Tag Archives: doolittle

Doolittle Raiders Announce Final Reunion

The Doolittle Raiders — the 80 men who made the daring Tokyo raid that inspired a nation — have had an annual reunion for the past 67 years.  At each one, they have toasted their comrades who have passed the prior year and ceremoniously turned their goblets over.  The plan was that the final two Raiders would open and drink a cognac bottled the year their then-leader, Jimmy Doolittle, was born.

There are five remaining Raiders, four of whom are “active.”  All are well into their 90s.

The Doolittle Raiders have decided to make 2013 their last reunion, and they will open the bottle this year.

For their final reunion, they will return Read more

World War 2 Ace, Fighter Pilot Dies

Lt. Col. Lee A. Archer, one of the original Tuskegee Airman and a fighter pilot, died on Wednesday, 27 January 2010.  The 90 year old was reportedly the “first and only black ace pilot.”  A fellow Tuskegee Airman estimated that 50 to 60 of the nearly 1,000 original pilots remain alive.  (The 332nd Fighter Group, which was composed of the Tuskegee squadrons, was reactivated in 2004 as an Expeditionary Air Wing in Iraq.  The wing held a memorial service in Iraq for LtCol Archer.)

Like the Doolittle Raiders, of whom only 8 survive of the 80 crew members, the original Tuskegee Airmen and their fellow World War Army Air Corps pilots served as inspirations to generations of men and women who would fly and fight for their country.  Though they are increasingly few in number, those who fought to preserve the free world in the early 20th century–many of whom did not return–are an irreplaceable part of the American heritage.  Their legacy, and their legend, should not be forgotten.

Doolittle Raider, Christian Missionary Dies

According to an AF.mil article, Staff Sgt. Jacob DeShazer (the bombardier on the last B-25 in the Doolittle Raid) has died. DeShazer was famous not only for his role in the raid, but also for his post-war activities.  The man who once hated his Japanese enemies with a vitriolic passion would become a Christian in their prison and return to evangelize them.  His story led to the conversion of Captain Mitsuo Fuchida, said to be the flight leader of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Fuchida himself became a missionary in Asia and the United States.

The text of a pamphlet DeShazer wrote, which was widely distributed in Japan after the war, can be seen at the bottom of this website.  His story was also made into a documentary called From Vengeance to Forgiveness.  His story was also chronicled several years ago here.

1 2