“The Doolittle Raid”

Bringing the War to Japan

Thursday, April 13, 2017, at 6:30 p.m.

Highlands Museum & Discovery Center

Aviation historian Bill Martin will lead us in a 75th Anniversary commemoration of one of the most daring missions of World War II – The Doolittle Raid. Of the eighty brave volunteers who took part in this highly secretive action, only one member remains today. In 1995, Bill had the privilege of personally meeting twenty-six of the survivors.

The raid took place on April 18, 1942, and was the first offensive action taken against the Empire of Japan following its attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7. 1941. It was a joint operation of the U.S. Army Air Forces and the U.S. Navy. Sixteen Army B-25 bombers, destined for Tokyo, were launched from the Navy aircraft carrier USS Hornet.

Sixteen crews under the direction of Army Air Corps Lt. Col. James Doolittle, a former racing pilot, carried out the brazen daylight attack. The unexpected bombing of its cities resulted in Japan’s having to reallocate forces to defend its homeland. Learn how the mission came about, how it was put together, and how it was successfully carried out.