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

by Scott, James M.

  404 “Being fully aware”: Affidavit of Hideki Tojo, p. 195.

  404 “The five whose death sentences”: Hajime Sugiyama to Shunroku Hata, Oct. 10, 1942, “Disposition of Convicted American Airmen,” in Box 1728, RG 331, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, Legal Section, Prosecution Division, NARA.

  404 The job of carrying out: Sotojiro Tatsuta testimony in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  404 By that point: Testimonies of Alexander Hindrava, Alexander John Sterelny, and Teh Ling Chung, ibid.; War Department General Staff G-2, Military Intelligence Service, Ex-Report No. 669, July 12, 1945, Bishop, Lewis S.

  404 That evening: Caesar Luiz Dos Remedios testimony in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  405 “I hardly know”: Dean Hallmark to Mr. and Mrs. O. D. Hallmark, Oct. 1942, in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  405 “All that I am”: Dean Hallmark to Mrs. O. D. Hallmark, undated.

  405 “I want you to know”: Harold Spatz to Robert Spatz, undated (ca. Oct. 1942), in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  405 “a cold, hard cruel world”: Daddy to William Farrow, undated, William G. Farrow Collection, South Carolina Military Museum, Columbia, S.C.

  405 “We’ve both been cheated”: William Farrow to Margie Wilson, Jan. 25, 1939 (envelope date), ibid.

  405 “Here’s wishing you”: William Farrow to Jessie Farrow, Oct. 1942, in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  405 “I know, Mom”: Ibid.

  406 “Well, here we’ve come”: William Farrow to Margaret Stem, undated (ca. Oct. 1942), Box 2, Series II, DTRAP.

  406 “Do you remember”: William Farrow to Ivan Ferguson, undated (ca. Oct. 1942), ibid.

  406 “full of pep”: William Farrow to Margie Wilson, Feb. 28, 1940, William G. Farrow Collection, South Carolina Military Museum.

  406 “You are to me”: William Farrow to Elizabeth Sims, undated (ca. Oct. 1942), in “Letters of the Late Lt. William G. Farrow to Relatives and Friends,” News and Press, March 14, 1946, p. 1.

  407 “Find yourself the good man”: Ibid.

  407 Farrow entrusted Remedios: Caesar Luiz Dos Remedios testimony in the case of United States of America vs. Shigeru Sawada et al.

  407 Around 10 a.m. on October 15: Details of the execution are drawn from the testimonies of Sotojiro Tatsuta, Shigeji Mayama, Yoneya Tomoichi, Yusei Wako, Yutaka Minezaki, and Yoneda Isamu, ibid.

  407 The record of the execution: “Record of Execution,” Oct. 15, 1942, ibid.

  408 “I do not know”: Sotojiro Tatsuta testimony, ibid.

  408 “Please tell the folks”: Ibid.

  408 “Christ was born”: Ibid.

  408 “Attention”: Yoneda Isamu testimony, ibid.

  408 “The men who fired”: Sotojiro Tatsuta testimony, ibid.

  409 “capture, trial, and severe punishment”: Robert A. Kinney Memorandum for Colonel Booth, June 16, 1944, Box 2215, RG 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Military Intelligence Division, “Regional File,” 1922–44, NARA.

  409 “I saw school kids”: “Tokyo (Domei) in English at 7:30 AM to the World,” transcript, Box 18, RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Casualty Branch, NARA.

  409 Rumors that at least a few: David Anderson, “Japan Is Punishing Seized U.S. Fliers,” New York Times, Oct. 20, 1942, p. 1.

  409 “The American public”: “Tokyo in English at 7:00 PM to North America,” transcript, Box 18, RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Casualty Branch, NARA.

  410 “For those who are skeptical”: “Tokyo in English at 4:00 AM to Europe,” transcript, ibid.

  410 The press initially questioned: “Wild Stories Told to Japs,” Warsaw Daily Union, Oct. 21, 1942, p. 2.

  410 At an October 22 press conference: “Stimson Lists Men Japan May Hold,” New York Times, Oct. 23, 1942, p. 5.

  410 “sly propaganda campaign.”: “Japs Release Names of More Yanks Captured,” Victoria Advocate, Oct. 23, 1942, p. 2.

  410 “The news is released”: Raymond Clapper, “Delayed News Worries Nation,” Schenectady Gazette, Oct. 26, 1942, p. 10.

  410 who had once meticulously: Billy Farrow, College Algebra, notebook, Box 1, William G. Farrow Collection, South Carolina Military Museum, Columbia, S.C.

