Military Aviator, Author. One of "Doolittle's Raiders." On April 18, 1942, Major Lawson piloted the Ruptured Duck, one of the 16 B-25 Mitchell Bombers, in the first air attack by the United States in World War 2 against mainland Japan. The raid was planned and led by General Jimmy Doolittle in response to the recent sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Doolittle trained his 16 crews to take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, which at the time was considered impossible. The planes were transported across the Pacific aboard the USS Hornet. Approximately 200 miles from their scheduled launch point, the carrier was spotted by a Japanese fishing boat. This led Dolittle to conclude the element of surprise had been lost. Doolittle ordered the launch of the planes. All planes safely took off and completed their bombing missions over Japan. Their attack was a total surprise to Japan, who believed their country was safe from an air attack. The early launch of the planes created severe fuel shortages for the crews, who had planned to land in China. The Ruptured Duck was forced to crash just off the coast of China. Lawson injured his leg during the crash. The Chinese underground, at great risk, smuggled Lawson and his crew out of Japanese Occupied China. During their escape, Lawson's injured leg had to be amputated. In 1943 Lawson, with the help of newspaperman Bob Considine, wrote the best-selling book "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" about the Doolittle Raid. In 1944, it was made into the movie of the same title, starring Van Johnson as Lawson and Spencer Tracy as Doolittle. After the war, Lawson operated a machine shop and was a representative for Reynolds Metals with the military. Lawson died in his Chico home of natural causes.
Military Aviator, Author. One of "Doolittle's Raiders." On April 18, 1942, Major Lawson piloted the Ruptured Duck, one of the 16 B-25 Mitchell Bombers, in the first air attack by the United States in World War 2 against mainland Japan. The raid was planned and led by General Jimmy Doolittle in response to the recent sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Doolittle trained his 16 crews to take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier, which at the time was considered impossible. The planes were transported across the Pacific aboard the USS Hornet. Approximately 200 miles from their scheduled launch point, the carrier was spotted by a Japanese fishing boat. This led Dolittle to conclude the element of surprise had been lost. Doolittle ordered the launch of the planes. All planes safely took off and completed their bombing missions over Japan. Their attack was a total surprise to Japan, who believed their country was safe from an air attack. The early launch of the planes created severe fuel shortages for the crews, who had planned to land in China. The Ruptured Duck was forced to crash just off the coast of China. Lawson injured his leg during the crash. The Chinese underground, at great risk, smuggled Lawson and his crew out of Japanese Occupied China. During their escape, Lawson's injured leg had to be amputated. In 1943 Lawson, with the help of newspaperman Bob Considine, wrote the best-selling book "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" about the Doolittle Raid. In 1944, it was made into the movie of the same title, starring Van Johnson as Lawson and Spencer Tracy as Doolittle. After the war, Lawson operated a machine shop and was a representative for Reynolds Metals with the military. Lawson died in his Chico home of natural causes.
Bio by: Randy
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1917 TED WILLIAM 1992
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1919 ELLEN REYNOLDS 2009
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