Doolittle Raiders receive heartfelt homecoming

Published May 30, 2008
By Airman 1st Class Anthony Jennings
96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- "Throughout the history of this mighty nation, many Airmen and other military servicemembers have had the chance to stand on the shoulders of giants," said Col. Rick LoCastro, 96th Air Base Wing vice commander. "Today Team Eglin has the wonderful opportunity to dine with them."

Eglin hosted six Doolittle Raiders May 28 at Eglin's Officers' Club where the surviving heroes of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid reunited and allowed Airmen a rare opportunity to interact with history.

Sixty-six years ago, after the surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, 140 Army Air Corps personnel were brought to Eglin Main, Wagner Field, Duke Field and Eglin Auxiliary Fields No. 1 and No. 3, to train for a "dangerous secret mission," from March 9 through 25, 1942. They were told any violations of secrecy could mean that the lives of hundreds of people would be put at risk. Little did they know they would be part of the war's turning point and ultimately be recorded in history as American heroes.

"I landed at Eglin Field on March 3, called all the men together, and told them that they would be training for an exceptionally dangerous mission," said Gen. James "Jimmy" Doolittle in a 1991 book interview. "If anyone got particularly nosy about why we were at Eglin or what we were doing, they would give me his name, and the FBI would take it from there."

The crew was also informed that the mission would be a one-way trip and they were given an opportunity to back out. No one did considering the magnitude of the mission's importance. The members did not find out the target destination until the planes were loaded on the USS Hornet and the raid was underway.

"We may not have known where we were going, but we knew that we wouldn't have enough fuel to make it back," said Staff Sgt. Dave Thatcher, engineer
/gunner aboard the seventh aircraft to take off during the raid. "We accepted that fact long before we left so there weren't any second thoughts or regrets once the raid commenced."

The first part of the training program for the pilots participating in this historic event was practicing taking off from carriers. Navy Lt. Henry Miller, ordered from Pensacola, Fla., familiarized Army personnel with naval customs and carrier techniques. With flags spotted along the runways every 100 feet, all pilots conducted extensive practice under varying conditions to determine which technique would be most suitable for the B-25 Mitchells to adopt for short distance take-offs essential for the mission.

While at Eglin the Doolittle Raiders also spent considerable time practicing bombing runs over water at minimum altitude using water slicks as target. Many Florida coast residents subjected to the vigorous low-altitude dry-run attacks made numerous telephone complaints to the commander at Eglin Field.

The project was led by then Lt. Col. James "Jimmy" Doolittle, a man whom many of the surviving Raiders refer to as a "leader like none other."

"Jimmy Doolittle was the best person for the job leading those 16 aircraft in the entire Air Force," said Lt. Col. Bobby Hite. "I couldn't imagine the mission going any more successful with someone else taking the lead."

On March 25, 1942, the airplanes and crews departed for Sacramento, Calif., where they received a final check and additional flight training. By April 1, 1942, the 80-man crew and 16 chosen airplanes were loaded aboard the Hornet and set off to accomplish their mission.

Colonel Doolittle feared Japan may have been aware of their presence after a small fishing boat was spotted and destroyed. As a result, the Doolittle Raiders launched off the aircraft carrier April 18, 1942, to travel 600 miles to the Japanese mainland. Because of the early take-off, the planes would be short of fuel to reach the "safe zones" in nearby China. The aircraft underwent desperate measures to prepare the planes to give them the maximum amount of fuel storage available.

Despite the lack of fuel, all 16 planes took off successfully, reached and bombed their assigned targets. Many planes encountered anti-aircraft fire while some encountered enemy interception in the air. After successfully completing the bombing raid, all planes except one either crashed landed or the crew bailed out. One plane landed in Russia and the five-man crew was interned, but released one year later. The last aircraft to take off from the carrier crash landed on the China coast and the crew became Japanese prisoners of war.

"The most memorable moment of the mission wasn't the training, long over-water flight or the dropping of the bombs in Tokyo, it was the crash landing," said Sgt. Thatcher. "You just can't forget something like that."

Of the 80 men who took part in the raid, two drowned after ditching their aircraft, one died after bailing out of the aircraft and eight men were captured by the Japanese: Three crew members were executed by firing squad, one died of beriberi and mistreatment, and the other four survived 40 months of prison, most of which spent in solitary confinement.

All 80 raiders were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Those imprisoned and tortured also received the Purple Heart. Two Doolittle Raiders were given the Silver Star for gallantry in the line of duty, one being Sergeant Thatcher. Colonel Doolittle received the Medal of Honor from President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Many World War II historians hail this mission as the crucial turning point in war. In a time when Japanese morale couldn't be higher, it was inconceivable to believe that an attack on Japan's home islands was possible. The idea that enemy forces could bomb Tokyo, let alone bomb the Imperial Palace, sent shockwaves throughout the War Cabinet and the Imperial High Command. As a result, Japanese fighter groups were recalled from abroad for home defense.

Six of the 16 surviving Doolittle Raiders that attended the homecoming were Lt. Col. Dick Cole, Maj. Tom Griffin, Maj. Gen. Davy Jones, Master Sgt. Ed Horton, Lt. Col. Bobby Hite and Staff Sgt. Dave Thatcher.

When asked how they would like for their legacy to be honored, Maj. Tom Griffin responded, "We don't ask a special holiday be created for us or anything like that, we only wish to be remembered as servicemembers that were given a mission and we accomplished that mission despite the dangers."