A small group of autographs belonging to 6 of the 80 U.S. Air Force officers and enlisted men who participated in the Doolittle Raid of April 18, 1942. The archive includes the autographs of mission commander James Doolittle, as well as the signatures of five other pilots, co-pilots, and engineer/gunners. Five of the pieces are PSA/DNA certified authentic and encapsulated. Please see catalog photos for more remarks about condition, which is overall very good to near fine.

The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, took place on April 18, 1942, when 16 American B-25B Mitchell bombers, each manned with a crew of five servicemen, set off on a harrowing one-way mission to drop bombs on mainland Japan. The planes flew over the island of Honshu, striking targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, Yokosuka, Osaka, and Kobe. Even though these American strikes caused relatively little damage, the Doolittle Raid proved a huge morale booster since this was the first U.S. retaliatory attack since Pearl Harbor. After their mission fly-by, the planes bailed out in the Soviet Union, China, or in the water. Out of 80 participants, only 3 were immediately killed in action, and 8 were taken as prisoners of war, among whom 3 were later executed by the Japanese. One of our autograph signers, Richard L. Hite, was interned for 40 months in a Japanese prison camp; he was the last surviving Doolittle P.O.W.

Featuring the autographs of, in alphabetical order:

Richard E. Cole

1. A plain business card signed and inscribed by Richard E. Cole (1915-2019), as "RE Cole / copilot Crew #1 / Doolittle Tokyo Raid / 18 April 1942" at center. Encapsulated and PSA/DNA certified authentic. Near fine. The slab measures 5.25" x 3.125."

James Doolittle

2. A 1p typed letter signed by former Tokyo Raid mission commander James Doolittle (1896-1993), as "Jim" at lower right. March 10, 1989, [Carmel, California.] On a leaf of watermarked custom stationery with "J. H. Doolittle / 8545 Carmel Valley Road / Carmel, California 93923 / (403) 625-1896" letterhead. Minor top edge darkening and flattened horizontal folds, else near fine. 7.25" x 10.5."

Doolittle wrote to fellow World War II veteran and aviation history collector Harry C. Block, Jr. (1913-2008), in part: "Glad you enjoyed the show and that it brought back pleasant memories…"

Robert L. Hite

3. A plain business card signed and inscribed by Robert L. Hite (1920-2015), as "Robert L. Hite / Co-Pilot Plane #16 / 'Doolittle Raid' / 4-18-'42" at center. Encapsulated and PSA/DNA certified authentic. The actual card measures 3.5" x 2."

David M. Jones

4. A 3 Spades playing card, modified with views of P-39 "Airacobra" planes, signed and inscribed by David M. Jones (1913-2008), as "David Jones / Pilot / Doolittle Raider" at center. Encapsulated and PSA/DNA certified authentic. A former collector's pencil inscription verso, else near fine. The slab measures 5.25" x 3.125."

J. Royden Stork

5. A plain business card signed and inscribed by J. Royden Stork (1916-2002), as "J R. Stork / Co-Pilot / Crew #10 / Tokyo Raid / 4-18-'42" at center. Encapsulated and PSA/DNA certified authentic. A former collector's pencil inscription verso, else near fine. The actual card measures 3.5" x 2."

David J. Thatcher

6. A plain business card signed and inscribed by David J. Thatcher (1921-2016), as "David J. Thatcher / Engineer - Gunner Crew #7 / Doolittle Tokyo Raid" at center. Encapsulated and PSA/DNA certified authentic. The slab measures 5.25" x 3.125."

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This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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