The Jimmy Doolittle Pier – Alameda Naval Air Station
Pier No. 3
On April 1, 1942, sixteen B-25 bombers were hoisted to the flight deck of the carrier Hornet and parked there, while moored at Pier No. 3 at U.S. Naval Station in Alameda. The B-25 detachment consisted of seventy officers and one hundred thirty enlisted men under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James H. Doolittle, U.S. Army.
At 1000 hours, April 2, 1942, Task Force Eighteen consisting of the USS Hornet, Nashville, Vincennes, Cimarron and Destroyer Division 22 departed Alameda Naval Air Station, Pier No. 3 and embarked on her mission under sealed orders, sailing out of San Francisco Bay in a fog which reduced her visibility to about 1,000 yards.
From the deck of the carrier Hornet, at 0825 hours on April 18, 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Doolittle led a flight of sixteen B-25 bombers on a daring raid over Japan. Hitting targets in Tokyo, Yokohama, and other cities, scoring a huge victory. It was the first allied strike on the Japanese homeland following the devastating attack on America’s Pacific Fleet.
The Hornet’s mission was kept an official secret for a year until then President Roosevelt referred to the origin of the Tokyo raid only as “Shangra-La.”
For the exploit Jimmy Doolittle, a native of Alameda, California born December 14, 1896 was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Dedicated December 7, 2007
by the Native Sons of the Golden West
Clark A. Brandt, Grand President
[Lower Marker:]
Halcyon-Alameda Parlor No. 47
Native Sons of the Golden West
President, Ed McLean - Jr. Past President, Bob McNaulty – 1st Vice President, Jeff Britton - 2nd Vice President, Monty Shoopman – 3rd Vice President, Robert Follrath, Sr. - Financial/Recording Secretary, Frank Musso – Treasurer, Frank George – Marshall, Ken Haslam – Inside Sentinal, Tom Sheehan – Outside Sentinal, Kip Marquart – Trustee, Richard Young – Trustee, Frank Nielson – Trustee, Sig Roth – Brother Julio Jimenez (Craftsman) - Brother Dennis Valero (Vocalist)
Marker is at the intersection of West Hornet Avenue and Ferry Point on West Hornet Avenue.
Courtesy hmdb.org
