Reddit reviews The First Heroes: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raid--America's First World War II Vict ory

What a sad day, RIP sir.

If anybody wants to learn about what these incredible men did, I recommend reading The First Heroes which goes into the preparation for, execution, and aftermath of the raid from the crew's perspectives.

Jimmy Doolittle was a famous aviator who was known for developing instrument flying and general badassery...

>On May 10, 1921, he was engineering officer and pilot for an expedition recovering a plane that had force-landed in a Mexican canyon on February 10 during a transcontinental flight attempt by Lieut. Alexander Pearson. Doolittle reached the plane on May 3 and found it serviceable, then returned May 8 with a replacement motor and four mechanics. The oil pressure of the new motor was inadequate and Doolittle requested two pressure gauges, using carrier pigeons to communicate. The additional parts were dropped by air and installed, and Doolittle flew the plane to Del Rio, Texas himself, taking off from a 400-yard airstrip hacked out of the canyon floor.

Doolittle survived the raid, was promoted to brigadier general, and awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He then went on to earn 4 air medals flying even more combat missions. He ended his service as a 4-star general.

It was thought by many to be a suicide mission, but people were still bartering with the aircrews to trade places with them. According to the book, one man offered his car for a spot on the mission. After the mission several crews were lost, some were captured by the Japanese (who executed some), and some lived as de facto prisoners of the Soviets until they could escape.

The survivors of the raid used to meet every year at Eglin AFB in Florida (where they trained for the mission) and have a reunion.