The picture above was taken April 18, 1992 as our B-25 Mitchell bomber lifted off the deck of the USS RANGER commemorating the 50th anniversary of the US ARMY AIR FORCES' raid on Tokyo, Japan.

April 1, 1942, the USS HORNET left Alameda NAS, California with l6 B-25s aboard, destined for a point 400 miles from the coast of Japan. As the carrier task force entered Japanese waters, it was spotted by picket boats. On April 18, 1942, a day early, these 16 B-25s had to fly off the deck of the USS HORNET, lead by Col. Jimmy Doolittle, so the Naval task force could get out of Japanese waters. Hundreds of miles were added to the B-25 crews' flight plan. 16 B-25s completed their mission over Japan. One landed in Russia short of fuel, while the other 15 B-25s crashed in or on the coast of China as they ran out of fuel. Of the 80 crew members, three died during the crash landings, eight were captured by the Japanese, and 69 made it back to the United States. Heroes one and all.

Since our historic flight off the USS Ranger, the US NAVY has allowed us to fly off the deck of three different carriers four more times, and be hoisted aboard the carrier USS HORNET (#2) which is now a floating museum at Alameda, California.

As Tom Brokaw wrote about in his book "THE GREATEST GENERATION", the men and women who fought in the war, and those on the home front who provided what our military forces needed, were truly "THE GREATEST GENERATION".
 
 

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