Honoring Doolittle Raiders 70th

[Sarge1998]

Lest we forget those who gave us hope during dark times.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/artic...rs-3494014.php

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[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Lest we forget. One of the most courageous missions of WWII.

[Bob Womack]

The news people never get the story completely. These guys also scored a strategic victory with huge ramifications to the rest of the war: Because the Japanese military command realized that the raiders could just as easily bombed the Imperial Palace, which was totally unacceptable to them. As a result, they rocked back on their heels and decided they had to hold a certain percentage of the Imperial Japanese Navy at home to protect the Emperor. The first fruits were seen only a month later at Midway when the attacking Japanese fleet was limited to four offensive aircraft carriers, all of which were sunk. So, while the moral boost was a factor, there was a huge strategic victory obtained by the Doolittle Raiders as well.

Bob

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

The film of those boys lifting off that tiny carrier deck leaves me puckered and in complete awe of the courage and inginuity it took to bull it off. There were many sailors and airmen involved in the planning and staging of that mission who should not be forgotten either.

[Bob Womack]

Raider #7, Ted Lawson, left his flaps up. Someone interrupted him as he went through the checklist and he missed the flaps. No-one on the Hornet deck crew caught it. He's the one who goes off, drops below the deck, nearly stalls over the water, but barley catches it.

Bob