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This is the place where the majority of the warbird (aircraft that have survived military service) discussions will take place. Specialized forums may be added in the new future
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An unsung hero passes

Mon Aug 24, 2009 4:41 pm

As you probably know, there were several additional crews who did not get to participate in the Doolittle Raid - even though they'd trained just as hard and volunteered for a very dangerous mission. Bert Hartzell was one of these men and he passed away last week.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mercur ... =131565646

A lot of the guys who had volunteered for the Raid were carried on board the Hornet just in case. From my research at least one of the Raiders who flew the mission was originally from a "replacement" crew (many of the replacements were just as qualified but some were disqualified because they'd simply "squawked" something on their aircraft), but most just didn't get to go.

After the Doolittle Raid launched, the Army guys were stranded on the Hornet and then landed in Hawaii. There, a number of them were stuck for several weeks as they waited for things to get cleared up and orders to be given since they were on a secret mission. This was an extremely frustrating experience for some of them as they were trained to fight and sometimes ended up doing odd jobs for a time because their arrival was unexpected at their destination.

Ryan

Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:28 pm

God Speed him and all the other vets. I was speaking with one of the Aluminum Overcast guys. He said that he see's not too many vets turning up to see the airplane any more. I will be very sad when there are no more vets to see them.
Wish him, and the other vets, blue skies and fair winds on his last flight.

Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:36 pm

Very sad that we are losing these guys at such a fast rate. They are all heros in my book. Just having the balls to get on the Hornet and go gets my respect.
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