SONS OF LIBERTY, UNITE!
Now is our time! We must unite for the sake of our Republic. Our way forward lies in resisting those who would seek to eliminate our individual liberties. We must neither fear their tactics nor give in to their threats. Freedom dies slowly at the hands of security. We must not allow our children to wear chains of slavery because we chose to live in a prison of fear. We are free men - let us live like it!
The Story of the Doolittle Raid, pt 4
Closeup of the Doolittle Raiders Memorial
Sergeant Robert C. Bourgeois from Louisiana served as the Bombardier on the crew of the Lucky 13. After having successfully bombarding the Japanese shipyards, they approached 25 Japanese naval task forces. In response, they flew straight at them and up the middle. Because of this, not one shot was fired at them as they skimmed the waters in the middle of the enemy’s forces. After 13 hours of flying through awful weather, the Lucky 13 was finally running out of fuel. They feared that they would land in the ocean and be attacked by sharks.
Some Raiders posing with local Chinese.
The crew said their prayers, bid one another farewell and jumped from the dying plane. Robert began counting to 10 when he would pull the ripcord to his chute. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5… and before he could pull the cord, he felt a horrific jerk that shocked his system. They were much further off course than they had calculated and were flying low over a small village. Robert found himself sitting in a rice paddy in rural China 100 miles west of Chuchow. He pulled himself together, got up and found a dry spot to sit and determine his next step. He waited out the night where he landed and thought of his training. He had been instructed to approach the locals with a big smile and if they did not smile in return to shoot them.
As morning dawned, he walked into the nearest village. His anxiety was high as he knew he would have a life and death split-second decision to make. In his nervousness, he not only smiled, he began to laugh out loud to be sure and communicate correctly. The locals smiled back! Within two days, the entire crew of the Lucky 13 were together again. The Chinese Nationalists who found these American flyers were profoundly grateful for their service and sacrifice. The men posed with the locals and held their Chinese umbrellas. This picture was very quickly circulated around the globe. Sgt. Bourgeois is the tall American in the middle of the picture.
Crew of the Lucky 13 pose with local Chinese Nationalist villagers
They carried the crew in hand-carried sedan chairs for 20 miles to the next large town. Word had gotten to the town the day before and a local band stayed up all night practicing The Star Spangled Banner so they could honor the men as they entered their town. They were taken to an orphanage where 200 girls lived and they where they were given flowers and the girls sang for them. Then a nun working at a local mission, who was originally from New Orleans prepared a meal for the crew men of red beans and rice; this was their first meal since leaving the Hornet. The next day the men began a journey that took them from chair sedans to horseback to trains and finally a bus to rendezvous with the rest of the Raiders. In fact, as they steamed into Chuchow on a locomotive, the train jumped the tracks and derailed. The crew men were ironically housed in the 13th car and were unharmed. The picked their way out of the wreckage and found a bus to complete their journey.
All of the Doolittle Raiders were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Eight of the men received purple hearts for what they endured in captivity. Two of them were given Silver Stars for gallantry and valor. One, Doolittle, was given the Medal of Honor. Additionally, all of the Raiders were given the Chinese Distinguished Army Medal by Chang Kai-Shek while at Chung King.
Read part 5, Videos of the Doolittle Raid
Back to part 3, Flight of The Lucky 13
The Story of the Doolittle Raid, pt 3
Crew of the Lucky 13, left to right: Lt. Clayton J. Campbell (navigator), Lt. Edgar E, McElroy (pilot), Sgt. Adam R. Williams (engineer-gunner), Lt. Richard A. Knobloch (co-pilot), Sgt. Robert C. Bourgeois (bombardier).
The crew of aircraft #40-2247, also known as “The Lucky 13″, were excited at having been chosen for what they were told was an “important and dangerous” mission. They didn’t know any details other than that they had been trained on being able to take off in a B-25 in just a couple hundred feet. They had no idea that they would make history in a surprise attack on Japan by doing the unheard of – launching a bomber from a aircraft carrier. In fact, it was so unbelievable that Japan wondered where the secret base was from which these planes originated. In response to reporters asking about the location of America’s secret base, President Roosevelt responded “Shangri-La”. This was a reference to a mythical location in a popular novel of the time called Lost Horizons. The American President’s humor was lost on the Axis powers as they soberly reported that they had not been able to locate Shangri-La on any map.
While waiting their turn to take off, the crew of the Lucky 13 watched as plane number 7 reached the end of the floating runway and dropped off the end of the ship. Craning their necks, they saw the courageous pilot flying the plane just over the top of the water with its wheels crashing through the waves. Another minute and they were successfully navigating toward their target. When it was their turn, after successfully launching from the deck of the USS Hornet, the Lucky 13 headed toward the coastline flying a mere 25 feet off of the surface of the water so as to evade the radar.
They encountered very little resistance as they had taken the Japanese by surprise. Many of the enemy pilots reported seeing the military on the ground scrambling to get to their planes. One of the planes later reported having seen a Japanese soldier in the middle of the street taking video of their incoming attack. They momentarily considered taking him out and then decided that his video of their surprise attack would do more good for the American cause than killing one Japanese soldier, so they spared him. The first indication for the crew of the American fleet as to the status of the attack was when the infamous Tokyo Rose blurted, “We’re being bombed!” before going off the air.
