WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio, April 20, 2006 - Eighty silver goblets commemorating each man who flew in the "Doolittle Raid" over Japan were added to the collection of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force here yesterday.

"We are honored in the trust you place in us. We will honor and respect that trust." retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles D. Metcalf, director of the museum, told the eight raiders attending a reunion here this week on the 64th anniversary of the famous raid.

The "Doolittle Tokyo Raiders" were volunteer airmen from the U.S. Army Air Forces, the predecessor of the U.S Air Force, who on April 18, 1942, flew 16 B-25 Mitchell airplanes in an attack against Japan during World War II. Army Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle led the raid.

What a wonderful commemoration in their honor. Makes me want to go back to Wright Patterson for another tour. The last time I was there was 24 years ago.

Here's good site to view.

http://www.doolittleraid.com/

Eighty silver goblets commemorating each man who flew in the "Doolittle Raid" over Japan were added to the collection of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force here yesterday.

My neighbor is an avid fan of the Doolittle Raiders, as well as the Flying Tigers. He attended this event at WPAFB. The tradition of the silver goblets date back to 1959. The veterans had a goblet made for each member with their name printed on it twice; one up-right and one inverted. When a member died, his goblet was turned up-side down and all the remaining members drank a toast to him.

I guess the collection was turned over to the USAF Museum.

Steve

Thanks for filling in the blanks on that tradition. Love hearing the details and how traditions sprouted up in the Army, Navy, etc.

Here is a link to military.com article.

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,9...SRC=airforce.nl

Quoting:

"The goblets were previously housed at the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado Springs, Colo. In 1973, retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, Doolittle's co-pilot during the raid on Japan, built a portable display case to transport the goblets to the raiders' annual reunions. "

Recently, Dick Cole was passing through and stopped to visit my neighbor, the Doolittle Raider fan. My neighbor called me at work to see if I could drop by but I couldn't. He left a few autographed aircraft artwork.

Steve

Oh man, too bad you couldn't make it. You must have been chomping at the bit!!!!!

Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Celebrate 64th Anniversary

By Steven Donald Smith

American Forces Press Service

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio, April 19, 2006 – Eight of the surviving 16 "Doolittle Tokyo Raiders" gathered at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force here yesterday for their 64th annual reunion and to remember those who have gone before them.

"We're gathered to remember a historic event that changed the hearts of the American people," Lloyd Bryant, a Dayton, Ohio, radio announcer and former U.S. Air Force officer, said at the memorial ceremony. "We are here to pay tribute to those brave men, whose courageous action gave Americans their first glimpse of victory during the darkest days of World War II."

The Doolittle Raiders were a group of 80 volunteer airmen from the U.S. Army Air Forces who on April 18, 1942, flew 16 B-25 Mitchell airplanes from the deck of the USS Hornet on a daring mission to bomb Japan. Their name is derived from the man who led the air raid, Army Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle.

The raiders' objective was to bomb multiple Japanese cities and then land at an airstrip in China for refueling. Unfortunately, a Japanese patrol boat spotted the Hornet, forcing the Americans to launch the attack hundreds of miles before the intended launch point. After dropping their payloads, the raiders continued on toward China, but a combination of bad weather and low fuel forced the crewmembers to either bail out or crash land in a Japanese-occupied portion of China. One plane landed safely in Russia, where its crew was interned.

"We were on empty and flew about 500 miles inside the coast of China before we ran out of fuel and had to bail out in Japanese-occupied territory," co-pilot retired Lt. Col. Bob Hite said. The Japanese captured Hite along with his crew. He was held as a prisoner of war until Japan surrendered in August 1945.

The raid achieved little in terms of damage inflicted on Japan, but was a huge morale booster to the American people, coming just four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Navigator retired Lt. Col. Chase Nielson, who also was held as a prisoner of war, said he hoped the actions of the Doolittle Raiders would always serve as an inspiration to all Americans. "I learned a few lessons, especially how to appreciate mankind, our democracy and the beautiful wonderful world we live in," he said. "I hope others do too."

Nielson said the greatest satisfaction he got from participating in the raid was the fact that he helped defend the ideals of the United States. "We are all honored that we had a part in protecting the freedoms and the democracy that we call the United States," Nielson said. "There isn't a better place in the world to live, believe me."

The surviving members of the raid cite the leadership of Jimmy Doolittle as the biggest factor in enabling them to undertake their perilous mission. "We had a great leader in Jimmy Doolittle," Tom Griffin, who was a 25-year-old lieutenant at the time of the raid, said. "He was the kind of leader who made us believe we could do this job."

"We all felt that Jimmy Doolittle was No. 1," Hite added. "He had it all -- intelligence, bravery and great leadership qualities."

Also attending the reunion was Tung Sheng Liu, a Chinese citizen who at age 24 helped one of the Doolittle crews escape the clutches of the Japanese. Liu, who spoke some English at the time, acted as a translator between the raiders and other sympathetic Chinese citizens. After some intense planning and daring maneuvering, Liu and his cohorts delivered the crew safely to Chungking, a city in southwestern China that was not occupied by Japan.

"It took us 10 days to travel a short distance, because it was occupied territory. Japanese units constantly patrolled," Liu said. "Then we traveled two more days by bus, eventually making it to Chunking."

In 1946, Liu moved to Minneapolis to attend graduate school and was stunned two years later when he learned that the Doolittle reunion was scheduled to be held there. "I read this in the paper and went to join them," he said. "They welcomed me as an honorary raider. I've been coming to the reunion ever since."

The bond among the Doolittle Raiders has remained tight over the years. "They're a great bunch of guys. We all know each other's children and grandchildren," Griffin said. "We're like a big family."

"This is a pretty fine group of guys," Hite said. "I don't know anybody better."

The first 10 Doolittle Raiders reunions were attended by the crewmembers only and, Griffin said, were somewhat raucous affairs. But when their wives began attending, things began to calm down a bit, he said. "From then on, the whole tenor of the reunions changed," Griffin said. "We calmed down and got to bed like civilized people. But the first 10 were some pretty wild reunions."

Other Doolittle Raiders in attendance were Bill Bower, Ed Horton, Frank Kappeler, Dick Cole and David Thatcher.

Jimmy Doolittle was one of those who was able to escape, but I have never understood how he did it when so many never got out. He was awarded the Medal Of Honor for this raid. Then he was sent to the Mediterranean to command. I think it was Ike who was frustrated with Doolittle because he always wanted to fly missions and he needed him as a commander.

Steve

Hi:

Someone saw my post on the Doolittle site and provided me with the following information, including Ken's Diary. How cool is this? Thanks Dan!

Hi Marion

 

Here is PDF of his diary. If you need it in word I can do that also. The attached pic is when they were getting an award from Madame Chiang Kai-shek. Kenneth is behind her and to her left when looking at the pic

 

Enjoy

 

Dan Bishop

Kenneth Reddy Diary PDF.pdf