Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid That Avenged Pearl Harbor

by Scott, James M.

  188 “Have you got a course”: This exchange is ibid.

  189 “Russia’s neutral”: Pohl as told to Dwiggins, “We Crash Landed in Russia—and Escaped,” p. 12.

  189 “Doolittle didn’t exactly”: This exchange comes from Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, pp. 6–7.

  189 “There’s the coast”: Pohl as told to Dwiggins, “We Crash Landed in Russia—and Escaped,” p. 12.

  189 The Nitto Maru’s report: Background on Japan’s preparations for the raid, unless otherwise noted, is drawn from the following sources: Matome Ugaki diary, April 18, 1942, in Ugaki, Fading Victory, pp. 111–13; Fuchida and Okumiya, Midway, pp. 66–68; Military History Section, Headquarters, Army Forces Far East, “Homeland Defense Naval Operations: December 1941–March 1943,” Japanese Monograph #109, pt. 1, 1953, pp. 8–10.

  189 “Enemy task force”: Layton, “And I Was There,” p. 386.

  190 “Well”: Fuchida and Okumiya, Midway, p. 67.

  191 The Japanese public: Wolfe, “Gloomy Heart of an Embattled Japan,” p. SM12; USSBS, Field Report Covering Air Raid Protection and Allied Subjects, Tokyo, Japan, pp. 5–13, 145; USSBS, Civilian Defense Division, Final Report Covering Air Raid Protection and Allied Subjects, Japan (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1947), pp. 1–3, 16–17, 30–31.

  191 Just two weeks earlier: “Cherry Blossoms Attract Thousands,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 3, 1942, p. 1.

  191 Music lovers still chatted: “Piano Soloist Stars in Concert at Hibya,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 18, 1942, p. 2.

  191 while gadflies buzzed: “Tokyo Candidates Hotly Contesting Seats in House,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 21, 1942, p. 1.

  191 No fewer than 230 campaign: Ibid.

  191 The Tokyo university baseball: “Today’s Sports,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 18, 1942, p. 3; “‘Big 6’ Ball Games,” Osaka Mainichi, April 18, 1942, p. 2.

  191 Articles in the press: “Japanese Readers Are Best Sellers in Hongkong City,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 19, 1942, p. 2.

  191 Other accounts: “Southern Regions Returning Rapidly to Normal Status,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 18, 1942, p. 1.

  192 Closer to home: “Bereaved from Taiwan First of 30,000 Here for Special Yasukuni Shrine Rites,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 19, 1942, p. 3; “3,000 Relatives of War Dead Come to Tokyo to Attend Special Yasukuni Shrine Festival,” ibid., April 22, 1942, p. 1; “Enshrinement Service for War Dead at Yasukuni Shrine Set for Tomorrow,” ibid., April 22, 1942, p. 1; “Impressive Rituals for 15,017 War Dead Will Open Festival,” ibid., April 23, 1942, p. 1; “Solemn Rites Held for 15,017 Spirits of Fallen Heroes,” ibid., April 24, 1942, p. 1.

  192 “I am overwhelmed with awe”: “3,000 Relatives of War Dead Come to Tokyo to Attend Special Yasukuni Shrine Festival,” p. 1.

  192 “With the imminent fall”: “The Projected Offensive against Japan,” editorial, Japan Times & Advertiser, April 18, 1942, p. 6.

  192 “Without any base”: Ibid.

  192 Newspapers two days earlier: S. L. A. Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” undated (ca. 1944), pp. 33–35; The Reminiscences of Captain Henri Smith-Hutton, vol. 1, p. 344.

  192 Tokyo residents enjoyed: “500 Army Planes Road over Tokyo Skies in Tribute to Yasukuni Shrine War Dead,” Japan Times & Advertiser, April 27, 1942, p. 1.

  CHAPTER 11

  194 “Once off the carrier”: McClure to Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, undated (ca. 1950).

