'Doolittle Raiders' gather

Four of the last five survivors of a U.S. World War Two bombing mission over Japan reunited on Wednesday, 70 years after the "Doolittle Tokyo raiders" shocked Japan and lifted flagging American war morale with their daring attempt.

 

Only five of the 80 U.S. military members who participated in the raid are still alive and one could not attend the annual reunion at a Dayton, Ohio, military base because of ill health.

 

Air Force Staff Sergeant David Thatcher, 90, remembered April 18, 1942, like it was yesterday. His plane, a B-25 bomber, had just crossed Japan's coastline on its way to Tokyo as part of a surprise attack that helped change the outcome of World War Two in the Pacific. The earlier foul weather had cleared and Thatcher, a gunner, had a clear view of a crowded beach.