WWII Heroes Gather To Recall Raid

Aging World War II fliers today got together Saturday to remember past heroics. They gathered with some of their old planes in Alameda, California to celebrate. CBS News’ Correspondent John Blackstone reports.

The lovingly restored B-25 bombers gathered in honor of the fliers known as Doolittle's Raiders. In 1942, led by flying ace Jimmy Doolittle, they embarked on a daring operation that made them all heroes.

"We knew we had a mission we weren't quite sure what the mission was but it was specific that is was going to be very special,” said Bill Bower, one of the group.

Their mission, celebrated in the movie "30 Seconds Over Tokyo," was to prove that Japan was vulnerable in the dark days just after Pearl Harbor. The aircraft carrier USS Hornet managed to sneak within 600 miles of the Japanese coast. Then in their B-25's, Doolittle’s Raiders took off.

The B-25 bombers were designed to take off from land, not from the deck of an aircraft carrier. In theory the B-25's were too big and too heavy, and the carrier’s deck was too short. But somehow Doolittle's Raiders got airborne, for what they all knew would be a flight of no return.

"We weren't coming back period there wasn't any doubt about that,” said Bowers. The planes didn't have enough fuel for a return trip, but hoped to make it to friendly territory in China. Their attack took Japan completely by surprise.

"We came in over the Japanese coast, we could see people along the beach we were flying so low that we could see the expressions on their faces,” said David Thatcher.

Although the bombs did relatively little damage, the raid shook Japan's confidence and gave American morale a needed boost.

"It was a glorious day in the United States,” said Bill Deitzel, a military historian. “Japan felt that they were invincible they could not be bombed and come to find out the USS Hornet slipped right up in their backyard.”

All 16 B-25's crashed in China as they ran out of gas, but only four fliers died. Saturday 25 of the original 80 Doolittle's Raiders are still living. Although they say this reunion might be their last, their record of survival against the odds suggests they could go on getting together for years.

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