The Doolitttle Raiders: A Lesson Learned

[MIflyer]

Take a look at the attached article by Barrett Tillman. It is available for free elsewhere on the Internet.

The article speaks for itself and has an important message that members of groups such as this one especially should give some thought.

Now take a look at the photo of the crew of Plane 10; the Pilot is Richard Joyce. Barrett Tillman points out that the pilot of that airplane was known to a editor of the magazine Flight Journal for many years but he did not know he was a Doolittle Raider and never interviewed him.

Now, take a look at the man on the left rear of that crew photo. That is Horace E. Crouch, a native of Columbia, SC, my home town. He taught me math and mechanical drawing in high school. I have been an airplane nut my whole life, and it did not take me long to find out he crewed B-25's in WWII. But when I found out that he was on the Doolittle Raid, it blew me away. The rest of the kids in the school went, "Duh?" They had not read Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo a half a dozen times or seen the movie every time it came on TV. And WWII vets were hardly rare at that time. Eventually it percolated up thorough the school that we had someone special there.

Back in the early 2000's I found out that Lt Col Crouch had to go to an assisted living facility. I wrote him a letter, saying that I appreciated the valuable instruction and inspiration he provided for me and giving him a few details of my own Air Force career. He wrote back, expressing astonishment at my own assignments (Okay, so maybe I was not the best student he ever had).

Also in the early 2000's I interviewed two friends, Ward Duncan and Bob Berry, and wrote articles about their WWII experiences. Both were delighted, as were the other men of their units. But I have also missed some opportunities to interview WWII vets I encountered.

So like Barrett Tillman says, Don't Wait. There are few WWII vets left now, but there still are those from Korea, Vietnam, and the subsequent conflicts.

 

[jetcal1]

It's a good point and an excellent post. We're also losing a lot of the authors who were prolific over the last 40 years or so. Tillman has got to be in his early 70's or better as well. His SBD book has got to be 40 years old now.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

It's a good point and an excellent post. We're also losing a lot of the authors who were prolific over the last 40 years or so. Tillman has got to be in his early 70's or better as well. His SBD book as got to be 40 years old now.

He's a member of this forum.

 

[jetcal1]

He's a member of this forum.

Yes sir.

 

[Conslaw]

I hope that Barrett publishes in some form some interview material which didn't quite fit in the published books but that he thinks should be preserved otherwise.

 

[OldParts]

This is so sadly true, at my previous home, one neighbor flew TBMs off of an escort carrier (Shamrock Bay) and the other was a 1948 Annapolis graduate who took his commission in the new U.S. Air Force and was shot down (P-51) on his first ground attack mission in Korea. He told me that he made it back to the base but crashed while landing and broke his back. Both men are dead. My daughter-in-law's grandfather had flown B-29s at the end of the war but did not go overseas. He flew DC-3s for a small airline and then became an instructor when the Air Force started the pilot training program because so many pilots stayed in the Army (a bit of history I didn't know). He died at 92 and I wish I had known him better. I have read that he had 36,000 hours of flight time but find that almost unbelievable. But he was a gentleman who spent his life flying. I lent him a catalog/flight case of aviation books and he was delighted.

He also ask me about a pilot he had trained who I knew and who had been a National Guard pilot in the 1950's. I knew the man because he had been a Medium Bomber pilot and had flown B-25s but then transitioned to the B-47 (what a transition). I couldn't put them in touch because the younger man had already died. But, even the pilots and soldiers who served in Vietnam are dropping away. I also remember when Marion Carl was murdered and I agree with Tillman's assessment. Finally, Rick Atkinson graduated from the university where I taught for 36 years. He graduated before I started working at ECU and I think he is one of the best narrative historians. I have finished his first book on the American Revolution and am anxiously awaiting his second (and third) volumes. My father was in Operation Torch (U.S.A.A.F) and Atkinson's "An Army at Dawn" deserved the Pulitzer.

Postscript: In my remembrance of the quote below (which I first read in "Strong Men Armed") I think God refers to all faiths.

God and the Soldier all men adore in time of trouble and no more. When war is over and all things righted then God is neglected and the Old Soldier slighted.

 

[MIflyer]

I hope that Barrett publishes in some form some interview material which didn't quite fit in the published books but that he thinks should be preserved otherwise.

That reminds me. I have read everything I can find written by Capt "Winkle" Brown but in his writing he leaves tantalizing references to incidents I do not think he described in any of his works. For example, the time he got into a protracted dogfight with an FW-190 near the Eifel Tower and both pilots decided to just give up and go home. I wish that material had been collected.