Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor (94 page)

273
 Chinese soldiers escorted: Cole oral history interview with Alexander, Aug. 8, 2011.

273
 “When I saw him”: Potter oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 8–10, 1979.

273
 “Let’s get out of here”: Fred A. Braemer, Personal Report, May 5, 1942.

273
 “Well”: Potter oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 8–10, 1979.

273
 “Me China boy”: Fred A. Braemer, Personal Report, May 5, 1942.

273
 “Well”: Potter oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 8–10, 1979.

274
 “Hey”: Ibid.

274
 “We go”: Ibid.

274
 “One motioned to me”: Paul J. Leonard, Personal Report, undated (ca. May 1942).

274
 “I didn’t know”: Potter oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 8–10, 1979.

274
 “There is no worse sight”: Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, p. 12.

275
 “This was my first”: Ibid.

275
 “disconsolate”: “Diary Reveals Doolittle Believed Raid Failed,”
Reading Eagle
, April 23, 1943, p 15.

275
 “What do you think will happen”: This exchange comes from Doolittle,
I Could Never Be So Lucky Again
, pp. 12–13.

275
 “It was the supreme compliment”: Ibid.

276
 “Tokyo successfully bombed”: James H. Doolittle, Personal Report, May 4, 1942.

276
 “Now you guys”: Potter oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 8–10, 1979.

276
 Missionary John Birch had fled: John M. Birch oral history interview with 14th Air Force Historical Office Staff, March 20, 1945, AFHRA; “Who Was John Birch,”
Time
, April 14, 1941, p. 29.

276
 “Have you any Americans”: This exchange comes from Birch oral history interview with 14th Air Force Historical Office Staff, March 20, 1945.

277
 “Well, Jesus Christ”: This exchange comes from Potter oral history interview with Hasdorff, June 8–10, 1979.

277
 “Come in here!”: Birch oral history interview with 14th Air Force Historical Office Staff, March 20, 1945.

277
 “Of course, I was glad to”: Ibid.

277
 “I will see”: This exchange comes from Greening, “The First Joint Action,” p. 54.

277
 Chase Nielsen awoke: Unless otherwise noted, details of the
Green Hornet
’s survival are drawn from the following sources: Chase J. Nielsen testimony in the case of
United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.
; Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: First Day Was Bad,” p. 3; C. Jay Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: Raider Tortured in Effort to Learn Point of Takeoff,”
News and Courier
, Sept. 17, 1945, p. 9; Nielsen oral history interview with Erickson, July 11, 2000; Nielsen oral history interview with Randle, Feb. 22, 2005; Glines,
Four Came Home
, pp. 46–59; Glines,
The Doolittle Raid
, pp. 102–6.

278
 “Good Lord”: Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: First Day Was Bad,” p. 3.

278
 “Why”: Chase Nielsen oral history interview with Rick Randle, Feb. 22, 2005.

278
 “Boy, this is a fine pickle”: Ibid.

278
 “The next thing I saw”: Nielsen oral history interview with Erickson, July 11, 2000.

278
 “Stand up or me shoot!”: Glines,
The Doolittle Raid
, p. 103.

278
 “I might be able”: Glines,
Four Came Home
, p. 50.

278
 “You Japanese”: This exchange comes from Nielsen oral history interview with Erickson, July 11, 2000.

278
 “They dead”: Chase Nielsen, undated manuscript, in Glines,
The Doolittle Raid
, p. 103.

279
 “Japanese come”: Chase Nielsen oral history interview with Winston P. Erickson, July 11, 2000.

279
 “It was a welcome sight”: Glines,
Four Came Home
, p. 51.

279
 The men returned: Earl L. Dieter letter to Jesse and May, Sept. 6, 1945, Box 2, Series II, DTRAP.

279
 “Hallmark, Meder and myself”: Chase Nielsen letter to Mrs. Dieter, Sept. 18, 1945, ibid.

279
 “Hurry, hurry, hurry”: Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: First Day Was Bad,” p. 3.

279
 “Soon”: Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: Raider Tortured,” p. 9.

279
 “We felt we had”: Ibid. In later interviews and oral histories, Nielsen stated that the airmen were smuggled aboard a sampan and taken to Wenchow, where the Japanese captured them. However, both his sworn testimony before the war crimes tribunal and a detailed newspaper account he authored in 1945 contradict that account.

