Awesome Doolittle Raid Photos
Good friend Fred Baldassarre of Battling Bastards of Bataan sent me yesterday a few images of the Doolittle Raid. Here are a few resized photos of the planes and crew aboard the USS Hornet.
Crew 16 was captured by the Japanese after bailing out. Lt. Farrow (front left) and Sgt. Spatz (extreme right) were executed on 15 Oct 1942 along with Lt. Hallmark from Crew 6.
Crew 11. Capt. Ross Green (front left) was shot down over North Africa on 17 Jul 1943. He was Captured – Escaped – Recaptured and spent the rest of the war as a POW.
Crew 12. Sgt. Duquette (extreme right) was killed 6 weeks after the raid when his plane hit a mountain in China while returning from a bombing mission.
Crew 8 landed near Vladivostok with engine trouble and were interned in Russia until they escaped through Iran in May 1943.
Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle and Crew. Dick Cole, 2nd from right, a member of the Greatest Generation, remains active on his farm in Comfort, Texas.
Summary:
80 Men flew from the Hornet on 18 April 1942
3 were killed bailing out
8 were captured by the Japanese
3 POWs were executed
1 died of malnutrition and mistreatment
4 were repatriated 40 months into captivity
10 were KIA in Europe, North Africa & Indo-China
4 were shot down and interred as German POWs
Your identification of the Doolittle Plane 16 crewmembers who died is incorrect. In fact, the individual on the far right of the photo is Jacob Deshazer. The photo had the wrong legend attached to it in a historical Air Force Web site. It was only recently corrected after I brought this to the attention of the historical unit at the Air Force Museum (now renamed) at Wright Patterson AFB. Sgt. Spatz is actually in the middle of the photo. It’s an unfortunate error that isn’t your fault, but needs correction.
Comment by Richard Innes — March 9, 2009 @ 3:43 am