  194 Doolittle closed in on Japan: Unless otherwise noted, details of Doolittle’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: James H. Doolittle, Personal Report, May 4, 1942; Doolittle, I Could Never Be So Lucky Again, pp. 8–9; Fred A. Braemer, Personal Report, May 5, 1942; Henry A. Potter, Report of Navigator, May 5, 1942; Paul J. Leonard, Personal Report, undated (ca. May 1942); Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, pp. 204–6; Interview with Lt. H. A. Potter, Navigator of Airplane No. 40-2344 Commanded by General Doolittle, undated (ca. 1942), in Summary of Targets in Japanese Raid and Memoranda of Personal Interviews with Major J. F. Pinkney, Microfilm Roll #A1250, AFHRA; Interview with Staff Sergeant Leonard, Gunner, Plane No. 40-2344 (Gen. Doolittle), undated (ca. 1942), ibid.; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” undated (ca. 1944), pp. 40–43; Takehiko Shibata and Katsuhiro Hara, Doōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku: Nichibei Zenchōsa [Doolittle’s Tokyo Raid, 18 April 1942] (Tokyo: Ariadone Kikaku, 2003), pp. 46–53, 211; Affidavit of Hitoshi Hiraoka, Naohiko Tsuda, and Shoei Kokubu, March 13, 1946, in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  194 “We’re either fifty miles”: This exchange comes from Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, p. 204.

  194 “Was somewhat north”: James H. Doolittle, Personal Report, May 4, 1942.

  195 “We’ve got company”: Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, pp. 204–5.

  195 “Japan looked green”: Richard Cole questionnaire, undated, Box 1, Series II, DTRAP.

  195 “We looked down”: Grace Wing, “Five Who Bombed Tokio Surprised They’re Heroes,” Miami Daily News, July 16, 1943, p. 1.

  195 “on the water”: Interview with Staff Sergeant Leonard, Gunner, Plane No. 40-2344 (Gen. Doolittle), undated (ca. 1942).

  196 “Approaching target”: This exchange comes from Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, p. 205.

  196 “Bomb-like objects fell”: Affidavit of Hitoshi Hiraoka, Naohiko Tsuda, and Shoei Kokubu, March 13, 1946.

  197 “Everything okay back there”: This exchange comes from Reynolds, The Amazing Mr. Doolittle, p. 206.

  197 “Colonel, can’t we burn up”: This exchange is ibid.

  197 “Relax, Fred”: Ibid.

  198 First Lieutenant Travis Hoover reached: Unless otherwise noted, details of Hoover’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: Travis Hoover, Mission Report of Doolittle Project on April 18, 1942, May 16, 1942; Travis Hoover, Personal Report, May 15, 1942; William N. Fitzhugh, Personal Report, May 15, 1942; Carl R. Wildner, Personal Report, May 14, 1942; Richard E. Miller, Personal Report, May 14, 1942; Douglas V. Radney, Personal Report, May 14, 1942; Report of Interview with Lt. Hoover and Lt. Miller-Airplane No. 2292, in Summary of Targets in Japanese Raid and Memoranda of Personal Interviews with Major J. F. Pinkney; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” pp. 41–43; Shibata and Hara, Dōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku, pp. 53–58, 211; Legal Section, 1st Demobilization Ministry, “Damages Sustained in the Air Attack of 18 April 1942,” in case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  198 “What’ll I do?”: Carl Wildner, “Navigator Recalls Doolittle’s Tokyo Raid,” Press-Enterprise, Aug. 9, 1985, pp. 8–9.

  198 “In all my life”: Wildner, “The First of Many,” p. 10.

  198 “There were no pursuit planes”: Carl R. Wildner, Personal Report, May 14, 1942.

  198 “The people that I observed”: Richard E. Miller, Personal Report, May 14, 1942.

  199 “Nothing of military importance”: Travis Hoover, Personal Report, May 15, 1942.

  199 “There’s our target”: Richard E. Miller, Personal Report, May 14, 1942.

  199 “I spotted a large factory”: Ibid.

  199 “Bombs away”: Ibid.

