Pearl Harbor

In October, after a sham trial, all the captured Americans were sentenced to death. Japanese radio advised the world some of the men had been executed while others had been given a reprieve. Not until after the war did America learn the truth: All had been tortured; three were shot; one died from deplorable conditions; four survived.

Although the "Tokyo Raiders" did not cause extensive damage to major Japanese facilities, their courage helped to change the momentum of the war. For months Americans had struggled with the Hawaiian disaster. Why was Pearl Harbor bombed in the first place? How did the Emperor's forces pull it off? Was America really that vulnerable? Was her intelligence that bad? Or - was something sinister behind it all? Did the President and his high command know but didn't warn those at risk?

Doolittle's mission had the desired effect, confirming that Japan herself was vulnerable. American morale soared. And Imperial fighter units, so important to Japan's war in the Pacific, were sent back to protect the home islands.

For his courage, Jimmy Doolittle was promoted from Lt. Col to Brigadier General. Years later, long after he retired, he was given four stars. He was also awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, presented personally by FDR. His citation says:

For conspicuous leadership above the call of duty, involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. With the apparent certainty of being forced to land in enemy territory or to perish at sea, General Doolittle personally led a squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews, in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland.

Heroism of the Tokyo Raiders led to a morale-boosting movie and marked the beginning of the turnaround for America and her allies. What marked the end was something the world had never seen before. 

Two atomic bombs, developed in secret by the United States, decimated the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.