  410 “The time has come”: David Lawrence, “Today in Washington,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Oct. 23, 1942, p. 12.

  411 “Stay close to God”: Ibid.

  411 “He was neither a poet”: David Lawrence, “A Pilot’s Memorandum to Himself,” Evening Independent, Jan. 1, 1964, p. 6-A.

  411 Letters of support: Howard Suttle, “Farrow’s Code for Living Talk of U.S. Armed Forces,” News and Courier, Nov. 8, 1942, p. 9II.

  411 Churches across the country: Stem, Tall and Free As Meant by God, pp. 58–59.

  411 “An American’s Creed for Victory”: “An American’s Creed for Victory,” Northwestern National Life Insurance Company, pamphlet, Box 1, Series XI, DTRAP.

  411 “No matter what has happened”: “Mrs. Doolittle Sends Mother’s Day Message,” Schenectady Gazette, May 10, 1943, p. 2.

  411 The United States meanwhile scrambled: Robert A. Kinney Memorandum for Colonel Booth, June 16, 1944.

  411 “What may be more stigmatized”: Leland Harrison to Cordell Hull, Feb. 23, 1943, Microfilm Roll #A1250, AFHRA. See also U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, vol. 3, The British Commonwealth, Eastern Europe, the Far East (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1963), pp. 965–66.

  412 “The American Government”: Ibid.

  412 “The full texts”: Breckinridge Long, March 20, 1943, in U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, vol. 3, p. 972.

  412 “proceed immediately”: Ibid.

  412 “I am not unmindful”: Ibid., p. 973.

  412 “Any deterioration”: Ibid.

  412 “statement to the effect”: Ibid.

  413 “Until we know”: Ibid., p. 974.

  413 “bestial methods”: Cordell Hull draft message to Leland Harrison, April 5, 1943, Box 5, OF 4675, FDRL.

  413 “If, as would appear”: Ibid. A final copy of this note dated April 12 can be found in U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, vol. 3, pp. 980–82.

  413 “Questions of retaliation”: Cordell Hull to Franklin Roosevelt, April 7, 1943, Box 5, OF 4675, FDRL.

  413 “OK, FDR:” Cordell Hull draft message to Leland Harrison, April 5, 1943, ibid.

  413 “I am deeply stirred”: F.D.R. to Cordell Hull, April 8, 1943, ibid.

  414 “Our note to Japan”: April 9, 1943, memo, ibid.

  414 “Please let me have”: F.D.R. to Cordell Hull, April 8, 1943, ibid.

  414 “Will we be told”: “Story of Tokyo Raid to Be Revealed Soon,” New York Times, April 15, 1943, p. 1.

  414 “After consultation”: “Delays Tokyo Raid Story,” New York Times, April 17, 1943, p. 2.

  414 “The Japanese captured”: “The Bombing of Tokyo,” editorial, New York Times, April 20, 1943, p. 22.

  414 The Japanese seized: Official Japanese Broadcasts, More Details of U.S. Raid Revealed, April 21, 1943, Box 2215, RG 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Military Intelligence Division, “Regional File,” 1922–1944, NARA; “Tokyo Air Raid Details Are Given Out by Yahagi When U.S. Army Demurs,” Nippon Times, April 21, 1943, p. 1.

  414 “I take pleasure”: “Japanese Tell Their Version of Shangri-La to Give People of U.S. ‘the Full Story,’” New York Times, April 21, 1943, p. 4.

  415 “We have the pleasure”: “Tokyo Air Raid Details Are Given Out by Yahagi When U.S. Army Demurs,” p. 1.

  415 America had no choice: Press Release, “The Raid on Japan, April 18, 1942,” April 20, 1943, Box 23, DPLOC; “Text of War Department’s Account o
f Raid on Tokyo April 18, 1942,” New York Times, April 21, 1943, p. 4; Edwin D. Gritz, “Raid Story Was Told in Effort to Head Off Japanese Version,” Washington Post, April 22, 1943, p. 1.

  415 “patched-up production”: “U.S. Bares ‘Flop Raid’ Details,” Nippon Times, April 23, 1943, p. 1.

  415 “The American people”: “Anger Sweeps U.S. on Tokyo Raid Lies,” Nippon Times, April 25, 1943, p. 4. See also “The Report on the Raid,” editorial, New York Times, April 22, 1943, p. 22; “Murder in Tokyo,” Time, May 3, 1943, p. 20.