  199 “The concussion”: Carl R. Wildner, Personal Report, May 14, 1942.

  199 Even Richard Cole: Richard Cole questionnaire, undated; Douglas V. Radney to Ross Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, undated (ca. 1950), Iris #01010162, AFHRA.

  200 “I looked back”: Douglas V. Radney, Personal Report, May 14, 1942.

  200 “Yes, sir”: Wildner, “The First of Many,” p. 11.

  200 “OK, gang”: Ibid.

  200 “I glanced”: Ibid., p. 73.

  200 “Over or under it?”: This exchange comes from Wildner, “Navigator Recalls Doolittle’s Tokyo Raid,” p. 9.

  200 “I want to get out”: Ibid.

  200 First Lieutenant Gray tore: Unless otherwise noted, details of Gray’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: Robert M. Gray, Mission Report on Project April 1
8, 1942, May 2, 1942; Charles J. Ozuk Jr., Personal Report, May 15, 1942; Charles J. Ozuk Jr., Addition to Report of Lt. Charles J. Ozuk Jr., May 18, 1942; Memorandum of Interview with Lt. C. J. Ozuk, Navigator of Crew of Airplane No. 40-2270 Piloted by Lt. R. M. Gray, Summary of Targets in Japanese Raid and Memoranda of Personal Interviews with Major J. F. Pinkney; Aden Jones to Ross Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, May 8, 1950; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” pp. 43–45; Shibata and Hara, Dōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku, pp. 59–64, 211; Legal Section, 1st Demobilization Ministry, “Damages Sustained in the Air Attack of 18 April 1942”; Affidavit of School Teachers Furusawa and Okamura, March 11, 1946, in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  201 “They’re shooting at us”: Aden Jones to Ross Greening, Individual Histories questionnaire, May 8, 1950.

  201 “Dropped our bombs”: Ibid.

  201 “Observed heavy smoke”: Charles J. Ozuk Jr., Personal Report, May 15, 1942.

  202 “I saw fifteen to twenty bodies”: Addition to Report of Lt. Charles J. Ozuk Jr., May 18, 1942.

  202 “This student was immediately”: Affidavit of School Teachers Furusawa and Okamura, March 11, 1946.

  202 First Lieutenant Everett Holstrom: Unless otherwise noted, details of Holstrom’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: Everett M. Holstrom, Mission Report of Doolittle Project on April 18, 1942, May 14, 1942; E. W. Holstrom, Personal Report, May 14, 1942; Lucian N. Youngblood, Personal Report, May 3, 1942; Harry C. McCool, Personal Report, May 5, 1942; Robert J. Stephens, Personal Report, May 5, 1942; Bert M. Jordan, Personal Report, May 5, 1942; Report of Interview with Lt. H. C. McCool, Member of Crew in Airplane No. 40-2282 Commanded by Lt. Holstrom on Mission to Attack Tokyo April 18, 1942, Aug. 23, 1942, Summary of Targets in Japanese Raid and Memoranda of Personal Interviews with Major J. F. Pinkney; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” pp. 45–46; Shibata and Hara, Dōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku, pp. 65–67, 211.

  203 “The red dots”: Lucian Youngblood diary, April 18, 1942, Box 6, Series II, DTRAP.

  203 “When I saw”: Holstrom oral history interview with Hasdorff, April 14–15, 1988.

  203 “I made up my mind”: Holstrom, “General Recollections,” p. 33.

  204 “It’s kind of a sickening”: McCool oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 21, 1989.

  204 Captain Davy Jones: Unless otherwise noted, details of Jones’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: David M. Jones, Mission Report of Doolittle Project, May 14, 1942; David M. Jones, Narrative Report, May 15, 1942; David M. Jones, Addition to Narrative Report of Capt. David M. Jones, May 18, 1942; Report of Interview with Captain Jones and Lt. Wilder, Members of Crew in Airplane No. 40-2283 Which Attacked Tokyo April 18, 1942, undated (ca. 1942), Summary of Targets in Japanese Raid and Memoranda of Personal Interviews with Major J. F. Pinkney; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” pp. 46–48; Shibata and Hara, Dōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku, pp. 67–72, 211; Legal Section, 1st Demobilization Ministry, “Damages Sustained in the Air Attack of 18 April 1942.”

