Research Catalog
The first strike : Doolittle raider Don Smith
- Title
- The first strike : Doolittle raider Don Smith / Paul Higbee.
- Author
- Higbee, Paul
- Publication
- Pierre : South Dakota Historical Society Press, [2019]
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| Status | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schwarzman Building to submit a request in person. | Text | Use in library | JFE 20-5669 | Schwarzman Building - Main Reading Room 315 |
Details
- Description
- xii, 195 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits; 24 cm
- Summary
- "A secret bombing mission, a crash-landing, a bold escape-far from the plains of his homeland, World War II pilot Donald G. ("Don") Smith swam toward unknown terrain, having just played a significant role in the legendary American military venture, the Doolittle Raid. Commanding Plane Fifteen, a B-25 nicknamed TNT, the twenty-four-year-old Smith successfully led his squad to their target in Japan and, after a watery landing, to safety through Japanese-occupied territory in China. Seven months after the Doolittle Raid, Smith died when his new bomber crashed during a routine exercise over the English countryside. He left behind a family and a community that had, only months before, welcomed him home during a brief reprieve from fighting. In his short life, Smith made an indelible impression on those who served with him, but he left behind no personal recollections of his experience. Until now, his story was known only to a close few, surviving through the frequent letters he wrote home to his parents in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Author Paul Higbee follows Smith from his childhood through college, flight training, and Army Air Corps service, highlighting the young man's transformation from South Dakota boy to American hero. Higbee reveals the excitement, danger, and pride of the eighty men who took part in the first American attack on Japan and the uncertainty of life in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. Smith's story reflects lives forever altered by wartime experiences, whether on land or in the air"--
- Alternative Title
- Doolittle raider Don Smith
- Subjects
- Bomber pilots
- United States > Army Air Forces
- South Dakota
- Bomber pilots > United States > Biography
- Doolittle, James Harold, 1896-1993
- Belle Fourche (S.D.) > Biography
- Bombardment of Tokyo > (Tokyo, Japan : > 1942)
- 1939-1945
- Tokyo (Japan) > History > Bombardment, 1942
- South Dakota > Belle Fourche
- World War, 1939-1945 > Aerial operations, American
- Military operations, Aerial > American
- Biographies
- History
- United States > Army Air Forces > History > World War, 1939-1945
- South Dakota > Biography
- World War > (1939-1945)
- Smith, Donald G., 1918-1942
- United States > Army Air Forces > Bombardment Group (Medium), 17th > Biography
- Japan > Tokyo
- Genre/Form
- Biographies.
- History.
- Bibliography (note)
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Contents
- Black Hills Boyhood -- Smith Earns His Wings -- Training for War -- The Special Project -- Bombing Kobe -- The Final Trip -- Remembering the Raiders -- Appendix I: The Crews of the Doolittle Raid -- Appendix II: Don Smith and World War II Timeline.
- Call Number
- JFE 20-5669
- ISBN
- 9781941813126
- 1941813127
- LCCN
- 2019026156
- 40029703308
- OCLC
- 1104063031
- Author
- Higbee, Paul, author.
- Title
- The first strike : Doolittle raider Don Smith / Paul Higbee.
- Publisher
- Pierre : South Dakota Historical Society Press, [2019]
- Type of Content
- text
- Type of Medium
- unmediated
- Type of Carrier
- volume
- Bibliography
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Chronological Term
- 1939-1945
- Other Standard Identifier
- 40029703308
- Research Call Number
- JFE 20-5669