  415 “I believe that any government”: Congressional Record, 78th Cong., 1st sess., April 22, 1943, p. 3716.

  416 “It is with a feeling”: “Texts of the Statements on Japan,” New York Times, April 22, 1943, p. 4; Bertram D. Hulen, “President Aghast,” ibid., April 22, 1943, p. 1.

  416 “President Roosevelt has issued”: Navy Department, Office of Public Relations, Analysis Section, Daily Digest, April 22, 1943, No. 553, Box 19, RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Casualty Branch, NARA.

  416 The reaction from members of Congress: “Congress Aroused by Japanese News,” New York Times, April 22, 1943, p. 3.

  416 “We are fighting a bunch of beasts”: Congressional Record, 78th Cong., 1st sess., April 22, 1943, p. 3704.

  416 “So gruesome it defies comment”: “Congress Aroused by Japanese News,” New York Times, April 22, 1943, p. 3.

  416 “yellow devils”: Congressional Record, 78th Cong., 1st sess., April 22, 1943, p. 3702.

  416 “Where there is a drop”: “U.S. Bars Reprisals against Prisoners,” New York Times, April 23, 1943, p. 5.

  416 “Those boys were not killed”: “What to Do with Japs—in U.S. and Tokio,” Chicago Daily Tribune, April 27, 1943, p. 1.

  417 Rollie Toles of Pasadena: Rollie Toles to Franklin Roosevelt, May 2, 1943, Box 4, OF 4675, FDRL.

  417 “In the face of your report: Ira R. Seltzer to Franklin Roosevelt, April 22, 1943, ibid.

  417 “With horror, we hear”: W. A. McMahon to Franklin Roosevelt, April 21, 1943, ibid.

  417 North American Aviation announced: “Name Planes for Tokyo Raiders,” New York Times, May 30, 1943, p. 22; “Made-in-Japan for the Air Raid on Tokyo,” ibid., April 18, 1943, p. 33.

  417 Bond sales soared: “Bond Sales Soar after Executions; City over Quota,” New York Times, April 23, 1943, p. 1; “Bond Drive Nears 4-Billion City Goal,” ibid., April 25, 1943, p. 3.

  417 “Japanese Beasts”: “Japanese Beasts,” editorial, Chicago Daily Tribune, April 22, 1943, p. 1.

  417 “The Savages of Tokyo”: “The Savages of Tokyo,” editorial, New York Times, April 22, 1943, p. 22.

  417 “Those Jap Murderers”: “Those Jap Murders,” editorial, Independent-Tribune, May 1, 1943, in Box 2215, RG 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Military Intelligence Division, “Regional File” 1922–44, NARA.

  417 “Never before has Japan”: Navy Department, Office of Public Relations, Analysis Section, Daily Digest, April 22, 1943, No. 553, Box 19, RG 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Casualty Branch, NARA.

  417 “Civilization”: “Murder in Tokyo,” Time, May 3, 1943, p. 20.

  417 “The Japs are even lower”: “Those Jap Murders,” editorial, Independent-Tribune, May 1, 1943, in Box 2215, RG 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, Military Intelligence Division, “Regional File” 1922–44, NARA.

  418 “Horror breeds a demand:” “Japanese Barbarity,” editorial, Washington Post, April 23, 1943, p. 10.

  418 “The raid on Tokyo”: David Lawrence, “Was Doolittle’s Raid on Japan Worth Men and Planes It Cost?,” Spokane Daily Chronicle, April 24, 1943, p. 4. See also “Shangri-la,” editorial, Christian Science Monitor, April 21, 1943, p. 20.

  418 “We must not rest”: “Arnold Pledges Men to Revenge,” New York Times, April 22, 1943, p. 4.

  418 “We’ll make the bastards pay!”: Halsey, Admiral Halsey’s Story, p. 104.

  418 “We will drop each bomb”: “Doolittle Pledges New Blows to Make Japan Beg Mercy,” New York Times, April 23, 1943, p. 1.

  418 “The day will come”: Ibid.

  419 “We won’t forget!”: Joseph W. Manske, “We’ll Return, Vow of Tokio Raider,” New York Journal-American, April 23, 1943, p. 5.

  419 “She was very upset”: Sid Gross to Stephen Early, June 28, 1943, Box 4, OF 4675, FDRL.

  419 “The Japanese just can’t be”: “Mothers Pray Japs Spared Captured Men,” Chicago Daily Tribune, April 23, 1943, p. 6.

  419 “I don’t see how”: Ibid.

