Rottiers, Geert Doolittle Raid Pilot

The Story of Captain Donald Smith, Survivor of the Bombing of Tokyo in 1942

Donald Gregory Smiths early years were marked by trauma. He was five years old when his mother died; subsequently, his father placed him in an orphanage. Despite this background, Donald earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Dakota in 1940. After graduating, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry, yet his passion led him toward a career in aviation. By March 1941thanks to sheer determination and disciplineSmith had already completed his flight training and became a pilot in the Army Air Corps. In 1942, he was selected for a top-secret mission led by Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle: a surprise bombing raid on Japan in retaliation for Pearl Harbor. The narrative follows Smith as he embarked aboard the USS Hornet, alongside fifteen other B-25 Mitchell bomber crews. During training, he successfully executed a takeoff after a run of just 87 metersthe shortest takeoff of any of the "Raiders." On April 18, 1942the day of the infamous "Doolittle Raid"Donalds crew bombed industrial targets in Kobe with pinpoint precision. During the subsequent evasive flight toward China, his aircraft came under attack by Japanese fighter planes; however, Smith managed to elude them over the Sea of ??Japan. Fuel shortages ultimately forced Smith to execute a perfect water landing in the East China Sea before he could reach the safety of the shore. With the assistance of Chinese villagers, Smith and his crew evaded advancing Japanese patrols and eventually returned home. Upon his return to the United States, Smith was assigned to the 319th Bomb Group. In November 1942, as part of a ferry operation, he piloted a B-26 Marauder to Europe. A few weeks later, during a ferry flight from RAF Attlebridge in Norfolk to St. Eval in Cornwall, his aircraft crashed in bad weather. Smith lost his life in the crash.