Doolittle Raiders, April 18, 1942. WW II
Sixteen planes
and 80 airmen executed the Doolittle Raid, 18 April 1942. With one
exception - the plane piloted by CAPT Edward J. York - none of the
planes made a proper landing: all either were ditched, or crashed after
their crews bailed out. Nonetheless, all but three men survived the
flight.
The Doolittle Raid was a U.S. air raid during World War II that targeted major cities in Japan. It occurred on April 18, 1942. The
attack aimed to lift Allied spirits and incite fear in the Japanese
population in retribution for the recent Japanese attack on Pearl harbor
in Hawaii.
The raid had an impact far greater than its small size might indicate. It had so incensed the Japanese military that Japan diverted resources to China to seek out the surviving raiders, and killed some 250,000 Chinese people in retaliation.
Of the 16 crews involved, 14 returned to the United States or reached the safety of American forces, though one man was killed while bailing out.
Eight men were captured by Japanese forces in eastern China (the other
two crew members having drowned in the sea), and three of these were
later executed.
As did most of the other crewmen who participated in the one-way mission, Doolittle and his crew bailed out safely over China when their B-25 ran out of fuel.
The actions of these 80 volunteers,
led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, were instrumental in shifting momentum
in the Pacific theater and setting the stage for victory at the Battle
of Midway. These men, dubbed the Doolittle Raiders, launched 16 B-25s
off the flight deck of the USS Hornet. A feat that had never been done before.
Without
the raw courage of patriotic American men and women, and support of the
people back home, half the world would be speaking German and the other
half Japanese. The U.S. military was not prepared for war, let alone a
war
with
two well prepared countries. Yet, America put over 16 million men and
women into battle.
My Dad and all three of his brothers served in the
military during WWII. All survived, but with terrible memories of man's inhumanity
to man.
There
has been a lot of talk about a World War III. We may have to go through
much heartache and devastation before we reach the "Promised Land."
But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.
~ Mark 13:7
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