280
 “Japanese come”: Ibid.

280
 “We talked briefly”: Ibid.

280
 “The Chinese led”: Ibid.

280
 “You now Japanese prisoner”: Ibid.

280
 David Thatcher returned: Unless otherwise noted, details of the
Ruptured Duck
crew’s escape through China are drawn from the following sources: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, pp. 87–106; McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Chinese Rescue Flyers!,” p. 5; McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Flyers Trek to Safety,” p. 6; Charles L. McClure, tape transcription, Dec. 1987; David J. Thatcher, Personal Report, May 15, 1942; David J. Thatcher, Personal Report (Continued), May 18, 1942; David Thatcher interview with author, Aug. 27, 2011; David Thatcher oral history memoir, Aug. 10, 1999; McClure to Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, undated (ca. 1950).

280
 “I got to the plane”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 87.

280
 “It was no comfortable sedan chair”: McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Chinese Rescue Flyers!,” p. 5.

281
 “They slipped in the mud”: Ibid.

281
 “As we rose”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 91.

281
 “One of the toughest-looking”: Ibid., p. 92.

281
 “It was hard not to moan”: Ibid., p. 96.

282
 “With sick, mingled fears”: Ibid., p. 97.

282
 “We moved along like a snail”: Ibid., p. 98.

283
 “Only after getting tired”: David J. Thatcher, Personal Report (Continued), May 18, 1942.

283
 “With this injury”: Ibid.

283
 “He tried to sleep”: Ibid.

283
 “Don’t let them cut”: This exchange comes from Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 99.

283
 “I was pretty darned hungry”: David J. Thatcher, Personal Report (Continued), May 18, 1942.

283
 “It was like raw”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 100.

283
 “the blackest night”: McClure to Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, undated (ca. 1950).

283
 “Lawson was wanting water”: David J. Thatcher, Personal Report, May 18, 1942.

284
 “I was carried”: McClure to Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, undated (ca. 1950).

284
 “Anything we got is yours”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 102.

284
 “They had nothing”: Ibid.

284
 “Sitting in one of the anterooms”: McClure to Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, undated (ca. 1950).

284
 “man-eating bug”: McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Flyers Trek to Safety,” p. 6.

285
 “I didn’t get much rest”: Ibid.

285
 “I tried to go to sleep”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 102.

285
 Dr. Chen Shenyan arrived: Statement by Dr. Shen-Yen, Co-Direction, En-Tse Hosptial, Ling Hai, undated (ca. May 1942), included with Cooper, “The Doolittle Air Raid on Japan,” June 22, 1942.

285
 “There was a compound fracture”: Ibid.

285
 “He also had multiple”: Ibid.

285
 “We were given”: David J. Thatcher, Personal Report (Continued), May 18, 1942.

286
 “It brought a lump”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, p. 104.

286
 “At the top of a ridge”: McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Flyers Trek to Safety,” p. 6.

286
 “There were times”: Lawson,
Thirty Seconds over Tokyo
, pp. 104–5.

286
 “You’re safe here”: This exchange is ibid., p. 106.

286
 “It was a hospital now”: McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Flyers Trek to Safety,” p. 6.

286
 “It was forty miles”: David J. Thatcher, Personal Report (Continued), May 18, 1942.

CHAPTER 17

287
 “I had many things”: Kenneth Reddy diary, April 18, 1942.

287
 The Russians woke York: Unless otherwise noted, details of York’s arrival in Russia are drawn from the following sources: Emmens,
Guests of the Kremlin
, pp. 32–58; Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982; York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984; “Interview with B-25 Crew That Bombed Tokyo and Was Interned by the Russians,” transcript, June 3, 1943; Pohl as told to Dwiggins, “We Crash Landed in Russia—and Escaped,” pp. 55–56.

287
 “Business must never”: Emmens,
Guests of the Kremlin
, p. 33.

287
 “During this time”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

288
 “Tell you what”: Pohl as told to Dwiggins, “We Crash Landed in Russia—and Escaped,” p. 55.

288
 “Are you sure”: Emmens,
Guests of the Kremlin
, p. 35.

