Books with title Thirty Seconds over Tokyo

This first-hand account of the Doolittle Raid - the secret preparations, the war itself and the almost unbelievable adventures of the airmen in the weeks that followed – is one of the greatest stories of American bravery and ingenuity that has ever been written. Ted Lawson piloted one of the planes that roared over Tokyo. In the subsequent crack-up on the Chinese coast, he sustained injuries that ultimately cost him a leg. The story of his rescue, told simply and directly, makes thrilling and moving reading, serving again to remind us all of the great acts of sacrifice and heroism performed by members of our armed forces during World War II.

Captain Ted W. Lawon is a vative of California and attended Los Angeles Junior College. He studied aeronautical engineering during the day and worked in the Douglas Aircraft plant at night. Finally he had to leave school when the couble job became too difficult and devoted hiimself to the practical study of planes. he joined the Army Air Forces early in 1940 as a flying cadet, and, by February, 1941, he was a first pilot. Soon after Pearl Harbor, he was one of the volunteers for the "dangerous mission" that turned out to be the Doolittle Raid which bombed Tokyo. He account of the raid--the preparations, the actual bombing, the crash in China, the help given the flyers by the people of China, and the return to this country--is one of the most moving and inspiring stories to come out of the war. For his magnificent part in the raid, which cost him a leg, Lawson was promoted from First Lieutenant to Captain, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Order of the Purple Heart, and the Military Order of China. The book was subsequently adapted into a film of the same name starring Spencer Tracy, Van Johnson and Robert Mitchum.