[DeTomaso] NPC: Doolittle Raiders

Ken Green kenn_green at yahoo.com
Mon Jul 29 12:19:51 EDT 2013


I'm guessing that most of the list member are much more familiar with the Doolittle Raiders than most Americans, but it's still worth reading.
 
 
Subject: Doolittle Raiders
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>>....interesting historical account from WWII
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>>Doolittle Raiders
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>>Perhaps this item will warm your heart?
>>  
>>It's the cup of brandy that no one wants to drink.
>>
>>        On Tuesday, in Fort Walton Beach , Florida , the surviving
>>Doolittle Raiders gathered publicly for the last time.
>>
>>        They once were among the most universally admired and revered 
>>men
>>in the United States . There were 80 of the Raiders in April 1942,
>>when they carried out one of the most courageous and
>>heart-stirring military operations in this nation's history. The
>>mere mention of their unit's name, in those years, would bring
>>tears to the eyes of grateful Americans.
>>
>>        Now only four survive.
>>
>>        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.
>>
>>        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-25s were 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.
>>
>>        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.
>>
>>        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 Raid 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.
>>
>>        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 war camp.
>>
>>        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
>>emblematizes 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."
>>
>>        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.
>>
>>        The events in Fort Walton Beach this week will mark the end. It
>>has come full circle; Florida 's nearby Eglin Field was where the
>>Raiders trained in secrecy for the Tokyo mission. The town is
>>planning 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
>>firsthand 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 -- some time 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.
>>
>>        PLEASE SEND THIS ON TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, ESPECIALLY
>>TO THOSE WHO WERE TOO YOUNG TO KNOW ABOUT THESE GUYS. THIS SHOULD
>>BE READ BY EVERY KID IN GRADE AND HIGH SCHOOL SO THEY KNOW WHAT
>>HAPPENED.
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