Fw: A true story that should never be forgotten

I remember the mission well, how proud we were at home. I, as a pilot, have often
wondered if they were taught the nuances of 'mixture leaning' which if used would have
extended their range substantially. Then I was told, a decade or so back, that the engines
had 'auto-lean' and so would lean automatically, but I question that as it may not have
been developed. Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Solomon
To: Undisclosed recipriant
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2018 2:54 PM
Subject: Re: A true story that should never be forgotten

This is a good reminder why the WWII generation was considered
the greatest on all times. Ffed
This is interesting, I know you will enjoy. Seems Impossible
Carefully study this artwork. Then, read what we did.
Not only is the picture awesome, but so are the statistics!

During the 3-1/2 years of World War II that started with the Japanese bombing of Pearl
Harbor in December of 1941 and ended with the surrender of Germany and Japan in 1945, "We the
People of the U.S.A." produced the following:
22 aircraft carriers
8 battleships
48 cruisers
349 destroyers
420 destroyer escorts
203 submarines
34 million tons of merchant ships
100,000 fighter aircraft
98,000 bombers
24,000 transport aircraft
58,000 training aircraft
93,000 tanks
257,000 artillery pieces
105,000 mortars
3,000,000 machine guns and
2,500,000 military trucks
We put 16.1 million men in uniform in the various armed services, invaded Africa,
invaded Sicily and Italy, won the battle for the Atlantic, planned and executed D-Day, marched
across the Pacific and Europe, developed the atomic bomb and, ultimately, conquered Japan and
Germany.
It's amazing what America did in those days. Many of you already know the story,
here is the update.
THE FINAL TOAST
The text below references the movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo." There is a second film made
in 1944 that details the "show" trials of the 11 airmen that were captured & tortured by the
Japanese titled "The Purple Heart."
Three were executed as war criminals, a fourth died in captivity.
The FINAL TOAST! They bombed Tokyo 73 years ago.
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. (We were told a
Japanese fishing boat had 'probably' seen the fleet and might have been able to radio it's
position, size, and, course before being sunk by gunfire). 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 Raiders 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 was emblematic of 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 marked 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 planned 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 first hand 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 --
sometime 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.

Their 70th Anniversary Photo (Did not show up on my unit)

PLEASE SEND THIS ON TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, ESPECIALLY TO THOSE WHO WERE TOO
YOUNG TO KNOW ABOUT THESE BRAVE HEROES.
MAY GOD BLESS THEM ALL!