BILL BOWER, 93
Died Jan. 10, 2011
There are still a few other men who were on the mission alive, but Mr. Bower was the last of the 16 pilots.
He volunteered for the mission and was chosen. On April 18, 1942, sixteen B25B Mitchell medium bombers took off from the deck of the USS Hornet and bombed Japan, something the Japanese didn't think was possible. Not much damage was done, but it worked wonders for American morale and caused great consternation in Japan.
They knew it would be impossible to return and land on the deck of the Hornet, so the planes continued on to China. All but one (which landed in the Soviet Union) landed in China or ditched in the sea.
Of the 80 members of Doolittle's Raiders, 11 were either captured or killed and the rest escaped and served later in the war.
On his return. Mr. Bower married Lorraine Amman in 1942. he continued to serve, eventually commanding the 428th Bombardier Squadron in Africa.
The Greatest Generation.
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