Last of Doolittle’s Raiders Is Called Home

[Weatherman2020]

Blue sky and tailwind.
Lt. Col. Richard Cole passed away age 103.
RIP and God Bless.

B-25B Mitchell Bombers take off from USS Hornet, 18th April 1942 as the US Stikes back at Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

While the raid had no impact upon Japanese industry, it destroyed their belief that Japan was unreachable. The Japanese began changing their strategy from expansion to a defensive perimeter after the raid.

 

[Mikeoxenormous]

Blue sky and tailwind.
Lt. Col. Richard Cole passed away age 103.
RIP and God Bless.

B-25B Mitchell Bombers take off from USS Hornet, 18th April 1942 as the US Stikes back at Japan after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

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While the raid had no impact upon Japanese industry, it destroyed their belief that Japan was unreachable. The Japanese began changing their strategy from expansion to a defensive perimeter after the raid.

God bless his soul...That was the turning point of the war.....Japan could be attacked, and was, which put doubt in the imperial empire...

—General James H. Doolittle, 9 July 1942 Doolittle Raid - Wikipedia. Doolittle’s postwar assessment of the impact of the raid: The Japanese people had been told they were invulnerable ... An attack on the Japanese homeland would cause confusion in the minds of the Japanese people and sow doubt

 

[Weatherman2020]

After Pearl Harbor, FDR ordered the military to hit them back some way as soon as possible. Doolittle came up with one of the most daring raids in military history, just 5 months after Pearl.

 

[depotoo]

Thank you for posting.

May he RIP.

 

[Ringel05]

 

[TroglocratsRdumb]

It took a lot of courage to be a Doolittle Raider.

 

[Mike Dwight]

People don't realize most Japanese deaths were just normal bombing raids. Sure, new science, big boom, shock and surrender. Tough choices, isn't it? Not a popular war theatre!

Well just like Russia-Germany , America lazily did nothing for 10 years of Japan-China war etc.

 

[whitehall]

The Doolittle crews were most likely in their 20's at least in 1942 so it's amazing that we lost the last one in 2019. It seems likely that Halsey was not a big fan of the raid and he got a pass from historians when he got cold feet after the Japanese picket boat was sunk and ordered the premature takeoff that doomed some of the pilots when they were guaranteed to run out of gas before reaching safety in China. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy but that's what history is all about. We know that the picket boat didn't radio any warning because the Japanese were caught flatfooted in Tokyo and it isn't likely that the Doolittle pilots were even aware that their flight plan would not work and they would most likely have to bail out over Japanese occupied territory or crash.

 

[harmonica]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

 

[SandSquid]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

body count wise yes. For morale for Americans still suffering from the losses at Pearl Harbor and Japanese expansion it was a huge boost.

Also it led to Yamamoto's resolve to capture Midway Island to help prevent any carriers from getting within striking distance of Japan again, which led to him losing the decisive battle in the Pacific.

 

[Old Man Grumbles]

RIP hero. It is well deserved.

As a young sergeant in the USAF I had the privilege to meet General Doolittle in 1983 while I was stationed in England.

 

[Pilot1]

Flying a loaded B-25 off the deck of a carrier must have been, uhhhh, interesting.

 

[whitehall]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

With all the hype generated by the media controlled by the FDR administration and the fact that we rely on media accounts it's hard to get a handle on the actual effect of the raid. It was a great morale booster at a time when we needed one after the debacle of Bataan and Corrigador but it might have backfired in that it did relatively little damage but it heightened Japan's alertness and determination.

 

[harmonica]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

With all the hype generated by the media controlled by the FDR administration and the fact that we rely on media accounts it's hard to get a handle on the actual effect of the raid. It was a great morale booster at a time when we needed one after the debacle of Bataan and Corrigador but it might have backfired in that it did relatively little damage but it heightened Japan's alertness and determination.

of course we didn't need a morale boost--after the back stab of Pearl Harbor
Halsey right after the attack:

Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.

BOOM
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Halsey,_Jr.

 

[harmonica]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

body count wise yes. For morale for Americans still suffering from the losses at Pearl Harbor and Japanese expansion it was a huge boost.

Also it led to Yamamoto's resolve to capture Midway Island to help prevent any carriers from getting within striking distance of Japan again, which led to him losing the decisive battle in the Pacific.

...we didn't need a morale boost after what they did--'''negotiating''' while they attacked us/backstab
Halsey after the backstab

Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Halsey,_Jr.

