Review of "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," by Captain Ted W. Lawson

 Review of

Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, by Captain Ted W. Lawson

Five out of five stars

The first military action on the Japanese homeland

 From Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 until the battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, which was basically a draw, Japanese forces won every engagement against Allied forces. Singapore fell in February 1942, Bataan and hence the Philippines fell in April 1942, and Indonesia fell in March of 1942. The Japanese leadership was loudly proclaiming that their home islands were impregnable, and the war would be fought on foreign soil.

 That claim was rendered incorrect in April, 1942 when Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle led a group of 16 B-25B bombers in a raid over Tokyo. While the damage was relatively minor, the psychological impact was massive on both sides of the fighting. It was a major boost to American morale, and it demonstrated to the Japanese at all levels that the Japanese mainland could indeed be attacked from the air.

 Captain Lawson was one of the B-25B pilots that flew on the mission, he successfully released his bombs and then crash landed in China. Although severely injured to the point he eventually lost most of his leg, with the help of Chinese loyal to their government, Lawson and his fellow flyers were transported to the interior, where they were eventually flown back to the United States.

 This is his story, from how he became a pilot, to the top-secret preparations for the raid, to the flight from the carrier USS Hornet to Japan, the crash and then the arduous journey to safety. Lawson and his buddies received a lot of help from Chinese people at all levels, many of which were tortured and killed by the Japanese for their actions. It is significant that at no time did a Chinese person give away their existence and location to the Japanese.

 It is a fascinating story, from the original daring-do as they prepare for the flight, the transport on the carrier and the daring, previously unproven take-off to their crashing and then their journey to safety within China and then back to the United States. There are few stories from the American side of World War II that can match it for the various levels of challenge and endurance.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review of "Donner Dinner Party," by Nathan Hale

  Review of Donner Dinner Party , by Nathan Hale, ISBN 9781419708565 Four out of five stars Horrible title, good historical rendition   Given that the Donner Party was trapped in the snow on their journey to the west coast and resorted to cannibalism to survive, the title of the book is appalling. Yet, the story is rendered in a historically accurate manner. The original members of the group left Springfield, Illinois with a destination of the area of California near San Francisco. They started on their journey in April of 1846 with high expectations, a large team of oxen and what they thought were more than enough provisions for the journey.   Like many of the people that executed their dreams to go to the west coast, the people of the Donner party underestimated the difficulty of the journey. Unfamiliar with deserts and mountainous terrain, they did not appreciate how hard it was to traverse areas of what was still largely wilderness.   Their fatal mist...
Read more

Review of "The Forty-Minute War," by Janet and Chris Morris

  Review of The Forty-Minute War , by Janet and Chris Morris, ISBN 0671559869 Three out of five stars Absurd initial premise and bad ending   This book begins with an absurd premise, not the event, but the context. A group of committed terrorists manage to acquire a nuclear weapon and a plane. The manage to fly it from Saudi Arabia to Washington D. C. where they detonate it. Distraught over the knowledge that his wife and family have been killed, the American President orders a nuclear strike against the Soviet Union. They retaliate and it is all over in 40 minutes. After ordering the strike, the American President takes a gun and kills himself.   There are two reasons why this premise is absurd, one major and the other minor. The major one is that the intelligence services of the United States were aware of the nuclear weapon and had an elite anti-terrorist team on the ground ready to take out the terrorists. However, the team was given a stand-down order. Whil...
Read more

Review of "The Impossibly True Story of Tricky Vic, the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower," by Greg Pizzoli

  Review of The Impossibly True Story of Tricky Vic, the Man Who Sold the Eiffel Tower, by Greg Pizzoli, ISBN 9780670016525 Five out of five stars Chronicle of an amazing life   Born in 1890 in what is now the Czech Republic, the man originally called Robert Miller went under forty-five different aliases and once actually sold the Eiffel Tower using the name Count Victor Lustig. Hence the name “Tricky Vic” in the title.   His list of other scams is considerable, he was also a counterfeiter and played a scam called the Romanian money box. It was a simple device loaded with a couple of valid bills that supposedly printed out $100 bills.   This account of the life and times of one of history’s most well-traveled and experienced con men is a joy to read. It also contains a very serious lesson, Robert Miller ended up in Alcatraz prison after being convicted of counterfeiting. He left the prison due to serious illness and died shortly afterward..   Robert...
Read more