View of Yokohama from Lucky 13
The Lucky 13 was only one of two aircraft to have a camera and the navigator was able to snap a few shots during their flight. The crew of Lucky 13 was assigned the target of the Yokosuka shipyards. They were able to successfully hit a nearly completed Japanese aircraft carrier that was under construction, set it ablaze and prevent its use for some months. Additionally, they bombed the dry dock, the shipyard crane, the oil storage tanks and burned the machine shops to the ground.
After dropping all of their ordnance, they set a course for China. The high winds, however, blew them 200 miles off course and caused them to burn more fuel than anticipated. As they continued to fly west, the weather began to worsen. The heavy winds from earlier had blown in foreboding dark clouds and blinding rain. They were off course already and could no longer navigate by the stars. Long before they had refilled the plane’s tanks from the extra gas cans. After flying for 13 hours, the plane’s engine began to sputter. The crew of the Lucky 13 knew their time was short and that the end of their journey was finally here. The first engine finally gave out but the plane kept flying on its remaining engine. The crew began saying their farewell’s and praying for their safety. Unknown dangers faced them as they would attempt to escape the doomed craft and determine if they had landed in friendly or enemy territory. The second engine quit and the crew readied themselves to bail out. Sergeant Williams was the first one out followed by Sergeant Bourgeois and the others. Everything went black as they leaped from the rapidly descending plane.
Here is a brief video clip of Lucky 13 taking off from the USS Hornet:
Read part 4, A Bombardier’s Story
Back to part 2, Doolittle’s Daring Raid
The Story of the Doolittle Raid, pt 2
One of Doolittle's B-25s taking off from the deck of the USS Hornet
As the American fleet steamed toward Japan, they readied themselves by testing their planes daily. Additionally, they exercised regularly on the deck to stay in shape for their mission. Also, for entertainment, they converted a billiards table into a craps table. The plan called for them to launch when they were 450 miles from shore.
As it turned out, the fleet crossed the path with a Japanese patrol boat who alerted their military. A decision had to be made whether or not to move forward with the attack. Due to the unique nature of the plan, they were forced to store the fighter planes below deck to make room for Doolittle’s bombers. The dilemma became whether to ditch the bombers in the sea so they could bring the fighters up to defend the fleet, or to launch the bombers 10 hours earlier than planned and 200 miles further from the coast. Doolittle decided to launch the attack.
Early in the morning on April 18, 1942, the call to battle stations rang out. As the men grabbed the clothes and equipment, they saw one of the American ships, the Nashville, firing on an enemy vessel. They fought through heavy winds to prepare the planes for takeoff. The final announcement came over the loudspeaker, “Army crew, man your planes and prepare for immediate take off!” Everyone watched in anxious silence as Doolittle fired up the engine at the head of the pack in the first plane.
Doolittle B-25 just after taking off from the USS Hornet.
In addition to the 16 primary plane crews, there were two backup crews. Every man was so passionate about participating that the backup crew members began offering money to the primary crew members to trade places. Even when the bidding exceeded a hundred dollars per man, not one person accepted the bribes. They cherished the opportunity they were being afforded.
At one end of the ship there was an officer situated who timed the bouncing of the carrier and gave the signal when to take off so that the men would hit the end of the ship when it was pitching up. This was intended to give them extra lift in their takeoff to try to keep them out of the water. Since Doolittle was first in line, he had the shortest available runway. His performance would set the mood and the pace for his crew. Doolittle tore down the runway and jumped into the air well before the end of the ship and a cheer rang out throughout the crew. He did it! Although they had practiced many times on land, no one had ever actually taken off from an aircraft carrier.
Read part 3, Flight of The Lucky 13
Back to part 1, Awakening the Sleeping Giant
While driving home yesterday I was taken aback when I heard that baseball great, Roger Clemens, is being indicted for lying to Congress and could go to prison for 30 years. This email is by no means a defense of lying or a defense of steroids but I found it absolutely incredible when I heard the words “lying to Congress.” I actually found myself laughing. Was the announcer talking about the same Congress that we have in Washington?
I am having a difficult time wrapping my mind around the picture of Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Maxine Waters, Charlie Rangel, and countless others whose names escape me now who are congressmen and women sitting in judgment of someone who lied about taking steroids when they lie, deceive, and steal from us every day. Are we talking about the same folks who don’t report all of their earnings, don’t pay their taxes, or feather their own nests or that of their spouses with government contracts, sitting in judgment of Roger Clemens? Please clarify for me…are we talking about the same people who by the sin of omission allow our borders to be a sieve and wage war against the state of Arizona for trying to protect her citizens? Surely I am mistaken that we’re not talking about the likes of Nancy Pelosi who wants to investigate 911 families or anyone else who is opposed to the victory mosque on ground zero but will not investigate who is funding the mosque.
Congress should be indicted by the American people! If we cannot throw them in jail for 30 years then we need to throw them out of office forever and push for term limits. Every day I get more incensed at the absolute disdain our “public servants” have for us – for you and me, the American people.
I cannot tell you what to do but I just had to do something to get this subject out and discussed in the clear light of day. I will be praying, and I will write my congressmen and then wait for their form letters on the supplies that we have paid for which will undoubtedly ignore any thing I said in my letter. I heard a quote on Turning Point Monday morning related to illness and it was something like “don’t deny the diagnosis but defy the verdict.” I think we can all diagnose what is wrong with our country but please don’t sit quietly by and accept the verdict.
