Lt. Col. Robert Hite of ‘Doolittle Tokyo Raiders’ dead at 95
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Lieutenant Colonel Robert Hite, one of the famed World War Two “Doolittle Tokyo Raiders,” has died. He was 95.
Wallace Hite told the Associated Press that his father died Sunday morning at a nursing facility in Nashville, Tennessee. He was battling Alzheimer’s disease.
Hite was among 80 men aboard 16 B-25 bombers whose mission was to strike Japan in April 1942. While the attack inflicted only scattered damage, it was credited with boosting American morale while shaking Japan’s confidence less than five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Eight Raiders were captured and three were executed; one more died in captivity and three others were killed after crash-landing in China or ditching at sea. Hite was among the Japanese captives and was imprisoned for 40 months.
He was liberated by American troops in 1945. In 1951, he returned to active duty during the Korean War and served overseas before relief from active duty in 1955.
