GREENFIELD, IOWA – The Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame inducted three members of the famed Doolittle Raiders at ceremonies held October 2, 2014. Inducted were Cpt. Charles Greening, Sgt. Bill Dieter and Cpl. Leland Faktor.
Reacting to the damage done by the Japanese’ sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, an ambitious plan was put into motion.
Led by Col. Jimmy Doolittle on April 18, 1942, 16 B-25 “Mitchell” bombers flew off the aircraft carrier USS Hornet to bomb targets on the Japan mainland. Not knowing of the mission until the carrier was at sea, the volunteers were simply told, “you’ll either be heroes or in heaven.”
On May 24, 2014, all 80 members of the Doolittle Raiders were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Iowans Dieter and Faktor were two of the three crewmembers killed when their bombers crash-landed following the raid.