Originally Posted by
Ftrooppilot
I vote the Smithsonian. The reasons for which the article you linked describes so well...
It's the cup of brandy that no one wants to drink.
The article had a few errors, though.
They o̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ are among the most universally admired and revered men in the United States.
The mere mention of their unit's name,̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶,̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ brings tears to the eyes of grateful Americans.
They w̶e̶r̶e̶ are celebrated as national heroes, models of bravery.
Fixed.
There were 80 of the Raiders in April 1942, when they carried out one of the most courageous and heart-stirring military operations in this nation's history.
The 16 five-man crews, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who himself flew the lead plane off the USS Hornet, knew that they would not be able to return to the carrier.
The Raiders were told that they would have to take off from much farther out in the Pacific Ocean than they had counted on. They were told that because of this they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety.
And those men went anyway.
The Doolittle Raid sent a message from the United States to its enemies, and to the rest of the world:
We will fight. And we will win.
