Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor (85 page)

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Authors: James M. Scott

Tags: #Pulitzer Prize Finalist 2016 HISTORY, #History, #Americas, #United States, #Asia, #Japan, #Military, #Aviation, #World War II, #20th Century

BOOK: Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor
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110
 Bad weather forced: Kenneth Reddy diary, March 24, 1942.

110
 Doolittle, however: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 28.

110
 “I am going on a special mission”: “Tokyo Lists 4 as Captive U.S. Airmen,”
Sun
, Oct. 25, 1942, p. 3.

110
 “We flew to Sacramento non-stop”: Kenneth Reddy diary, March 25, 1942.

111
 “Can you see”: This exchange comes from Macia oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 15–16, 1987.

111
 “Over Texas”: McClure to Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, undated (ca. 1950).

111
 “I would like to have”: This exchange comes from “Meeting of Doolittle Project B-25B’s,” transcript, March 25, 1942, Iris #00142923, AFHRA.

111
 “Services and supplies”: Vanaman to CO SAD, March 24, 1942, ibid.

112
 “Under no circumstances”: Edmund J. Borowski to C. G. Williamson, “Work to Be Accomplished on B-25B Doolittle Project,” March 26, 1942, ibid.

112
 “Stick close to the field”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 29.

112
 “You won’t need it”: Ibid., p. 29.

112
 “Mind your own business”: Reynolds,
The Amazing Mr. Doolittle
, p. 191.

112
 “I had to stand by”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 29.

112
 “Things are going”: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 253.

112
 “What’s going on here?”: This exchange comes from
Reminiscences of General James H. Doolittle, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
(Annapolis, Md.: U.S. Naval Institute, 1987), p. 32.

112
 “I was madder”: Ibid.

114
 The crews ran into a similar headache: York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984.

114
 “In several instances”: T. R. White to Air Surgeon, “Report of Activities Covering the Period from March 1, 1942, to June 16, 1942,” June 23, 1942.

114
 Ken Reddy went bowling: Kenneth Reddy diary, March 27–30, 1942.

114
 “We lowered Dean Hallmark”: Everett W. “Brick” Holstrom, “General Recollections,” unpublished memoir, p. 30.

114
 “Let’s give him a hot foot”: This exchange comes from Greening, “The First Joint Action,” p. 55. See also Greening,
Not As Briefed
, p. 17.

114
 “This will be”: Jacob Eierman to J. George Eierman, March 9, 1942, in “Baltimore Airman Wins Valor Award,”
Sun
, May 21, 1942, p. 24.

115
 “Please don’t worry”: Melvin Gardner to parents, April 1, 1942, in “SSG Melvin J. Gardner,” unpublished family narrative, Box 2, Series II, DTRAP.

115
 The officers met: Details of the meeting are drawn from
Reminiscences of General James H. Doolittle
, pp. 15–17; Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, pp. 256–57; Halsey,
Admiral Halsey’s Story
, p. 101.

115
 “It immediately occurred”: Halsey oral history, quoted in
Reminiscences of General James H. Doolittle
, p. 17.

115
 “We discussed the operation”:
Reminiscences of General James H. Doolittle
, pp. 15–16.

116
 “This was understandable”: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 256.

116
 “We just happened to find out”: “Interview with B-25 Crew That Bombed Tokyo and Was Interned by the Russians,” transcript, June 3, 1943, Iris #00115694, AFHRA.

116
 “We had to change”: This exchange comes from York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984.

116
 “How do you think”: This exchange comes from
The Reminiscences of Rear Admiral Henry L. Miller
, vol. 1, pp. 36–37.

117
 “I haven’t got time”: Reynolds,
The Amazing Mr. Doolittle
, pp. 192–93. This anecdote is recounted in several sources. I have depended largely on Greening’s report, since it was written closet to the time.

117
 “LOUSY”: Greening, “The First Joint Action,” p. 53; Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 254.

117
 “Just a minute, Colonel”: Greening, “The First Joint Action,” p. 53.

117
 “If that’s the case”: Ibid.

117
 “Who is that guy?”: Ibid., p. 54.

