Writing a book is a collaborative effort, and I am indebted to many people who helped me along the way. It was a privilege and an honor to meet four of the surviving raiders, Richard Cole, Dave Thatcher, Edward Saylor, and the late Tom Griffin, several of whom were kind enough to sit for lengthy interviews. I want to offer special thanks as well to Dave Thatcher, who graciously read an advance copy of the book.
I owe a debt to the family members of several raiders, including Jeff Thatcher, who was a tremendous help to me in my research and even proofread the book prior to publication. Furthermore, he made sure that I had a seat at the Final Toast in November 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. I also want to thank Becky Thatcher-Keller and Sandra Miller, who made me feel like part of the family that weekend. I likewise am grateful to Cindy Chal, daughter of raider Dick Cole. Cindy has spent years poring over raider records and photos and generously provided me with dozens of them. She not only spent several days going through files with me at the University of Texas at Dallas but was also kind enough to read the manuscript in advance of publication. I also owe a debt to Adam Hallmark, a cousin of pilot and executed raider Dean Hallmark, who shared with me scores of powerful records from his family’s collection, as well as raider business managers Tom and Catherine Casey, who gave of their time to read an advance copy of the book.
Nonfiction books are like historical scavenger hunts, and I therefore owe much to the army of archivists and researchers who helped me hunt down the various pieces of the narrative puzzle. At the National Archives, I want to thank Nate Patch and Eric Van Slander as well as independent researchers Katie Rasdorf and Susan Strange. Archie DiFante and Sylvester Jackson were of great assistance during my time at the Air Force Historical Research Agency. I also want to thank my good friend George Cully in Montgomery, who has tirelessly helped me over the years and may very well have the most impressive home library I have ever seen. At DePaul University I owe a special thanks to Morgen Hodgetts and Carly Faison, who helped me unlock the records of the Japanese atrocities in China. Likewise, researcher Ken Moody was a terrific help at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, as was archivist Bob Clark. I am appreciative also of Ann Trevor for her assistance at the Hoover Institution Archives.
Others I owe thanks to include Bob Fish with the USS Hornet Museum; Tom Allen at the University of Texas at Dallas; the Navy Department Library’s Davis Elliot; Evelyn Cherpak at the Naval War College Library; Air Force Academy librarian Mary Elizabeth Ruwell; the University of Maryland’s Anne Turkos; Brett Stole with the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force; André Sobocinski with the Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; the National Museum of the Pacific War’s Reagan Grau; Mike Lott and Buddy Sturgis at the South Carolina Military Museum; Kay Williamson with the Darlington County Historical Society; and James D’Arc at Brigham Young University. I am indebted to Doolittle Raid researcher Ted Brisco, who shared records from his personal collection. Françoise Faulkner likewise provided me with a copy of her unpublished biography of the Reverend Charles Meeus. In Tokyo, I am especially grateful to translator Terrance Young, without whose help I would have been lost.
Closer to home, I owe a special thanks to the kind staff at the Charleston County Public Library. Over the years Linda Stewart has been a great help with my research, along with my friend Stephen Schwengel. I have always found an open door and courteous staff at the Citadel, where I would like to thank Pamela Bennett Orme and David Goble. The College of Charleston’s Claire Fund likewise has always gone the extra distance to assist me in my research. Several other writers provided me with records and leads, including my good friend Steve Moore, who has written more books than I can list. Thanks as well go to Nigel Hamilton, author of the terrific book Mantle of Command, and Greg Leck, who wrote the excellent Captives of Empire. Official Doolittle Raid historian and author Carroll Glines graciously read my manuscript in advance of publication, while my good friends and fellow writers Craig Welch in Seattle and Jason Ryan here in Charleston helped keep me sane.
I am indebted to my wonderful editor at Norton, John Glusman, who also happens to be the author of one of the best World War II books in years, Conduct under Fire. John spent hours going line by line through this manuscript, helping me at each step improve the narrative. I also want to thank his superb and ever-patient assistant, Jonathan Baker. Special Projects Editor Don Rifkin and copyeditor Otto Sonntag did a tremendous job and helped make sure I didn’t embarrass myself, while Norton’s marketing and publicity departments have proven invaluable. I have been blessed over the years with a remarkable agent, Wendy Strothman, whose strong business sense and grace have guided me through three books. Last but not least, I owe an incalculable debt to my amazing wife and best friend, Carmen Scott, who has for years, often at her own sacrifice, allowed me to indulge my passion for history and storytelling. Without her unfailing support, coupled with that of our two wonderful children, Isa and Grigs, this book never would have happened.