The crew of Miss Mitchell checked out the B-25 after a heavy rain shower. Miss Mitchell had come to Grimes Field in Urbana, OH while preparing to attend the 70th Reunion of the Doolittle Raiders at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH. Twenty B-25 aircraft attended the reunion the next day on 17 Apr 2013. For a first hand account of B-25 activities at the 70th Doolittle Raider reunion: B-25s at the 70th Doolittle Raiders Reunion.
On 18 Apr 1942, 16 brave flight crews took off from the USS Hornet aircraft carrier in B-25 bombers to strike the Japanese mainland in a daring mission early in WWII. Of the 80 men on the mission, five still remain with us to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their successful mission. This reunion remembers them and all the brave WWII air crews who fought and sometimes died to keep us a free nation. And, it was refreshing to see the current generation of pilots, air crews, and ground crews that keep these B-25s flying.
During the rain shower, I was in the Champaign Aviation Museum hangar chatting with a WWII B-25 pilot with 65 combat missions in Europe and the Distinguished Flying Cross. And, he still flies with his son in a Beech Bonanza. Anyway, I just happened to walk pasted the hangar door just after the shower ended. Then, just a simple click; didn’t even get wet.
