Military Officer - July 2007 - (Page 73)

pagesofhistory Doolittle Reunion Surviving members of the Doolittle Raid gather to mark the anniversary of the daring operation that helped boost America’s morale in the early days of World War II. S ixty-five years ago, the Doolittle Raiders launched their surprise attack against Japan in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Seven of the 14 surviving Raiders gathered at Randolph AFB, Texas, this year to celebrate the anniversary. On April 18, 1942, 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers, led by then-Lt. Col. James Doolittle, launched a strike against Tokyo from the deck of the USS Hornet. The Raiders had to take off early when their task force was spotted by the Japanese, and they were forced to ditch or bail out over or along the Chinese coast when they ran out of fuel. Still, only seven of the 80 men died as a result of the raid. The reunions, which began as a birthday party Doolittle hosted in 1947, have evolved into an annual gathering where surviving Raiders toast their comrades who have died since the previous year’s reunion. Goblets are turned upside down when a Raider passes away. vice at a gun production facility at the Washington Navy Yard, and continued to work for the Navy as a civilian until her retirement in 1953. In 1916, Winters met with Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels, hoping to convince him to allow women to become sailors and take over clerical work to free men for combat duty. Daniels said no but later changed his mind. By the end of World War I more than 11,000 women, designated yeomen (f ), were on duty as clerks, translators, recruiters, and nurses. Winters later helped found the National Yeomen (F), an alumnae organization. T World War I Vet Dies he last surviving female World War I veteran, Charlotte Winters, died March 27 in Boonsboro, Md., at the age of 109. Winters served in the U.S. Naval Reserve as a yeoman, including serTHIS MONTH IN HISTORY ■ On July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement N Remains Returned was signed at Panmunjom, on the border between North and South Korea. China and North Korea and a U.S.-led United Nations command signed the armistice after nearly two years of talks. PHOTO: COURTESY USAF ew Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson headed a U.S. delegation to North Korea in April to collect the remains of six U.S. servicemembers killed during the Korean War. The delegation met with North Korean ofﬁcials in Pyongyang before traveling to the DMZ to receive the remains, which were transferred to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii. Before safety concerns led the Pentagon to suspend visits to North Korea in 2005, military personnel had identiﬁed 225 probable U.S. remains. More than 8,100 servicemembers still are listed as missing from the Korean War. MO J U LY 2 0 0 7 Gen. James H. Doolittle, USAF (photographed as a major general), received the Medal of Honor for planning and leading the raid. MILITARY OFFICER 73

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Military Officer - July 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: In Focus After the Kim Dynasty Animal House Paying Tribute MOAA Member Services Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Scholarship Donors MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - July 2007

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