[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 75 (Monday, May 19, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H4451-H4453]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
AWARDING CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL TO WORLD WAR II MEMBERS OF THE
DOOLITTLE TOKYO RAIDERS
Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 1209) to award a Congressional Gold Medal to
the World War II members of the ``Doolittle Tokyo Raiders'', for
outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and service to the United States in
conducting the bombings of Tokyo.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1209
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) on April 18, 1942, the brave men of the 17th
Bombardment Group (Medium) became known as the ``Doolittle
Tokyo Raiders'' for outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and
service to the United States in conducting the bombings of
Tokyo;
(2) 80 brave American aircraft crewmen, led by Lieutenant
Colonel James Doolittle, volunteered for an ``extremely
hazardous mission'', without knowing the target, location, or
assignment, and willingly put their lives in harm's way,
risking death, capture, and torture;
(3) the conduct of medium bomber operations from a Navy
aircraft carrier under combat conditions had never before
been attempted;
(4) after the discovery of the USS Hornet by Japanese
picket ships 170 miles further away from the prearranged
launch point, the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders proceeded to take
off 670 miles from the coast of Japan;
(5) by launching more than 100 miles beyond the distance
considered to be minimally safe for the mission, the
Doolittle Tokyo Raiders deliberately accepted the risk that
the B-25s might not have enough fuel to reach the designated
air-fields in China on return;
(6) the additional launch distance greatly increased the
risk of crash landing in Japanese occupied China, exposing
the crews to higher probability of death, injury, or capture;
(7) because of that deliberate choice, after bombing their
targets in Japan, low on fuel and in setting night and
deteriorating weather, none of the 16 airplanes reached the
prearranged Chinese airfields;
(8) of the 80 Doolittle Tokyo Raiders who launched on the
raid, 8 were captured, 2 died in the crash, and 70 returned
to the United States;
(9) of the 8 captured Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, 3 were
executed and 1 died of disease; and
(10) there were only 5 surviving members of the Doolittle
Tokyo Raiders as of February 2013.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award.--
(1) Authorized.--The President pro tempore of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall make
appropriate arrangements for the award, on behalf of
Congress, of a single gold medal of appropriate design in
honor of the World War II members of the 17th Bombardment
Group (Medium) who became known as the ``Doolittle Tokyo
Raiders'', in recognition of their military service during
World War II.
(2) Design and striking.--For the purposes of the award
referred to in paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Treasury
shall strike the gold medal with suitable emblems, devices,
and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
(3) National museum of the united states air force.--
(A) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal
referred to in paragraph (1) in honor of the World War II
members of the 17th Bombardment Group (Medium), who became
known as the ``Doolittle Tokyo Raiders'', the gold medal
shall be given to the National Museum of the United States
Air Force, where it shall be available for display with the
Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Goblets, as appropriate, and made
available for research.
(B) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that
the National Museum of the United States Air Force should
make the gold medal received under this Act available for
display elsewhere, particularly at other locations and events
associated with the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders.
(b) Duplicate Medals.--Under such regulations as the
Secretary may prescribe, the Secretary may strike and sell
duplicates in
[[Page H4452]]
bronze of the gold medal struck under this Act, at a price
sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor,
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
(c) National Medals.--Medals struck pursuant to this Act
are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31,
United States Code.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
Capuano) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the Record on H.R.
1209, currently under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I rise today in support of H.R. 1209, a bill to award the
Congressional Gold Medal to the brave airmen known as the Doolittle
Tokyo Raiders for outstanding heroism, valor, skill, and service to the
United States in conducting the bombings of Tokyo, introduced by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson). This bill authorizes the minting and
award of a single gold medal, collectively, in honor of the mission
that was one of the catalysts of Allied Powers' victory in the Pacific
in World War II. After its award, the medal would be given to the
National Museum of the United States Air Force, where it will be
displayed with other Doolittle Raid memorabilia, including the famed
``Doolittle Goblets,'' and be available for loan as appropriate.
Mr. Speaker, the valor of the 80 men we now call the Doolittle
Raiders is beyond most people's imagination. They all volunteered for
an extremely hazardous--some would say impossible--mission, as if
flying huge bombers during the war wasn't already extremely hazardous,
and when a major element of their mission was jeopardized, they went
ahead with the raid anyway, knowing it would drastically increase the
chances that they would be either killed or captured.
Under the command of the tough and visionary Colonel James Doolittle,
these men from the 17th Bombardment Group--medium size--ended up flying
the first ever mission in which medium bombers took off from a carrier
in combat conditions. Because the USS Hornet had been discovered by the
enemy, the raiders ended up taking off for a mission that, at 670
miles, was at least 100 miles longer than had been predicted and
planned for--enough further to virtually guarantee they would crash
land or be forced down in the sea or in Japanese-controlled China
rather than on Allied airstrips deeper into China.
Mr. Speaker, that is what happened. Two died in crashes, and of the
eight captured, three were executed and a fourth died of disease. But
considering the daring nature of their mission and the morale-booster
it was for the U.S. soldiers and civilians, that 70 returned to the
United States is a miracle. Importantly, the raids on April 18, 1942,
proved to the Japanese that their homeland was vulnerable to attack,
which led to the recall of several top fighter squadrons for homeland
defense and prompted other repositioning of Japanese assets that many
believe led to the crushing American victory in the Battle of Midway in
early June of that year, just 6 months after the attack on Pearl
Harbor.
Mr. Speaker, the men who risked--and lost--their lives in the
Doolittle Raid are legendary heroes, and the raid itself is one of the
premier military exploits of our still young Nation. This medal is
well-earned and long overdue. The bill has 309 cosponsors in the House,
and a companion bill introduced by Senator Brown of Ohio had 78
cosponsors when it passed the other body in November.
I ask for unanimous approval of this bill, and I reserve the balance
of my time.
Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
To be perfectly honest, I am shocked that Congress hasn't already
done this--absolutely shocked. This should have been done in 1943.
The Doolittle Raid was the most important military event of its time.
For those of you who don't understand it, right after Pearl Harbor,
being attacked, at the time, by the strongest military in the world at
the top of their game, they did catch us by surprise and destroyed our
Pacific fleet.
We were sitting back trying to regroup, trying to get it going,
trying to get troops going. How do we hit back? How do we prove that we
can do this? The Doolittle Raid was all about that.
As you heard, a previous speaker said ``volunteers.'' Now, they were
professional military, but they volunteered for this mission. Why were
they asked to volunteer? Because everyone saw this as a death sentence.
Nobody really thought they would ever come back. Why? Because the
planes they flew were bombers, heavy bombers for those days--small
compared to what we have today--flying off of aircraft carriers that,
again, in today's Navy wouldn't be anything. Small aircraft carriers.
No one had ever taken a bomber off of an aircraft carrier prior to
this raid. No one had ever done it. No one thought it could be done.
They got within a certain mileage of Japan beyond where they were
supposed to go. They were told bomb Japan, land in China. Not enough
fuel to get back.
Any mission, like anything else, especially in days before good
navigational tools, a lot of fuel was burned that wasn't planned on.
None of them made it to their fields. Most of them crash-landed. As you
heard, several of them died.
That raid took all of America and lifted our spirits. Well
documented. That is why I am shocked that we are here today. Well
documented. It took the entire country and made us feel like, we can do
this, we can do it now, even when we are unprepared. If we can do this
now, imagine what we can do when we get prepared.
The Doolittle Raid gave us the courage and the commitment to win that
war. Those men were true heroes in every sense of the word. The fact
that we are here today is an honor for me, but honestly, I think it is
something that is well long overdue.
For those who are still living, I want to add my thanks to their
bravery. Without them, I think it would have been a much longer war and
a much more disheartening year or so before we really engaged in a
military action that we could win.
With that, I thank the sponsor of this legislation, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson), the sponsor of this
legislation.
Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Michigan and my
colleague from Massachusetts for their kind words.
Sir, this is overdue. I agree completely. That is why I rise today
with great pride. Soon, the House will join the Senate in passing a
bill to give the Congressional Gold Medal to the Doolittle Raiders of
World War II. These heroes planted the seeds to win World War II.
