Jimmy Doolittle's raid.
 

Jimmy Doolittle's granddaughter has documented the famous Doolittle Raid in April 1942, in which America struck back at Japan for the first time after the Pearl Harbor attack of the previous December 7th. Here, she puts it all into perspective, and corrects Hollywood's miscues. The reminder at the end is especially cogent: WE must write our history, and not let show business do it for us.

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Those are some brave men on that raid.

Saw her give the presentation back in Oct of 2011, she uses no notes and kept a large room full of experienced pilots right in the palm of her hand. Read her book as well, it's well worth your time.

I hear no mention of the biggest downside of that raid.

The Japanese reprisals on the Chinese people that helped the airmen escape Japanese occupied China killed off an estimated 100 K Chinese civilians.....records are more than a little sketchy. These too deserve mention.

An upside of the raid was its influnce that led the Japanese to invade Midway.

BTW, at the time the B-25 had no tail gun.....but the broom stick bit is true.

Thanks for the post. The monumental event and the meaning of it should be a top priority in American school history classes.

I forget the exact year but thinking late 1980's where he was a special guest at the EAA convention, Oshkosh. He spoke at the outdoor theater one evening where I certainly was in awe. Afterwards a friend of mine brought along a book which was written by Gen. Doolittle and so he signed it.

If one doesn't mind a Hollywood version, 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (made in 1944) has been mentioned by past crew members of the actual 'raid' as being quite accurate.