Sixty-nine years ago today, 80 American heroes took off from an aircraft carrier to strike a blow of retaliation for Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. American bombers did not have the range for a round trip from the carriers they took off from. So the planes left on a one-way mission to bomb targets in Japan. James Doolittle wrote about the moment in his biography:
“America had never seen darker days. Americans badly needed a morale boost. I hoped we could give them that by a retaliatory surprise attack against the enemy’s home islands launched from a carrier… We would not return to the Hornet. After bombing our targets, we were to escape to China.”
–Jimmy Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, p. 2
3 Comments
John
30 Seconds over Tokyo was an even better book on this raid.
Murf
Awesome.
yankeegospelgirl
Hey, I know this is OT, but speaking of remembering sacrifices, today is the 12th anniversary of Columbine.
I just watched this video again and was very moved by it: