[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 30, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E909-E910]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO TOKYO RAIDER WILLIAM FARROW

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 30, 2012

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, in a Memorial Day 
recognition of the incredible heroism and sacrifice of Tokyo Raider 
William Farrow, The Lexington County Chronicle on May 24, 2012, 
published the following article by Ron Shelton on behalf of the South 
Carolina Historic Aviation Foundation.

              [From the Lexington Chronicle, May 24, 2012]

 Memorial Day Recalls Courage and Legacy of Gamecock and Tokyo Raider 
                             William Farrow

                            (By Ron Shelton)

       Heeding philosopher Edmund Burke's oft-repeated quotation 
     ``For evil to flourish, all that is needed is for good men to 
     nothing'', Rich Lashley does plenty.
       The retired psychiatrist, who for 25 years served at the 
     University of South Carolina's health center, believes the 
     Ultimate Sacrifice made by Tokyo Raider William Farrow, pilot 
     of Plane 16, can inspire others today as it has him for many 
     years. He ``talks up'' Farrow to any who will listen.
       South Carolinian William Farrow, one of three Tokyo Raiders 
     executed by the Japanese military, had been a USC Civil 
     Engineering student only a few short years before his 
     untimely death. Lashley views the psychological discipline 
     and moral courage Farrow summoned in the face of his demise 
     are models contemporaries can apply.
       ``His legacy is as fresh today as it was seven decades ago. 
     Farrow left behind a personal creed that could be taken up by 
     any one of us,'' said Lashley, who volunteers at The 
     Cooperative Ministry's C.A.R. program. ``Over the years, as I 
     have learned more and more about Farrow, I feel this Memorial 
     Day, during the 70th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, is an 
     appropriate time to be taught by his lessons on life.''
       Lashley, a lover of history, was well aware of Columbia's 
     ties to the famed Tokyo Raiders who 70 years ago rained bombs 
     on Japanese industrial sites in retaliation for that nation's 
     Pearl Harbor attack December 7, 1941.
       ``At first I knew only vaguely that one of the Raiders 
     studied at USC. The more I learned, the more fascinated I 
     became--that a kid so young would have had Christian 
     principles, and exemplified them so courageously. Memorial 
     Day is an opportunity to reflect on how we might handle such 
     a life threat. Surely, we all have wondered if we could 
     survive what POWs endure, all the while praying to be 
     spared,'' said Lashley, a member of First Presbyterian 
     Church.
       Clipping articles, reading voraciously and making notes, 
     drafting documents over many years, Lashley now is well aware 
     Farrow wrote letter of comfort home to his family in 
     Darlington, reminding them of his abiding faith, even when he 
     knew he was to be executed.
       While a student at USC, Farrow developed a personal creed 
     as manifestation of his spiritual searching and growth. In 
     Fall 1939 he was selected by the Civil Aeronautics Authority 
     for air training. He interrupted his studies the next year to 
     enlist at Fort Jackson, completed flight training at Kelly 
     Field, TX, and was commissioned Second Lieutenant in July 
     1941. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, only months later, 
     plunged America into a war the nation had been determined to 
     sit out.
       Farrow's fate was not set yet. The sixteenth plane he 
     piloted was not supposed to be included in the Raiders' 
     surprise attack on Japanese industrial sites. According to 
     Ron Shelton, vice president of South Carolina Historic 
     Aviation Foundation (SCHAF), that plane was to be held in 
     reserve.
       ``At the last minute, Doolittle made the decision to use 
     every plane available. With inadequate fuel supply to land in 
     friendly Chinese territory, because the Mitchell bombers had 
     to launch from the deck of the USS Hornet prematurely--and 
     from a greater distance from the target than planned--after 
     being discovered by a Japanese picket boat, Farrow's aircraft 
     went down,'' said Shelton, science curator emeritus, South 
     Carolina State Museum. ``Farrow and two other airmen were 
     ultimately executed by the Japanese.''
       After his execution his mother found the creed, written 
     while at USC, in a trunk the teen had brought home from 
     college. Of the tenets, this one has been pulled out and 
     repeated most often:
       Fear not for the future--build on each day as though the 
     future for me is a certainty. If I die tomorrow, that is too 
     bad, but I will have done today's work.
       Farrow's poignant words were leaked out into the public and 
     swept the nation, through publication in various media. As a 
     Blue Star Mother, Mrs. Farrow was asked to address the nation 
     and read the creed on the Blue Network, and her message was 
     called Mother Courageous.
       American president Franklin D. Roosevelt learned of it, and 
     praised it as an example to the nation; calling it An 
     American Creed for Victory Nationwide, newspapers as well as 
     church bulletins published it.
       On January 27, 1943 USC President J. Rion McKissick used 
     Farrow's creed instead of his own words in his farewell 
     message to the winter graduating class. When McKissick 
     requested that all members of the graduating class who were 
     entering service to rise, nearly every man rose to his feet.
       Farrow's Creed--as applicable, purposeful today as it was 
     70 years ago.
       1. Stay in glowing health--take a good, fast one-hour 
     workout each day.
       2. Search our current, past, and future topics on aviation.
       3. Work hard on each day's lessons--shoot for an ``A''.
       4. Stay close to God--do His will, obey His commandments. 
     He is my friend and protector. Believe in Him--trust in His 
     ways--not in my own confused understanding of the universe.
       5. Do not waste energy or time in fruitless pursuits--learn 
     to act from honest fundamental motives--simplicity in life 
     leads to the fullest living. Order my life--in order, there 
     is achievement, in aimlessness, there is retrogression.
       6. Fear nothing--be it insanity, sickness, failure--always 
     be upright--look the world in the eye.
       7. Keep my mind always clean--allow no evil thoughts to 
     destroy me. My mind is my

[[Page E910]]

     very own, to think and use just as I do my arms. It was given 
     me by the Creator to use as I see fit, but to think wrong is 
     to do wrong.
       8. Concentrate! Choose the task to be done, and do it to 
     the best of my ability
       9. Fear not for the future--build on each day as though the 
     future for me is a certainty. If I die tomorrow, that is too 
     bad, but I will have done today's work.
       10. Never be discouraged over anything. Turn failure into 
     success.

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