  419 “What the Japs are dealing out”: “Mother of Flier Captured by Japs says Nation Must Be Humane to Prisoners,” St. Petersburg Times, April 22, 1943, p. 6.

  CHAPTER 24

  420 “For victory”: “They Must Be Avenged!,” editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 22, 1943, p. 12.

  420 Ski York and his crew: Unless otherwise noted, details of York’s crew’s time in Russia are drawn from the following sources: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, pp. 114–291; Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982; York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984; “Interview with B-25 Crew That Bombed Tokyo and Was Interned by the Russians,” transcript, June 3, 1943; Pohl as told to Dwiggins, “We Crash Landed in Russia—and Escaped,” pp. 57–59.

  420 “There was no pavement”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

  420 “The odor”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 131.

  420 “I will never forget”: Ibid., p. 137.

  421 “I wonder how old”: This exchange is ibid.

  421 “The countryside”: Standley, Admiral Ambassador to Russia, p. 227.

  421 “Boy”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 141.

  421 “I saw a little group”: Standley, Admiral Ambassador to Russia, p. 227.

  421 “Wonderful country”: This exchange comes from Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 143. Standley recounts this exchange as well in his book, on pp. 227–28.

  421 “log cabin”: Standley, Admiral Ambassador to Russia, p. 227.

  421 “Not exactly like home”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 143.

  421 “What news do you have”: This exchange is ibid., pp. 144–48.

  422 “I felt a tremendous letdown”: Ibid., p. 148.

  422 “I felt terribly sorry”: Standley, Admiral Ambassador to Russia, p. 229.

  422 “General, we are having”: This exchange comes from Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, pp. 148–50.

  423 “I felt as if”: Ibid., p. 150.

  423 “good health”: William Standley to Cordell Hull, Sept. 13, 1942, in U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1942, vol. 3, p. 637.

  423 “I knew how”: Standley, Admiral Ambassador to Russia, p. 230.

  424 “Our morale”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 158.

  424 “yes, sir”: York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984.

  424 “I knew we had”: Ibid.

  424 “In America”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 175.

  424 “I spent about ten hours”: York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984.

  424 “The heaviest loser”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 158.

  424 “Well, what are”: This exchange is ibid., p. 163.

  425 “I see some indications”: Ibid., p. 168.

  425 “Based on Soviet standards”: Loy Henderson to Cordell Hull, Nov. 30, 1942, in U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1942, vol. 3, p. 665.

  425 “It would be desirable”: Ibid.

  425 “Looks like we’re here”: This exchange comes from Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, pp. 172–73.

  426 “We turned down”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

  426 “We would stake”: Ibid.

  426 “Our spirits”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 206.
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  426 “On one of the trips”: Ibid., pp. 206–7.

  426 “Our gums were bleeding”: Ibid., p. 211.

  427 “Are you serious?”: This exchange is ibid.

  427 “You don’t know about us”: York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984.

  427 “I will mail it at once”: This exchange comes from Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 213.

  427 “We never stopped”: Ibid.

  427 “God, won’t it be a day”: This exchange is ibid., p. 216.

  428 “This letter was received”: This exchange is ibid., pp. 220–21.

  428 “I couldn’t believe”: York oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 23, 1984.

  428 “Where are we going?”: This exchange comes from Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, pp. 222–23.

  428 “We had to walk up”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

  429 “At the end”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 229.

  429 “Chkolov presented”: Ibid., p. 232.

  429 “Well worn”: Ibid., p. 234.

  429 “Where are you going?”: This exchange comes from Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

  429 “You must be patient”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 237.

  430 “I had nothing to do”: This exchange is ibid., p. 243.

  430 “This news was a shock”: Ibid., p. 248.

  430 “Very well”: Ibid., p. 252.

  430 “The border is manned”: Ibid.

  431 “Our spirits rose”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

  431 “Sergeant, why don’t”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 254.

  431 “You and that goddamn”: This exchange comes from Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

  432 “I can’t be seen”: Ibid.

  432 “You’re Abdul Arram”: This exchange comes from Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, pp. 258–61.

  432 “It seemed like a dream”: Ibid., p. 264.

  433 “There was only silence”: Ibid., p. 270.

  433 “Suddenly we all heard”: Ibid.

  433 “More—Mashhad”: Ibid., p. 271.

  433 “It ground over”: Emmens oral history interview with Hasdorff, July 8–9, 1982.

  433 “The bottom of that truck”: Emmens, Guests of the Kremlin, p. 273.