RAID ON JAP. CITIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 May 1942, Page 5

RAID ON JAP. CITIES

DOOLITTLE DOES MUCH DETAILS OF DAMAGE INFLICTED (Recd. 1 p.m.) . WASHINGTON, May 19. Brigadier General James Doolittle was personally awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour, by Mr Roosevelt, to-dav, for having led the squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews in the highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland on April 18. Mr. Roosevelt commended Brigadier Doolittle’s conspicuous leadership, above and beyond the call of duty, involving personal valour and intrepidity at extreme hazard.to his life. With the apparent certainty of being forced to land on enemy territory, or perish at. sea; he led the squadron that bombed Japanese cities and a navy yard, leaving one new cruiser, or battleship, on fire. Brigadier Doolittle, immediately after receiving the decoration, made a statement, in which he described the raid as successful beyond the most optimistic expectations. Each plane was assigned specific targets, which carried were out with remarkable precision. They experienced little hostile reaction because, apparently, of no advanced warning. The bombers zoomed down just'over Tokio housetops, but dropped bombs at fifteen hundred feet. The target of one plane was the Navy Yard south of Tokio. One salvo made a direct hit on either a cruiser or a battleship under construction, which was set afire. Another bomber strewed incendiaries along a quar-ter-mile of the aircraft factory near Nagoya. Another illuminated a tank farm “Flying at such low altitudes made it difficult to observe the result following the bombs’ impact. We could see the strike, but the speed and low altitude restricted our vision. The raid was made in fair weather at midday. No trouble was experienced in finding the exact targets designated. No more than thirty Japanese pursuit planes were observed during the flight. These were completely ineffective. Several we know were s ot down, possibly more. Incidentally, the Japanese pursuit pilots seemed inexperienced, and were evidently below the standard of those encountered in the active theatres of war. “Approaching the Navy Yaia, we apparently passed over a fly in S school, where a number of trainer planes were in the air. Before releasing the bombs, we dived again towards the treetops, and went towai ds the coast at that altitude to avoid anti-aircraft. Along the coastline we observed several squadrons of destroyers, some cruisers and battleships, about twenty-five to thirty miles, to sea. Rear gunners reported seeing columns of smoke rising thousands ot feet into the air.” ' “One of our party observed a bail game in progress. The players and spectators did not run for coyer until just as the field passed out of sighi. “Pilots, bombardiers and members of the crew performed their duties with great calmness and remarkaoie precision. It appeared to us that ni actically every bomb reached the target for which it was intended, vy e would like to have tarried and watched later developments ot the lire ana explosion, but even so, we were fortunate to receive a lairly detailed report from the excited Japanese radio broadcasts. It took them several hours to calm down to deception and accusation.”

WIFE THRILLED. Both Mr. Roosevelt and the War Department left unanswered the important question to which the Japanese would like a solution, namely: Where was the raiding squadron based Brigadier Doolittle is aged 45, and a veteran of the last war.. He achieved fame as a speed flier in 1920. He received the Flying Cross in 192_. Mrs. Doolittle, especially brought from Los Angeles for the ceremony told the Press: “I am so thrilled. 1 can’t talk.” She arrived this morning and walked into the President s office. She had not the slightest idea that her husband had been there, or even that he 'was in the Uni-.cd St Generals Marshall and Arnold attended the ceremony. No one knew about the decoration until a few moments previous. Mr. Roosevelt saia he thought it would be quite a surprise to "Brigadier Doolittle. Just before pinning the decoration, Mr. Roosevelt remarked, with a grm to the reporters: “Not even a columnist had guessed it.” ~ 4 . Seventy-nine others in the histone raid received the Distinguished Service Cross. JAPAN’S AIR FORCE. (Kec. 12.20 YQRK , l 9 The Tokio official radio says: The War Ministry has announced that, in recognition of .the growing importnnee of the cierisl arm in model n warfare, Army Air Force headquarters will be established on June 1, under the command of General Tobe, who is appointed by the Emperor.