....this wasn't an even match--the war was decided at 7:58 AM Dec 7--the Japanese were doomed --morale boost not needed

 

[SandSquid]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

With all the hype generated by the media controlled by the FDR administration and the fact that we rely on media accounts it's hard to get a handle on the actual effect of the raid. It was a great morale booster at a time when we needed one after the debacle of Bataan and Corrigador but it might have backfired in that it did relatively little damage but it heightened Japan's alertness and determination.

of course we didn't need a morale boost--after the back stab of Pearl Harbor
Halsey right after the attack:

Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.

BOOM
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Halsey,_Jr.

The psychological results, it was hoped, would be the recalling of combat equipment from other theaters for home defense thus effecting relief in those theaters, the development of a fear complex in Japan, improved relationships with our Allies, and a favorable reaction on the American people." —General James H. Doolittle

 

[harmonica]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

With all the hype generated by the media controlled by the FDR administration and the fact that we rely on media accounts it's hard to get a handle on the actual effect of the raid. It was a great morale booster at a time when we needed one after the debacle of Bataan and Corrigador but it might have backfired in that it did relatively little damage but it heightened Japan's alertness and determination.

of course we didn't need a morale boost--after the back stab of Pearl Harbor
Halsey right after the attack:

Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.

BOOM
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Halsey,_Jr.

The psychological results, it was hoped, would be the recalling of combat equipment from other theaters for home defense thus effecting relief in those theaters, the development of a fear complex in Japan, improved relationships with our Allies, and a favorable reaction on the American people." —General James H. Doolittle

then it was definitely a failure/worthless
Iwo Jima
Okinawa
Guadalcanal--1942.....for over FIVE months

 

[harmonica]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

With all the hype generated by the media controlled by the FDR administration and the fact that we rely on media accounts it's hard to get a handle on the actual effect of the raid. It was a great morale booster at a time when we needed one after the debacle of Bataan and Corrigador but it might have backfired in that it did relatively little damage but it heightened Japan's alertness and determination.

of course we didn't need a morale boost--after the back stab of Pearl Harbor
Halsey right after the attack:

Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.

BOOM
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Halsey,_Jr.

The psychological results, it was hoped, would be the recalling of combat equipment from other theaters for home defense thus effecting relief in those theaters, the development of a fear complex in Japan, improved relationships with our Allies, and a favorable reaction on the American people." —General James H. Doolittle

Coral Sea was just a month later--there's your morale booster

 

[harmonica]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

With all the hype generated by the media controlled by the FDR administration and the fact that we rely on media accounts it's hard to get a handle on the actual effect of the raid. It was a great morale booster at a time when we needed one after the debacle of Bataan and Corrigador but it might have backfired in that it did relatively little damage but it heightened Japan's alertness and determination.

of course we didn't need a morale boost--after the back stab of Pearl Harbor
Halsey right after the attack:

Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.

BOOM
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Halsey,_Jr.

The psychological results, it was hoped, would be the recalling of combat equipment from other theaters for home defense thus effecting relief in those theaters, the development of a fear complex in Japan, improved relationships with our Allies, and a favorable reaction on the American people." —General James H. Doolittle

we hit the Marshalls and Gilberts Feb 1942--there's a morale booster

 

[SandSquid]

.....did not change the course of the war..a pin prick

With all the hype generated by the media controlled by the FDR administration and the fact that we rely on media accounts it's hard to get a handle on the actual effect of the raid. It was a great morale booster at a time when we needed one after the debacle of Bataan and Corrigador but it might have backfired in that it did relatively little damage but it heightened Japan's alertness and determination.

of course we didn't need a morale boost--after the back stab of Pearl Harbor
Halsey right after the attack:

Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell.

BOOM
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Frederick_Halsey,_Jr.

The psychological results, it was hoped, would be the recalling of combat equipment from other theaters for home defense thus effecting relief in those theaters, the development of a fear complex in Japan, improved relationships with our Allies, and a favorable reaction on the American people." —General James H. Doolittle

then it was definitely a failure/worthless
Iwo Jima
Okinawa
Guadalcanal--1942.....for over FIVE months

So Yamamoto using that raid to resolve himself to engage in a battle for Midway after the embarrassment of having the emperor's life put at risk, causing irreparable losses to his fleet and costing Japan the Pacific for all intents was a failure?