Page 39 - Cousins - Celebrities, Saints & Sinners

received General H.H. Arnold's approval to lead the top secret attack of 16 B-25 medium bombers from the
aircraft carrier USS Hornet, with targets in Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya.

After training at Eglin Field and Wagner Field in northwest Florida, Doolittle, his aircraft and volunteer flight
crews proceeded to McClellan Field, California for aircraft modifications at the Sacramento Air Depot, followed
by a short final flight to Naval Air Station Alameda, California for embarkation aboard the aircraft
carrier USS Hornet. On April 18, Doolittle and his 16 B-25 crews took off from the Hornet, reached Japan, and
bombed their targets. Fifteen of the planes then headed for their recovery airfield in China, while one crew
chose to land in Russia due to their bomber's unusually high fuel consumption. 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. By then, they had been flying for about 12 hours, it was nighttime, the weather was
stormy, and Doolittle was unable to locate their landing field. Doolittle came down in a rice paddy (saving a
previously injured ankle from breaking) near Chuchow (Quzhou). He and his crew linked up after the bailout
and were helped through Japanese lines by Chinese guerrillas and American missionary John Birch. Other
aircrews were not so fortunate, although most eventually reached safety with the help of friendly Chinese.
Seven crew members lost their lives, four as a result of being captured and murdered by the Japanese and
three due to an aircraft crash or while parachuting. Doolittle thought he would be court martialed due to
having to launch the raid ahead of schedule after being spotted by Japanese patrol boats and the loss of all the
aircraft.
Doolittle went on to fly more combat missions as commander of the 12th Air Force in North Africa, for which
he was awarded four Air Medals. He later commanded the 12th, 15th and 8th Air Forces in Europe. The other
surviving members of the Doolittle raid also went on to new assignments.
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Doolittle received the Medal of Honor from President Franklin D. Roosevelt (6 cousin, 2 times removed) at
the White House for planning and leading his raid on Japan. His citation reads: "For conspicuous leadership
above and beyond the call of duty, involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. With
the apparent certainty of being forced to land in enemy territory or to perish at sea, Lt. Col. Doolittle
personally led a squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews, in a highly destructive raid on the
Japanese mainland." He was also promoted to brigadier general.

In September 1943, he commanded a raid against the Italian town of Battipaglia that was so thorough in its
destruction that General Carl Andrew Spaatz sent him a joking message: "You're slipping Jimmy. There's one
crabapple tree and one stable still standing." Note: Battipaglia is a town that Pina and I have visited several
times and was a regular stop on our trips from Sicily in the 70s and 80s where we lived, to Naples to visit
family, and return. There we used to purchase perhaps the best “Mozzarella di Bufalo” in southern Italy.

Doolittle's major influence on the European air war occurred late in 1943 when he changed the policy
requiring escorting fighters to remain with their bombers at all times, allowing fighter escorts to fly far ahead
of the bombers' combat box formations in air supremacy mode. This tactic negated the effectiveness of the
twin-engined Zerstörergeschwader heavy fighter wings and single-engined Sturmgruppen of heavily armed Fw
190As by clearing the Luftwaffe's bomber destroyers from ahead of the bomber formations.

James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle died at the age of 96 in Pebble Beach, California , and is buried at Arlington
National Cemetery in Virginia, near Washington, D.C., next to his wife. In his honor at the funeral, there was
also a flyover of USAF Eighth Air Force bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. After a brief
graveside service, fellow Doolittle Raider Bill Bower began the final tribute on the bugle. When emotion took
over, Doolittle's great-grandson, Paul Dean Crane, Jr., played Taps.

References:
1. Relative Finder, associated with FamilySearch, and the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS)
2. Wikipedia.org
3. Learn more – Short Documentary on the Doolittle Raiders during WW2
4. LDS Family Tree attached

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