RIP David Thatcher

"Jcarr" (jcarr) 06/22/2016 at 17:19 • Filed to: Planelopnik

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Thatcher, one of only two surviving members of the famed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! in Missoula, Montana. He was 94.

Here is an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Thatcher and other (now only) surviving member, Dick Cole, gave at EAA AirVenture 2012.

Below is an excerpt from his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! :

After Japan bombed Pear Harbor on December 7, 1941, drawing the United States into World War II, Thatcher volunteered for a secret mission that would help change the course of the war. Thatcher and 78 other volunteers, led by the legendary aviator Jimmy Doolittle, trained for approximately three months before embarking upon the mission, a raid involving 16 B-25 medium-range bombers on April 18, 1942 which hit selected military and industrial targets in several Japanese cities. The Doolittle Raid had been ordered by then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt in retaliation for Japan’s raid upon the U.S.

Thatcher was the tail gunner/engineer on Crew #7, “The Ruptured Duck,” which was piloted by Lieutenant Ted Lawson. After bombing targets in Tokyo, Lawson headed the plane towards China. Running low on fuel, Lawson tried to land the plane on a beach in darkness and heavy rain, but instead crashed in the surf after hitting a wave causing the plane to flip over. The crash seriously injured all the members of the crew except for Thatcher, who was briefly knocked out in the crash but suffered only a bump to his head.

After regaining consciousness and making it to shore, Thatcher saved the lives of his crew by gathering them on the beach, administering first aid and making contact with some friendly Chinese guerillas who had come upon the crew. He convinced the guerillas to take the crew to safety in inland China. Over the next few days, the crew repeatedly barely escaped capture by Japanese patrols searching for the Raiders. For his bravery in saving the lives of his crew, Thatcher was awarded the Silver Star. His other decorations included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Chinese Army, Navy and Air Corps Medal, Class A, 1st Grade.

In 1943, Lawson wrote the first account of the Doolittle Raid titled “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo,” which became a best-selling book and was subsequently made into an Academy Award-winning movie of the same name directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Spencer Tracey as Doolittle, Van Johnson as Lawson and Robert Walker as Thatcher.

Following the Doolittle Raid, Thatcher served in England and Africa until January 1944, flying in a B-26 bomber in 26 missions over North Africa and Europe, including the first bombing raid over Rome. He was honorably discharged from active duty at the rank of Staff Sergeant in July 1945.

Jimmy Doolittle, US Navy Captain Marc Mitscher, and the pilots and crew of the B-25s pose aboard the USS Hornet.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Jcarr 06/22/2016 at 17:25

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These guys got together a couple years ago for the last Raider’s Toast at the NMUSAF. The museum live-streamed the ceremony, and even though I was watching on my computer at home it was very dusty in that room.

I am truly humbled to have been alive on the same planet as these men, nay, Heroes.

Life and Times of Magoo: The People's Champ > Jcarr 06/22/2016 at 17:26

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Thanks for posting.

Gods Speed.

Nothing > Jcarr 06/22/2016 at 17:36

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In the early 2000's, a former flight crew member with my dad contacted our family. He had been searching for other members of his crew. My dad died in ‘99 at the age of 77. They were crew members on a B17. He was a tailgunner, my dad was a top turret gunner.

Your post just reminded me to look up his name. Sad to see that he passed in May, 2013. He shared a lot of stories from the war, many of which my dad had never told us. I wish I would’ve had the change to meet him in person. I believe by the time he found our family, he was the only surviving member of his crew.

ttyymmnn > Jcarr 06/22/2016 at 17:38

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One of my favorite historic photos. Note the lines painted on the deck for the wheels so the wing wouldn’t hit the island. The Doolittle Raid was such an epic feat of airmanship.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Jcarr 06/22/2016 at 18:43

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Doolittle raid is as cool as it gets for WWII missions IMO. These men are heroes who went on a suicide mission and survived. It doesnt get better then that.

vondon302 > Jcarr 06/22/2016 at 19:45

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I read 30 seconds over Tokyo wen I was in grade school a long time ago. It was one of those books that made you fall in love with reading.

God bless and R.I.P.

We could all be blessed to live half the life this man did.

PotbellyJoe and 42 others > Jcarr 06/22/2016 at 22:21

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My great uncle was one of the photographers on the Hornet. He had some amazing stories. Before he passed we had him go to the local public library to record his stories so they weren’t lost to history.