Author: Jim Cherry
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/07
Page Numbers: 168

View From HQ

Dedicated to the living and departed heroes of the famous Doolittle Raiders.

Background

The "View from HQ" will not be from AMA Headquarters this month. It will shift approximately 95 miles east to Urbana, Ohio. This small town is located 45 miles from Dayton, home to the National Museum of the Air Force, more commonly called the Air Force Museum.

It was in this setting that the 68th and final reunion of the famous Doolittle Raiders took place on April 16–18, 2010. Only eight veterans are left of the original 80 who took off from the carrier USS Hornet on April 18, 1942, and only four were able to attend.

For those who recognize the name Doolittle Raiders but fail to recognize the historical significance, a little history lesson is in order. On December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed by the Imperial Japanese Navy and America was drawn into World War II. American morale was low and the Japanese, with little effort, began taking over the Southeast Pacific.

Japanese leadership had told its population that the U.S. could not reach mainland Japan without bombers; it was too far. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was looking to boost American morale. He sought a way to show the Japanese that their island nation was not too far removed from American might. A plan was developed to bomb mainland Japan.

Sixteen B-25s, under the command of Jimmy Doolittle, were secretly trained to launch from a carrier on a one-way trip to bomb Tokyo. After the bombing run, most went on to run out of fuel and ditch at sea or crash in China. One successfully landed in Russia.

It is a fantastic story of how America scored the first attack on Japanese soil. In addition to the morale boost to America, it caused Japanese high command to recall some fighting units to the home islands for defense.

Reunion and Fly-in

Urbana became the originating point for this historic reunion fly-in. On Thursday and Friday before the event, 17 Mitchell B-25s, small World War II twin-engine bombers, flew in from across the United States for the memorial flight into Dayton and the Air Force Museum.

Grimes Field, the small Urbana airport, was more than alive with the roar of the bombers as they took a few lucky individuals—$400 each—for rides in the historic airplanes. Others were treated to impromptu formation flying of the B-25s, along with two P-51 Mustangs that flew in for the celebration. It was said that this was the largest gathering since World War II of B-25s, since the movie production of Catch-22 in 1970.

Being able to walk among these historic giants of the sky was inspiring. To be within 100 feet when one came to life was breathtaking.

Mixed among the crowds and the youth of today were a few true American heroes—men who had dealings with the airplanes during the war. Their then-youthful expressions now only exist in old black-and-white photographs that the passage of time has faded. These heroes viewed the aircraft with long-ago memories coming back to life. You could see it in their eyes.

The Academy had an information booth at this event, thanks largely to one of the event organizers. We were inside the museum hangar amid the restored and still-under-restoration museum projects. Our exact location was beneath the wing of a B-25 that was still missing an engine.

On Saturday, April 17, at 7 a.m., 17 of the B-25s took off one by one with a three-minute separation. The aircraft call signs of the day for the event were "Raider 1" through "Raider 17." As Raider 1 was turning on final to the museum runway in Dayton, Raider 17 was beginning its takeoff roll in Urbana. One by one the Raiders took to the sky for the short hop to Dayton and a rendezvous with the four original Raiders.

As Raider 7 was on final for landing, a voice over the headphones came on with the question, "I wonder what happened to these guys after the war. Did they just go back to normal life or what?"

No one answered. The silence spoke volumes about what those young men, the "class of '45," did to defend our nation at that time, only to return home and build a greater nation.

Following are two websites with information about the 68th Doolittle Reunion:

Thanks and Announcements

An event of this size doesn't just happen; a special thank you goes to:

  • Dave Millner of Urbana, Ohio, one of the many volunteers who made this historic event possible.
  • Joe Hass, who flew in on Friday and helped with the transportation logistics on Saturday.

I'm pleased to announce that Tony Stillman, former AMA District V vice president, was selected to be the new nationwide Flying Site Assistance Coordinator. Tony brings a wealth of knowledge to the position and will be working with the staff in moving this effort in a new, more aggressive direction.

In the spirit of flight.

Jim Cherry Executive Director [email protected]

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.