Doolittle Raid Reunion to Celebrate Veterans of Historic Mission

Bethany Whitfield

Thursday, April 12, 2012 at 08:44 PM ET

Verified

** B-25s prepare to take off from the USS Hornet
for the Doolittle Raid in April 1942.**

Key Takeaways:

The five remaining Doolittle Raiders are holding a reunion from April 17-20 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of their historic mission.
The Doolittle Raid was the first WWII air strike on the Japanese mainland, significantly boosting American confidence in the spring of 1942.
It involved an unprecedented aviation feat: 16 land-based B-25 bombers taking off from a naval carrier for a combat mission, though all aircraft were lost due to fuel challenges.
The mission, while iconic, also resulted in casualties, with three Raiders killed during bail-out, four by Japanese captors, and ten more in subsequent WWII missions.

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Seventy years after the Doolittle Raiders took off from the USS Hornet in B-25s for the first air strike of World War II on the Japanese mainland, the five remaining Doolittle Raiders are coming together to commemorate their historic mission and share their stories with the public.

The reunion will take place April 17-20 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, and will include educational programs with the Doolittle Raiders, a memorial service with a B-25 flyover and a showing of the film Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, among other events.