117
 “At less than 24 hours”: John M. Clark to Assistant Chief, Air Service Command, April 2, 1942, Iris #00142923, AFHRA.

CHAPTER 7

119
 “We believe the hand of God”: Russell Ihrig, “A War Message to All Hands,” included with
Cimarron
war diary, April 3, 1942, Box 731, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, World War II War Diaries, NARA.

119
 The
Hornet
towered:
Hornet
deck log, April 1, 1942.

119
 The 19,800-ton carrier: Background on the
Hornet
is drawn from Clayton F. Johnson et al., eds.,
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
, vol. 3 (Washington D.C.: GPO, 1968), pp. 367–69; Francis E. McMurtrie, ed.,
Jane’s Fighting Ships: 1941
(London: Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 1942) p. 460; Chief of the Bureau of Ships to the Secretary of the Navy, April 12, 1943, USS
Hornet
(CV-8) – Final Settlement under Navy Department Contract Nod-1126 dated April 10, 1939, with Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Newport News, Va., Box 738, RG 19, Bureau of Ships, General Correspondence, 1940–1945, NARA.

120
 Sailors slept sixty: Rose,
The Ship That Held the Line
, pp. 4–5, 24–27.

120
 “The food on carriers”: Mears,
Carrier Combat
, p. 22.

120
 “There was always noise”: Ibid., p. 21.

121
 “Remember Pearl Harbor”: Taylor,
The Magnificent Mitscher
, p. 109.

121
 Doolittle arrived first: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 254.

121
 “Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle, Captain”: Griffin,
A Ship to Remember
, pp. 52–53.

121
 “You’ll be holding”: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, pp. 260–61.

121
 “All right with me, Jim”: Ibid., p. 255.

121
 By the afternoon of April 1: John M. Clark to Assistant Chief, Air Service Command, April 2, 1942, Iris #00142923, AFHRA.

121
 He had instructed his pilots: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 254.

122
 “What do you think?”: This exchange comes from Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

122
 “How much time”: Ibid.

122
 “The moment York introduced me”: Robert G. Emmens,
Guests of the Kremlin
(New York: Macmillan, 1949), p. 2.

122
 “What about flying”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 30.

123
 “As I put the flaps down”: Ibid.

123
 “Damn!”: Ted W. Lawson, “Thirty Seconds over Tokyo,” pt. 1,
Collier’s
, May 22, 1943, p. 80.

123
 “Is everything okay?”: This exchange comes from Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 30.

123
 “It was an eye-opener”: Sims,
First over Japan
, p. 18.

123
 “I don’t think any of us”: Bower oral history interview with Edwards, Oct. 27, 1971.

123
 “My heavens”: Ibid.

124
 “postage stamp”: Greening,
Not As Briefed
, p. 19.

124
 “We knew we were going”: Hoover oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 20–21, 1988.

124
 “She was a great sight”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 31.

124
 “Don’t tell the Navy boys”: Ibid.

124
 “You know, I talked”: This exchange comes from
The Reminiscences of Rear Admiral Henry L. Miller
, vol. 1, p. 37.

124
 “My, don’t those fellows”: John F. Sutherland oral history interview with the Navy, May 14, 1943, Box 26, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, World War II Oral Histories and Interviews, 1942–1946, NARA.

124
 “I think
our
initial reaction”:
The Reminiscences of Captain Stephen Jurika, Jr.
, vol. 1, pp. 456–57.

124
 “I’ve done everything I can”: Ibid., pp. 461–62.

125
 four thousand people: “Knox Praises Men Lost on the Kearny,”
New York Times
, Oct. 21, 1941, p. 5.

125
 “I never saw such a small”: Hoover oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 20–21, 1988.

125
 The Army’s enlisted men: Jacob Eierman, “I Helped Bomb Japan,”
Popular Mechanics
, July 1943, p. 65; AFHRA oral histories with Holstrom, Emmens, Macia, and McCool.

125
 “I was a First Lieutenant”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 32.

125
 “You had to go down the hall”: Cole oral history interview with Hasdorff, Dec. 12–13, 1988.

