~ Another "Doolittle Raider" Passes ~

[QuickDrawMcGraw]

I was saddened to hear this morning that one of the last
remaining survivors of the "Tokyo Doolittle Raiders" passed
away a few days ago.

* Major Thomas C. Griffin *
Navigator, Crew 9
July 10, 1916 ~ February 26, 2013
Age 96

.. A true American Hero to say the least*

----> Doolittle Tokyo Raiders - Official Web Site of the Raiders

I had the great honor to meet one of the Brave Doolittle Raiders
last summer at a B25' celebration event at Paine Field here
in Everett, Lt Col' Ed Saylor of crew 15'
Mr. Saylor' a local here from Puyallup Wa. will celebrate
his 93rd birthday next week.

.. here he is with my oldest son.
& signing my (now favorite) coffee cup*

.. And then there were 4*

~ Joe

 

[rwsmith]

What an honor

To be in the company of real heroes.

 

[armenius]

A Great group of real heroes.I was privileged to spend a couple of days with these men at the 1979 Reunion in Charleston,SC whenI was on the Air Force Association Board who sponsored their visit.It was awesome to be in the company of these men who were my heroes from the time I was 7 years of age.
Seeing the photos from Paine Field brings back many memories from the time I spent as a Cold War Fighter Pilot flying F89's there with the 321 Fighter Interceptor Squadron.
A very interesting story is "Return to Freedom" by Col. Samuel Grashio.He was the Base Commander and had just arrived in the Philippines in time for the war to break out and when the P40's ran out of fuel fought as an infantryman until the fall.He was lucky enough to survive the Bataan Death March and imprisonment.After months of terrible cruelty and deprivation he and several others made an unusual escape and eventually joined the guerillas.He subsequently was picked up by a submarine and returned to the States.
Many unsung heroes live amongst us.Honor and respect them.

 

[QuickDrawMcGraw]

A Great group of real heroes.I was privileged to spend a couple of days with these men at the 1979 Reunion in Charleston,SC whenI was on the Air Force Association Board who sponsored their visit.It was awesome to be in the company of these men who were my heroes from the time I was 7 years of age.
Seeing the photos from Paine Field brings back many memories from the time I spent as a Cold War Fighter Pilot flying F89's there with the 321 Fighter Interceptor Squadron.
A very interesting story is "Return to Freedom" by Col. Samuel Grashio.He was the Base Commander and had just arrived in the Philippines in time for the war to break out and when the P40's ran out of fuel fought as an infantryman until the fall.He was lucky enough to survive the Bataan Death March and imprisonment.After months of terrible cruelty and deprivation he and several others made an unusual escape and eventually joined the guerillas.He subsequently was picked up by a submarine and returned to the States.
Many unsung heroes live amongst us.Honor and respect them.

Thank you Armenius for the commentary*
My father who would of been 9' back in 42' taught me to
respect & remember them who gave such sacrifices.

And thank You Sir for your service*

~ Joe

 

[kcabear]

Sadly another cup turned over.

I cannot imagine the amount of courage it took to take off of the carrier knowing you didn't have enough fuel to make it back and would have to land in a foreign country possibly enemy and be captured. One of the Raiders actually met Chairman Mao on his way out of China and had a picture taken with him.
Those men as well as the hundreds of thousands of men who fought in the Europe and Pacific theatres were truly exceptional men.
I only wish my Grandfather would have talked about it. I guess some things are too painful to relive and are easier to manage deep within. He only told one story about how he received his Purple Heart, he would keep his spoon in his pocket and one day he caught a stray bullet hitting the spoon, saving his life.
Armenius, Thank you sir for your service. I will definitely look into that book.

 

[USAFret]

My wife and I met Gen Doolittle and his wife back in the early 70's when I was assigned to Los Angeles Air Force Station. Had dinner with them and they were the nicest people that you could imagine. He kept asking about my assignments and career objectives and glossed over his amazing achievements. Really nice folks. I've met two other Medal of Honor recipients who were both down to earth and not at all full of themselves but Gen Doolittle was simply an average, decent person, not the type to play up his incredible past.