  204 “We didn’t know”: Jones oral history interview with Hasdorff, Jan. 13–14, 1987.

  204 “Well”: Ibid.

  205 “The building assumed”: Peters, “Japan Bombed with 20-Cent Sight,” p. 1.

  205 “It was easy to hit”: David M. Jones, Narrative Report, May 15, 1942.

  205 “When I saw”: Joseph Manske transcript of speech, Box 2, Series IV, DTRAP.

  205 Second Lieutenant Hallmark: Unless otherwise noted, details of Hallmark’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: First Day Was Bad,” p. 3; Chase J. Nielsen testimony in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.; Nielsen oral history interview with Randle, Feb. 22, 2005; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” pp. 46–47; Shibata and Hara, Dōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku, pp. 73–77, 211.

  205 “It was so pleasant”: Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: First Day Was Bad,” p. 3.

  206 “The Japs sure did”: Dean Hallmark to parents, Dec. 11, 1941.

  206 “I’ll figure that out”: This exchange comes from Chase Nielsen oral history interview with Rick Randle, Feb. 22, 2005.

  206 “We couldn’t miss”: Nielsen, “Doolittle Fliers’ Saga of Living Death: First Day Was Bad,” p. 3.

  207 “I didn’t feel”: Ibid.

  207 “That’s a bulls-eye!”: Ibid.

  207 “We Don’t Want”: Ibid. The actual title of the song is “I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire.”

  207 “We felt good”: Ibid.

  207 First Lieutenant Ted Lawson: Unless otherwise noted, details of Lawson’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: Lawson, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, pp. 56–65; McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Flyers Locate Targets,” p. 2; Chas. L. McClure as told to William Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Hit, Run, Crash in Sea!,” Chicago Daily Tribune, April 30, 1943, p. 4; David J. Thatcher, Personal Report, May 15, 1942; David J. Thatcher, Personal Report (Continued) (To be added to the other report), May 18, 1942; Memorandum of Interview with Lieutenant Davenport, Co-Pilot of Airplane No. 40-2261 (Pilot Lawson) Which Attacked South Central area of Tokyo April 18, 1942, undated (ca. 1942), Summary of Targets in Japanese Raid and Memoranda of Personal Interviews with Major J. F. Pinkney; Memorandum of Interview with Lieutenant Clever, Bombardier on Lt. Lawson’s Plane, No. 40-2261, undated (ca. 1942), ibid.; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” pp. 49–50; Shibata and Hara, Dōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku, pp. 77–84, 211.

  207 “I had an ingrained”: Lawson, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, p. 57.

  208 “The fresh spring grass”: Ibid., p. 58.

  208 “I saw quite a few”: David J. Thatcher, Personal Report (Continued), May 18, 1942.

  208 “It was like getting hit”: Lawson, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, p. 58.

  208 “Keep your eyes open”: This exchange is ibid., pp. 58–60.

  208 “Nowhere was there”: McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Flyers Locate Targets,” p. 2.

  209 “In days and nights”: Lawson, Thirty Seconds over Tokyo, p. 61.

  209 “I became disgusted”: McClure as told to Shinnick, “How We Bombed Tokio: Hit, Run, Crash in Sea!,” p. 4.

  210 “That’s flak”: Ibid.

  210 “There was not the slightest sign”: Morris, Traveler from Tokyo, p. 196.

  210 “Most of the people”: Assistant Chief of Air Staff—Intelligence, Headquarters Army Air Forces, Mission Accomplished: Interrogations of Japanese Industrial, Military and Civil Leaders of World War II (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1946), p. 100.

