CDR and friends gather to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the Doolittle Raid
June 14, 2023 at 4:31 PM
Marking the 81st anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, the Children of the Doolittle Raiders (CDR) celebrated the Raid’s legacy, and planned new activities, with a weekend of events in Dayton, Ohio on April 20-22, 2023. Dayton is home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the National Museum of the US Air Force (NMUSAF) which has an exhibit dedicated to the Doolittle Raid and also houses the iconic “silver goblets” display (a collection of silver goblets, each inscribed with the name of an individual Raider).
On April 20, the CDR held its annual board meeting followed by a welcome dinner for members in downtown Dayton. The following day they visited the Air Force Museum for docent-led tours and visited the Doolittle Raid exhibit in the WWII hangar.
That evening, about 50 CDR members, family, and friends co-hosted the 2nd Annual Raider Ball, a formal dinner and dance held in the historic downtown Arcade building, where more than 300 partygoers dined, heard speeches, and viewed video presentations commemorating the Doolittle Raid. The Raider Ball was a collaboration between the CDR, the USAF Procurement Dept. at Wright-Patterson AFB, and Northrop Grumman Corporation. It celebrated the Doolittle Raiders’ legacy as well as the ongoing development by Northrop Grumman of the B-21 Raider, the new USAF heavy bomber named in honor of the Doolittle Raiders.
On April 22, the CDR organized a film screening at the NMUSAF IMAX Theater to show “Unsettled History: America, China, and the Doolittle Raid.” Directed by NY-based filmmaker Bill Einreinhofer with CDR cooperation, the 2022 documentary explained the story of the Doolittle Raid through the lens of Raiders’ descendants and of Chinese families that had helped rescue some of the American airmen. The screening was followed by a reception, generously hosted by the museum in its WWII gallery, where participants viewed artifacts related to the Doolittle mission 81 years ago and reflected upon its legacy today. The film may be viewed here.
A photo gallery of the weekend's events can be viewed here.