125
 In addition to the
Hornet
: The compilation of ships present is drawn from the April 1–2, 1942, deck logs of the
Hornet
,
Cimarron
(Box 2044),
Vincennes
(Box 9371) and
Nashville
(Box 6158), all found in RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Deck Logs, 1941–1950, NARA.

125
 A high-pressure area: “Aerology and Naval Warfare: The First Raid on Japan,” Chief of Naval Operations, Aerology Section, Feb. 1947.

125
 With the bombers:
Hornet
deck log, April 1, 1942.

125
 “All right, everyone is free”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

126
 “Understand you’re moving”: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 257.

126
 “His remark proved”: Ibid.

126
 “We had enough time”: Knobloch oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 13–14, 1987.

126
 “It was a beautiful night”: Charles L. McClure, tape transcription, Dec. 1987, Box 4, Series II, DTRAP.

126
 the bombers silhouetted: “A Trip to Japan,”
Time
, May 3, 1943, p. 30.

126
 The Navy had put out the story: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 261.

126
 “Just putting the aircraft”: Macia oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 15–16, 1987.

126
 “We had some concerns”: Potter oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 8–10, 1979.

126
 The
Hornet
swayed:
Hornet
deck log, April 2, 1942.

127
 “Hear sundry rumors”: James Doolittle Jr. to James Doolittle, April 4, 1942, Box 64, Series IX, DPUT.

127
 “I’ll be out of the country”: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 257.

127
 “We had many separations”: Ibid., p. 258.

127
 Doolittle returned to the carrier: Ibid., pp. 260–61.

127
 “You will be constantly”: George Marshall to James Doolittle, March 31, 1942, Microfilm Roll #169, HHAP.

127
 “When I learned”: Ernest King handwritten memo to James Doolittle, in Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 261.

128
 “Doolittle?”: This exchange is ibid., pp. 261–62.

128
 The light cruiser
Nashville
:
Hornet
and
Nashville
deck logs, April 2, 1942;
Nashville
war diary, April 2, 1942 (Box 1249),
Gwin
war diary (Box 914), and
Cimarron
war diary (Box 731), all found in RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, World War II War Diaries, NARA.

128
 The
Hornet
with its guests:
Hornet
,
Vincennes
, and
Cimarron
deck logs, April 2, 1942; Report of Major Harry Johnson Jr., Adjutant, B25B Project, undated, Box 516, RG 18, Army Air Forces, Central Decimal Files, Oct. 1942–1944, NARA. The
Hornet
action report states that 70 Army officers and 130 enlisted men boarded the carrier, a figure higher than the 70 officers and 64 enlisted men cited in Johnson’s report. Given Johnson’s position as the mission’s adjutant, I considered his report more accurate.

128
 The ships steamed:
Vincennes
deck log, April 2, 1942.

128
 The mission had finally begun: Rose,
The Ship That Held the Line
, pp. 52–53.

128
 “It was quite a thrill”: William Bower diary, April 18, 1942, Box 1, Series II, DTRAP.

128
 “Our send off”: Kenneth Reddy diary, April 2, 1942.

128
 “As we passed”: George Larkin diary, April 2, 1942, Papers of George Elmer Larkin Jr., 1918–1942, Filson Historical Society, Louisville, Ky. A copy of Larkin’s diary is also on file in Box 4, Series II, DTRAP.

129
 “For the benefit”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 33.

129
 “We all had a whoopee”: Jeff Wilkinson, “Spied by Japanese, Raiders Take Off Early,”
State
, April 8, 2002, p. 1.

129
 “I can’t tell you”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 33.

129
 “All of the training”: Holstrom, “General Recollections,” p. 31.

129
 “Douglas MacArthur was having”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

129
 “Now, we’re going”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 33.

129
 “Now hear this”: Griffin,
A Ship to Remember
, p. 54.

129
 “This ship will carry”: Taylor,
The Magnificent Mitscher
, p. 117.

129
 “Cheers from every section”: Marc Mitscher to Chester Nimitz, April 28, 1942, Report of Action, April 18, 1942, with Notable Events Prior and Subsequent Thereto,” Box 1038, RG 38, Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, World War II Action and Operational Reports, NARA.

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