Prisoner: Hite, shown here being led blindfolded by his captors, was was taken captive by the Japanese for 40 months after the Doolittle Raid
Daily Mail: One of last three remaining World War II Doolittle Raiders who flew daring mission over Japan just four months after Pearl Harbor dies, aged 95
* Lt. Col. Robert Hite died in Nashville after a battle with Alzheimer's disease
* He was a co-pilot of a crew that flew one of the 16 B-25 bombers that raided Tokyo in 1942
* The air raid gave Americans hope in the wake of Pearl Harbor
* Two of the original 80 Doolittle's Raiders are alive today, both in their 90s
One of the last surviving Doolittle Raiders who attacked Japan during a daring World War II mission has died, age 95.
Lt. Col. Robert Hite died on Sunday at a nursing home in Nashville after a battle with Alzheimer's disease.
He was one of three remaining Doolittle Raiders.
Hite was a co-pilot of a crew that flew one of the 16 B-25 bombers that raided Tokyo in April 1942.
Led by Lieutenant Colonel James 'Jimmy' Doolittle, the mission saw 80 airmen sent in bombers from a carrier at sea to attack military targets in Japan.
WNU Editor: Out of 80 airmen there are now only two. But what I find even more amazing about this story is that some of these American airmen survived the World War II mission and were able to land in China in the first place.
3 comments:
Are the 2 alive Doolittle raiders the ones that spent time in Soviet internment?
That is a good question Aizino, I am not sure. I did some quick research, but found no answers.
I understand that by International Law the USSR had to intern the american Airmen since the USSR was at peace with Japan.
However my understanding is that the internment was a dicey thing, which it should not have been
Plus, there were the Murmask runs like PQ17. So that hurts.
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