'entertainment' is that history is warped for the Generation Ys.

Wade

[gary1954]

Lieutenant General James H. Doolittle…. by proxy, I met “Jimmy Doolittle and his Tokyo Raiders when I was about 8 years old…on Sundays, my Dad and I would watch “The Twentieth Century” narrated by the captivating voice of the Great Walter Cronkite. It was a grainy film shown on our small black and white television that I first saw the man that had set many records, the leader; of what I did not then understand to be a suicide mission. I watched the USS Hornet, steaming into harms way with a gray sky in the backdrop, and many, many “fins” sticking up from the deck. It was during this television show that I was also introduced to the North American B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber….and I was floored…its inverted gull wings captivated me, and the B-25 became “my” airplane. In my 20’s, I was able to correspond with Lt. General Doolittle through his office in Los Angeles a few times, and shortly thereafter, I spoke with him on the phone for about 10-15 minutes, and I was able to thank him for his service to the military and aviation, and asked his impression of the B-25, to which he said (or words to this effect –I am 53 now) that the B-25 was the right aircraft for that particular job at that particular time, it did its job and did it well. You could hear the kindness in his voice, and for those of us that have read the books about Jimmy Doolittle, we also know that his was a Pistol of a young man…I was awed to be able to speak with him… I have a few treasures from Lt.. General James H. Doolittle, an autographed photo of the man himself, an autographed photo his replica B model, and a beautiful color photo that Mr. Mike Pupich sent me of Lt. General Doolittle standing 11 O’clock off Mr. Pupich’s Heavenly Body. These photos are next to the front door of my home, and everyone has instructions to make sure they grab these on the way out the door in the event of a fire. I can only hope, that I have kept the memory of all of our Veterans alive in the stories, films, and air shows, that I shared with my children. I’m Done

[Robbie Roberts]

If it wasn't for Jimmy Doolittle, Aviation would NOT be where it is today- He tested and developed many of the instruments in use. He was also the first man to fly an entire flight- takeoff, pattern, and landing, blind. He was not solo, he had a safety pilot, but he was the first.

He is highest among my many heroes. I have read his book many times, and will do so again soon...

Robbie

[Jack Cook]

Jake's services were very nice. Especially with the McCord AFB honor guard and the B-1 fly-by. It came up at a slow seeming airspeed with the wings spread and then just climped up into the overcast like it was headed for valhalla.

[sgt hawk]

Well said gary1954, One of my Hero's too!

[Jack Cook]

These photos are next to the front door of my home, and everyone has instructions to make sure they grab these on the way out the door in the event of a fire.

Let us all hope it never ever comes to that !!!
When the fireman kicked in our front door and pulled my wife out they forgot the photos No complaints here

[Misterg97]

The goblets were removed from the Museum and taken to the reunion. Hopefully they will be returned promptly as many visitors take the time to look at them and hopefully reflect.

[Tim Landers]

M/Sgt Ed Horton and Lt. Dick Cole shortly before taking a flight at last years WOH airshow. Dick Cole is scheduled to be at LSFM April 26-27, so if you get a chance stop in and chat.