The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Raid's 70th to Honor the Chinese Who Helped

From the April 16th KATC in Lafayette, Louisiana "Raid's 70th anniversary also a tribute to Chinese."

The five-surviving members of Doolittle's Raid are all in Dayton, Ohio, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of that significant event of the war.

D.R. Thatcher, 90, of Missoula, Montana, one of the Raiders, had this to say about the role played by Chinese civilians after the bombs were dropped and the planes got to China: "They were very important to us. If not for them, the Japanese surely would have captured us."

Eight Raiders were captured and three of those executed and one later died in captivity. However, tens of thousands of Chinese civilians were executed for helping the others get away.

The Raiders are all in their 90s now. The Chinese who helped them are either dead or too old to travel to the reunion. But, a Chinese delegation will attend, including the children of two of their benefactors from back then.

A Great Help to U.S. Morale. --GreGen

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