Without their attack on Japan, America might have lost the war.
The war started on December 7, 1941, when Japanese aircraft attacked
Pearl Harbor without warning. All eight of our battleships were
damaged, four were sunk. Americans were scared. Japan controlled the
whole Pacific.
Sometime in 1942, Americans expected Japanese bombs to hit San Diego,
Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. President Roosevelt
knew we must strike Japan to show all Americans that we could and would
win this war. He had one problem: no American airplane had the range or
payload to bomb Japan from American-controlled soil. It would be a
suicide mission.
That solution came up from Navy Captain Francis Low, who thought,
maybe, maybe we can have Army bombers take off from an aircraft
carrier. On February 3, they tried that out, with two B-25s loaded on
the Hornet outside of Norfolk taking off, and proved it was possible.
The Army again chose the B-25 as the bomber of choice. They picked the
Hornet to take the B-25s to Japan and bomb Japan.
But the most important decision was the leader: Colonel Jimmy
Doolittle.
[[Page H4453]]
Colonel Doolittle assembled the flight crews in Eglin Field in Florida
in late February of 1942. These weren't experienced pilots. They were
chosen because they could fly a new plane--the B-25. Colonel Doolittle
told these men they had a secret special mission: they were going to
bomb Japan with B-25s. They had 1 month--1 month--to learn how to take
a B-25 off the deck of an aircraft carrier. But they were never trained
on the Hornet, another carrier. They were trained on the ground, a
runway painted to model the flight deck of the Hornet.
On March 25, 1942, they were ready. They flew to Naval Air Station
Alameda near San Francisco and saw the Hornet for the first time. On
April 2, they sailed for Japan with 16 B-25s locked down on the flight
deck. On April 18, their mission almost ended. They were spotted by a
Japanese patrol boat. America could not lose the Hornet. She was too
precious. So Colonel Doolittle and Captain Mitscher decided to launch
the B-25s 10 hours before it was planned. They would not have the fuel
to bomb Japan and fly to safety in unoccupied China as part of the
plan. They would go down in Japanese territory.
Despite rough seas, all 16 B-25s launched off the Hornet. They bombed
Tokyo and other cities. The property damage was small, but the damage
to the Japanese morale could not be measured. For the first time in
over 1,000 years Japan had been bombed by a foreign nation. Because of
that one single raid, Japan pushed to provoke a confrontation with our
Navy. They got sloppy. We ambushed them off of Midway on June 4, 1942,
sinking four of their aircraft carriers that destroyed our fleet at
Pearl Harbor.
Eighty heroes took off from the Hornet. Three died when the aircraft
crashed. Eight were captured by the Japanese. Three of those were
killed by a firing squad. One died of malnourishment. Four spent the
war in captivity as prisoners of our allies--the Russians. Of the 80
heroes who roared down that deck, 73 came home. Only four are with us
today: Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hite, copilot, B-25 Number 16, the
last one off the deck; Lieutenant Colonel Edward Saylor, engineer, B-25
Number 15, right before Lieutenant Colonel Hite; Staff Sergeant David
Thatcher, the gunner, B-25 Number 7; and my friend from Comfort, Texas,
Lieutenant Colonel Dick Cole. Dick sat next to Colonel Doolittle on B-
25 Number 1 as she roared down the flight deck and took off into
history.
{time} 1730
That is why this medal is so important.
By passing this bill today and by having President Obama sign it into
law, we tell my friend Dick Cole, his three living colleagues, and the
76 heroes who have gone to Heaven that we will never forget that they
kept the torch of freedom burning brighter with the raid on Japan.
I ask my colleagues to strongly support H.R. 1209.
Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HUIZENGA of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleague from
Texas for sharing that history.
I too share, I think, in the surprise that my colleague from
Massachusetts expressed, which is that this hasn't been done already--
it certainly should have been--whether it was Jimmy Stewart, who
starred in a famous movie back in the day--the whole notion of
launching these B-25 Mitchells off the deck was so new, and what would
be a simple commute today maxed out the capabilities of these
airplanes, and it was very important.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I do ask that we pass this bill, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 1209.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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