Celebrating "Doolittle's Raiders," who some say changed the course of World War II

(CBS News) The months following Pearl Harbor were tough ones for America. Much of the Navy fleet had been sunk. The enemy, Japan, was on the move.

But 70 years ago Wednesday, 80 men who came to be known as "Doolittle's Raiders" did the impossible, and helped turn the tide.

CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes reports that the Raiders changed the course of World War II.

The Doolittle Tokyo Raid was the first successful attack on seemingly isolated and impenetrable Japan after that country's bombing of Pearl Harbor. The raid was carried out by 80 men who had never seen combat, in planes that were thought to be too big to take off from an aircraft carrier.

The 20 B-25 bombers that flew in formation over a Dayton, Ohio, Wednesday honored these four men and the miracle they pulled off in their own B-25s back in 1942.

"Of course the reason we got away with it was the surprise element," said 92-year-old Edward Saylor, who was 22 years old when he volunteered for a mission with a secret destination led by dashing aviator James Doolittle.

"I thought we'd end up in the jungle in the Pacific, on a short runway somewhere," Saylor said.

Richard Cole was Doolittle's copilot. At 26, he was one of the oldest members of the squadron.

"I think I was about two days at sea when the PA system came on and said, 'This force is bound for Tokyo,'" Cole said.

The plan was audacious: 16 B-25 bombers designed to take off from much longer runways would be launched from the deck of an aircraft carrier, bomb targets in five Japanese cities, and land at allied airfields in China because they were too large to land back on the carrier.

"These were fully loaded bombers taking off for the first time in a combat situation and you had to go straight off that deck," said Tom Griffin, 95, who was a B-25 navigator.

But they were spotted by a Japanese ship. So the attack was launched a day early, much farther from Japan than planned

"We had to use the worst-case scenario. Take off in the daytime, bomb in the daytime, and not have enough gas to get to China," said Edward Saylor. "I expected to be shot down."

Doolitle's crews hit their targets, but they knew those Chinese airfields were unreachable.

"Ran out of gas along the coast of China. The engines were still flying but the gauges were empty," Saylor said.

David Thatcher, 90, was in one of two planes that crashed in the China Sea.

"We hit the water with the wheel down, immediately it flipped us over. And all the other four of the crew were thrown out of the airplane," Thatcher said.

All 16 crews either crash landed or bailed out; 11 airmen were killed or taken prisoner. Doolittle thought he would be court-martialed.

But when word of their bravery reached America, the Raiders became heroes. They proved Japan was vulnerable to attack.

"They say we changed the course of the war in the Pacific. That makes sense. We probably did," Edward Saylor said.

It was the gamble he and the others took in the early days of war that convinced a nation that victory was not just possible, it was inevitable.

[OHGram]

I have lived in a suburb of Dayton all my life and am used to lots of air traffic. Watching and listening to these planes circle over my house at a fairly low altitude was an amazing experience and a bit eerie, too. I kept wondering if this is how it looked to the people on the ground near Pearl Harbor in 1941. Of course, I knew these were our guys and I was thankful for that. These Doolittle Raiders are real heroes!! Thank you.

[bucksix]

I was just a little kid (9 years old when this happened) but I still remember it quite vividly. In viewing the video and reading the comments (most of them that is) I couldn't stop the tears. These men and all the others whose careers etc were just beginning put everything on hold to save our country. I can barely see the keyboard now, when I think of what they did for us.

[calif7]

The men of "Doolittle's Raiders" are true American heroes. Thanks to them and all World War II vets.

[KansasCity-2012]

I remember seeing Richard Cole at an EAA Chapter 35 meeting as our guest in 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. The room exploded with laughter when he answered a question, "How many (flying) hours did you have when you started the mission?" He answered, "About 125".

125 hours is considered low time by today's standards, especially for the distance flown and complexity. In 1942, not many pilots had more flight time and the attrition was high.

Aviators will always harbor respect and admiration for each other, no matter how new or how long they have been in the sky.

Combat aviators still alive from missions flown 60 years ago, are living yardsticks who can attest with authority about how much aviation warfare has changed. Ingenuity and determination dominated flight ops in those years.

Our opponents in those years were both fanatical and adaptive, which required considerable intestinal fortitude to defeat.

The Doolittle raid was a brave mission of "Guts and Resolve". Not everyone survived it.

[poldago]

Hip, Hip, Hooray! Thank You Gentlemen for doing "Your Job"

[timothygoss]

I was extremely disappointed that CBS News spoiled an otherwise inspiring story by using the "J" word in a newspaper headline graphic. This added nothing to the story as you failed to put the headline into any racial slur context. I suspect you wouldn't use the "N" word with a story without connecting it in some context to racism. And I suspect it was hurtful to millions of Japanese-Americans who often cringe whenever a story about WW II is presented just waiting for this to happen. And before you roll your eyes and dismiss this as just another case of political correctness gone too far, you should apply the baseball bat rule which states: "If I hit you over the head with a baseball bat, I don't get to say it if hurts or not." If you have colleagues of Japanese descent, ask them for their opinion. Perhaps it might cause you to be more sensitive to the issue and more thoughtful in your selection of narration and graphics.

[Zann-Zel]

What is the "J" word?

If you mean Japan or Japanese - that's history. We can't change History.

[ohitsubob]

It is what it is...let's not forget, it is the Japanese that started the hostilities. This is about honoring brave men, not about political correctness.

[Zann-Zel]

Real American Heroes! : )

[rider1956]

These men should be given all their taxes back that they have paid during their lifetime. If the country wants to show gratitude, that is how you do it. Of course that would create a new class of citizen, the American hero and we can't have that. But it was a good idea.

[baileyccc]

These men are Legends. Dreams are made of these stuff.

[longtree-2009]

each of those fliers should have received the Medal of Honor, and if they didn't they should be awarded the medal today.