Participants
Who better to tell the stories of the “Doolittle Raiders” than their children? Along with the children and grandchildren of the men and women who rescued many of the “Raiders” in China, preventing their capture, torture and even death at the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army. Joining them is an American author and a Chinese historian, who put these events into a larger context.
Jim Bower (son of 1st Lt. Bill Bower), Arvada, Colorado.
John Griffin (son of 1st Lt. Tom Griffin), Puryear, Tennessee
Guan Dongxiang of Jiangxi province in China, who as a young child met one of the Doolittle Raiders.
Ji Yundan, also of Jiangxi province, who learned the story of “the Americans who fell from the sky” from his uncle.
Melinda Liu, the long-time Newsweek Bureau Chief in Beijing and the daughter of Tung-Sheng Liu, who helped Doolittle Crew #2 make their way to safety.
Professor Luo Shiping, who leads a group of volunteer historians in Shangrao, China investigating the survival stories of the Doolittle Raiders.
Thomas Macia (son of 1st Lt. Herb Macia), Arlington, Virginia.
Susann Ozuk (daughter of 2nd Lt. Charles Ozuk), Chicago, Illinois.
James C. Scott, historian and author of Target Tokyo: Jimmy Doolittle and the Raid that Avenged Pearl Harbor.
Jeff Thatcher (son of Cpl. David Thatcher), Little Rock, Arkansas.
Time has done what enemy anti-aircraft fire and fighter planes could not. It has taken the lives of all the Raiders and removed their story from public memory. Today most Americans don’t know who the “Doolittle Raiders” were, what they did, or why it was important. Restoring that memory is the mission of the Children of the Doolittle Raiders (CDR), a non-profit group created by children and grandchildren of the “Raiders.”
Visit the CDR Archives to see full interviews with six members of the group.
Jeff Thatcher interview part 1
Jeff Thatcher interview part 2
Jeff Thatcher interview part 3
Jeff Thatcher interview part 4
Despite decades of competition, rivalry and hostility, there is still one thing that Americans and Chinese can agree upon: the valor of the Doolittle Raiders and the courage of their Chinese rescuers.