Lt. Col. Horace Crouch, 87; Flier in Doolittle’s 1942 Raid on Japan
Lt. Col. Horace “Sally” Crouch, 87, a member of the Doolittle Raiders who made a daring bombing run over Japan early in World War II, died Wednesday in Columbia, S.C., of complications from pneumonia.
Crouch was one of 80 men who volunteered for the secret duty aboard 16 B-25 bombers for a daylight raid over Japan on April 18, 1942. His death leaves 16 surviving members of the group.
The raiders, led by then-Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle, took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet even though their bombers were not designed to take off from a ship. They bombed Japanese targets but ran out of fuel before crashing or bailing out over China.
The raid was made in retaliation for Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, which had brought the United States into the war four months earlier. Doolittle’s mission boosted the morale of Americans as they mobilized for war. Three of Doolittle’s men died in the raid and eight were captured. Three of the captives were executed.
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