Descendents of Doolittle Raiders celebrate alongside the war heroes

For Todd Joyce of Louisville, Neb., the annual Doolittle Raiders reunion is more than just a gathering of old warriors. It’s a family reunion.

Joyce is the son of the late Raider Dick Joyce, pilot of Plane No. 10 and crew mate with the late Raider Horace “Sally” Crouch of Columbia.

He was one of about 40 Raider children and grandchildren who traveled to Columbia from across the nation for this week’s 67th anniversary reunion of his father’s famous Tokyo Raid.

“We would find it real hard to sit home on April 18,” Joyce said.

On that date in 1942, the 80 Raiders flew 16 Army bombers off a Navy carrier and bombed Japan just four months after Pearl Harbor. It is the most famous air raid in U.S. history...

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