  210 “Bombs?”: Robert Guillain, I Saw Tokyo Burning: An Eyewitness Narrative from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, trans. William Byron (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1981), p. 59.

  211 “Still”: Ibid.

  211 “A raid at high noon!”: Ibid.

  211 “Everyone was out of doors”: Ibid., pp. 59–60.

  211 “The sirens did not even go off”: Assistant Chief of Air Staff—Intelligence, Headquarters Army Air Forces, Mission Accomplished, p. 27.

  211 “As for military weapons”: USSBS, Morale Division, The Effects of Strategic Bombing on Japanese Morale (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1947), p. 212.

  211 “Wonderful!”: Toland, The Rising Sun, p. 309.

  212 “My goodness”: Current Intelligence Section, A-2, Interview with Joseph E. Grew, Ambassador to Japan, Sept. 8, 1942, AFHRA.

  212 “All this was very exciting”: Joseph Grew diary, April 18, 1942, in Joseph C. Grew, Ten Years in Japan: A Contemporary Record Drawn from the Diaries and Private and Official Papers of Joseph C. Grew (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1944), p. 527. See also “U.S. Air Raid on Tokyo Witnessed by Grew,” New York Times, Sept. 1, 1942, p. 3.

  212 “Half of our group”: The Reminiscences of Captain Henri Smith-Hutton, vol. 1, p. 346.

  212 “We saw three bombers”: Current Intelligence Section, A-2, Interview with Joseph E. Grew, Ambassador to J
apan, Sept. 8, 1942.

  213 “Well”: This exchange is ibid.

  213 “Our fondest wish”: Tom Bernard, “Japs Were Jumpy after Tokyo Raid, Stars and Stripes, April 27, 1943, p. 2.

  213 “I ran into a building”: Ibid.

  213 “It is so unfair”: Ibid.

  213 Danish Minister to Japan, Lars Tillitse: Lars Tillitse, “When Bombs Rained on Us in Tokyo,” Saturday Evening Post, Jan. 12, 1946, p. 34.

  213 “I looked down the streets”: “‘Worst’ Feared for Tokyo Fliers by Neutral Diplomats in Japan,” New York Times, April 25, 1943, p. 26.

  213 “If these raids go on”: Ibid.

  214 “It is true”: Office of Strategic Services, Research and Analysis Branch, Far Eastern Section, “Information Gathered on the S.S. Gripsholm,” Report No. 77, Aug. 27, 1942, Microfilm Roll #A1250, AFHRA.

  214 “an American air armada”: Otto Tolischus diary, April 18, 1942, in Tolischus, Tokyo Record, p. 369.

  214 “My friendly floor guard”: Ibid., pp. 368–69.

  214 “the thrill of a lifetime”: Joseph Dynan, “Interned Americans Were Thrilled by Raid on Japs,” Tuscaloosa News, July 28, 1942, p. 2.

  214 “We were having coffee”: Joseph Dynan, “Americans Saw Doolittle’s Attack on Japan,” New York Times, July 29, 1942, p. 4.

  CHAPTER 12

  215 “Tokyo is our capital”: Yoshitake Miwa diary, Feb. 8, 1942.

  215 Ski York roared: Unless otherwise noted, details of York’s attack on Japan are drawn from the following sources: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, pp. 8–12; “Interview with B-25 Crew That Bombed Tokyo and Was Interned by the Russians,” transcript, June 3, 1943, Iris #00115694, AFHRA; David Pohl as told to Don Dwiggins, “We Crash Landed in Russia—and Escaped,” Cavalier, pp. 12, 55, in Box 5, Series II, DTRAP; Marshall, “Tokyo Raid,” pp. 53–54; Shibata and Hara, Dōrittoru Kūshū Hiroku, pp. 85–89, 211.

  215 “Kee-rist”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 8.

  215 “Where in the hell”: Ibid., p. 9.

  216 “Course from Tokyo”: Ibid.

  216 “Damn it, Bob”: Ibid.

  216 “Maybe a ray of hope”: Ibid., p. 10.