288
 “You must hurry”: Ibid., p. 36.

288
 “My God”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

288
 “I finally had to pull York”: Ibid.

288
 “Roosky Dooglas”: Ibid.

288
 “Where are we going”: This exchange comes from Emmens,
Guests of the Kremlin
, p. 37.

288
 “Khabarovsk”: Ibid., p. 38.

288
 “May I introduce to you”: Ibid., p. 39.

289
 “General Stern was the nearest”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

289
 “The General has asked”: Emmens,
Guests of the Kremlin
, p. 40.

289
 “Well, here we are”: Ibid., p. 44.

289
 “There wasn’t anything”: Ibid.

290
 “I speak a little English”: Ibid.

290
 “My God”: Ibid., p. 47.

290
 “Anything that resembled”: “Interview with B-25 Crew That Bombed Tokyo and Was Interned by the Russians,” transcript, June 3, 1943.

290
 “Every day had been”: Emmens,
Guests of the Kremlin
, p. 55.

291
 “Leaving!”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

291
 “Where are we going?”: Ibid.

291
 An influx of visitors: Unless otherwise noted, details of Smith’s crew’s time in China are drawn from the following sources: Donald G. Smith, Mission Report of Doolittle Project on April 18, 1942, May 14, 1942; Donald G. Smith, Personal Report, May 14, 1942, Griffith P. Williams, Personal Report, undated (ca. May 1942); Howard A. Sessler, Personal Report, May 14, 1942; Edward J. Saylor, Personal Report, May 15, 1942; Thomas White diary, April 19–24, 1942, in White, “The
Hornet
Stings Japan,” pp. 42–45; Thomas White, “Memoirs of ‘Doc’ White,” pp. 14–29.

291
 “He was still intact”: Thomas White diary, April 19, 1942, in White, “The
Hornet
Stings Japan,” p. 42.

291
 “Several times other boats”: Thomas White, “Memoirs of ‘Doc’ White,” p. 15.

292
 “The only sound”: Ibid.

292
 “Damn and fuck”: Ibid., p. 16.

293
 “I noticed the extreme age”: Thomas White diary, April 20, 1942, in White, “The
Hornet
Stings Japan,” p. 43.

293
 “The old priest”: Ibid.

293
 “We felt trapped”: Thomas White diary, April 21, 1942, in White, “The
Hornet
Stings Japan,” p. 43.

293
 “Several times we heard”: Thomas White, “Memoirs of ‘Doc’ White,” p. 19.

294
 “I don’t know whether”: Edward Saylor, “Doolittle Tokyo Raid,” Jan. 14, 1989.

294
 “The air in the cave”: Thomas White, “Memoirs of ‘Doc’ White,” p. 19.

294
 “Clattering noises”: “For Public Relations Branch: When, As, and If War Department Thinks Proper,” June 12, 1942.

294
 “Everyone relaxed”: Thomas White diary, April 21, 1942, in White, “The
Hornet
Stings Japan,” p. 43.

294
 “They had evidently”: Thomas White, “Memoirs of ‘Doc’ White,” p. 19.

294
 “Fascinating countryside”: Thomas White diary, April 21, 1942, in White, “The
Hornet
Stings Japan,” p. 43.

295
 “Glad to get”: Ibid., p. 44.

295
 “We replied”: Thomas White, “Memoirs of ‘Doc’ White,” p. 22.

295
 “Had a gorgeous night’s sleep”: Thomas White diary, April 23, 1942, in White, “The
Hornet
Stings Japan,” p. 44.

295
 “Safe and well”: Ibid.

295
 “a triumphal procession”: Ibid.

295
 “We went up a long valley”: Ibid.

296
 “Everywhere we went”: Ibid.

296
 Lawson’s conditioned had worsened: T. R. White to Department Surgeon, Far Eastern Dept., “Report of Injuries Received in Aircraft Accident,” April 26, 1942, included with Cooper, “The Doolittle Air Raid on Japan,” June 22, 1942. For description of his wounds, see also T. R. White to Air Surgeon, “Report of Activities Covering the Period from March 1, 1942, to June 16, 1942,” June 23, 1942.

296
 “All of the wounds”: Thomas White, “Memoirs of ‘Doc’ White,” p. 27.