珍珠港被偷襲後, 為表示美國決心報復, 成立一組由杜立德中校帶領的轟炸機, 16架 B-25 , 一共 80人,  去轟炸東京.

 

  因沒有接近日本的基地, 所以只好從航空母艦黃蜂號起飛. 當時

並未嘗試過大飛機在航母上起飛.    更不幸是消息洩露,  它們被迫

要離日本更遠便起飛, 使轟炸任務後回不了航母, 只能自尋降落地點 .   他們還是出發了.

 

 

 

What an honor it would be to meet these gentlemen and thank them for their heroic mission and their Service to the United States. Most of us can't do that, but we can honor these men by forwarding this message. We can let Americans know that within four months, on April 18, 1942, 80 brave Americans sent a blow to Tokyo, the Capitol of the country responsible for the cowardly sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, that killed 2,386 Americans.

 

 

 

 

The Doolittle Raiders:  杜立德 勇敢侵襲者

 

Their 70th Anniversary Photo  70 週年剩下四人 ( 2013)

TO THOSE WHO WERE TOO YOUNG TO KNOW ABOUT THESE GUYS. They died to keep this country free.   請告知年青一代, 這批勇士的存在.

 

 

 

They once were among the most universally admired and revered men in theUnited States . There were 80 of the Raiders in April 1942, when they carried out one of the most courageous and heart-stirring military operations in this nation's history.   The mere mention of their unit's name, in those years, would bring tears to the eyes of grateful Americans.


Now only four survive.

 

After Japan 's sneak attack on Pearl Harbor , with the United States reeling and wounded, something dramatic was needed to turn the war effort around. 

Even though there were no friendly airfields close enough to Japan for theUnited States to launch a retaliation, a daring plan was devised. Sixteen B-25s were modified so that they could take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier. This had never before been tried -- sending such big, heavy bombers from a carrier.

 

The 16 five-man crews, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who himself flew the lead plane off the USS Hornet, knew that they would not be able to return to the carrier. They would have to hit Japan and then hope to make it to China for a safe landing. 



But on the day of the raid, the Japanese military caught wind of the plan. The Raiders were told that they would have to take off from much farther out in thePacific Ocean than they had counted on. They were told that because of this they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety. And those men went anyway.  



They bombed Tokyo , and then flew as far as they could. Four planes crash-landed; 11 more crews bailed out, and three of the Raiders died. Eight more were captured; three were executed.  
     轟炸東京造成一定的破壞與震撼. 事後各自逃亡, 有的在日本迫降被擄並槍決, 有的逃逸到中國或蘇聯, 還有跳傘的.     他們心中明白任務是沒有退路, 沒有足夠燃油飛回安全地. 但是此舉傳出美國抗日的意志, 振奮國人的情緒.
Another died of starvation in a Japanese prison camp. One crew made it toRussia . 

 

  不幸被俘虜


The Doolittle Raid sent a message from the United States to its enemies, and to the rest of the world: We will fight. And, no matter what it takes, we will win.
  62 人存活下來, 成為英雄, 美高梅拍攝一片東京上空30秒, 引以為榮.
Of the 80 Raiders, 62 survived the war. They were celebrated as national heroes, models of bravery. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer produced a motion picture based on the raid; "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," starring Spencer Tracy and Van Johnson, was a patriotic and emotional box-office hit, and the phrase became part of the national lexicon. In the movie-theater previews for the film, MGM proclaimed that it was presenting the story "with supreme pride."

 

 

Beginning in 1946, the surviving Raiders have held a reunion each April, to commemorate the mission. The reunion is in a different city each year. In 1959, the city of Tucson , Arizona , as a gesture of respect and gratitude, presented the Doolittle Raiders with a set of 80 silver goblets. Each goblet was engraved with the name of a Raider.   1946年以來, 倖存的飛行員都會在不同的城市舉行紀念日, 到亞利桑納州土順市時, 當地市府捐贈一木櫃.........



