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
Request for On-site Use Request Scan How do I pick up this item and when will it be ready?	Text	Use in library	D767.25.T6 H54 2019	Off-site

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

Subject

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.

ISBN

9781941813126
1941813127

LCCN

2019026156

OCLC

on1104063031
SCSB-9755161

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library