Every year, a wooden display case bearing all 80 goblets is transported to the reunion city. Each time a Raider passes away, his goblet is turned upside down in the case at the next reunion, as his old friends bear solemn witness.  木櫃內存放 80個酒杯各別刻上80人的名字, 每年聚會有終老的便將其杯倒置.  
 

 

 


Also in the wooden case is a bottle of 1896 Hennessy Very Special cognac. The year is not happenstance: 1896 was when Jimmy Doolittle was born. 
   木櫃裡有一瓶 軒尼詩 1896年份的佳釀, 因為杜中校是那一年生的. 等到只剩兩位老英雄時, 他們會開來追悼其他 78位同僚.
There has always been a plan: When there are only two surviving Raiders, they would open the bottle, at last drink from it, and toast their comrades who preceded them in death. 
      2013 初, 湯姆去世 (96歲), 至今只有四位, 
As 2013 began, there were five living Raiders; then, in February, 
Tom Griffin passed away at age 96. 

 

 

David Thatcher   大衛莎切爾

Tom Griffin. What a man he was. After bailing out of his plane over a mountainous Chinese forest after the Tokyo raid, he became ill with malaria, and almost died. When he recovered, he was sent to Europe to fly more combat missions. He was shot down, captured, and spent 22 months in a German prisoner of war camp.   湯姆葛立芬是個傳奇, 在中國跳傘後得虐疾, 恢復後被調到歐洲繼續飛行作戰, 被德軍擊落, 關在集中營 22個月.      他們這種無私的人格表現, 不因為戰爭,

而是責任感的奉獻.   湯姆妻子患病時, 他每天走去護養所, 三年不斷直到太太 2005 去世.

The selflessness of these men, the sheer guts ... there was a passage in the Cincinnati Enquirer obituary for Mr. Griffin that, on the surface, had nothing to do with the war, but that emblematizes the depth of his sense of duty and devotion: 

"When his wife became ill and needed to go into a nursing home, he visited her every day. He walked from his house to the nursing home, fed his wife and at the end of the day brought home her clothes. At night, he washed and ironed her clothes. Then he walked them up to her room the next morning. He did that for three years until her death in 2005." 

So now, out of the original 80, only four Raiders remain: Dick Cole (Doolittle's co-pilot on the Tokyo raid), Robert Hite, Edward Saylor and David Thatcher. All are in their 90s. They have decided that there are too few of them for the public reunions to continue. 

The events in Fort Walton Beach marked the end. It has come full circle;Florida 's nearby Eglin Field was where the Raiders trained in secrecy for theTokyo mission. The town planned to do all it can to honor the men: a six-day celebration of their valor, including luncheons, a dinner and a parade. 
       如今餘下的四個老英雄, 他們可曾想過為別人犧牲

是否值得 ? 2013 的公開聚會後, 四人都認為是最後, 因為參加的人包括家屬已越見少, 往後的相聚只會是他們幾人的私下活動.   在公開地方他們很低調, 從不炫耀豐功偉績, 但是如果他們聽到一點感激的敬語,  相信他們會有所動.  日子對他們言是流逝得太快了, 等不到餘下兩人, 祈望他們還有四人趕緊開瓶暢飲 !   用那刻有名字的杯 !

Do the men ever wonder if those of us for whom they helped save the country have tended to it in a way that is worthy of their sacrifice? They don't talk about that, at least not around other people. But if you find yourself near Fort Walton Beach this week, and if you should encounter any of the Raiders, you might want to offer them a word of thanks. I can tell you from firsthand observation that they appreciate hearing that they are remembered. 
The men have decided that after this final public reunion they will wait until a later date -- some time this year -- to get together once more, informally and in absolute privacy. That is when they will open the bottle of brandy. The years are flowing by too swiftly now; they are not going to wait until there are only two of them. 

They will fill the four remaining upturned goblets. 
And raise them in a toast to those who are gone.