World War II Honoree

Nolan Herndon

Branch of Service

U.S. Army Air Force

Hometown

Edgefield, South Carolina

Honored By

Friends of American Heroes

PARTICIPATED IN ONE OF THE MOST DARING AIR RAIDS IN AMERICAN HISTORY. SIXTEEN B-25 BOMBERS WITH FIVE-MAN CREWS TOOK OFF FROM AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER AND BOMBED TOKYO ON APRIL 18, 1942. THE RAID, PLANNED BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL JIMMY DOOLITTLE, WAS THE SUBJECT OF THE BOOK AND MOVIE THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO. AFTER THE RAID, HE - A NAVIGATOR, BOMBARDIER AND GUNNER - WAS INTERNED FOR ABOUT A YEAR IN RUSSIA AFTER HIS PLANE WAS INEXPLICABLY DIVERTED. RETURNED TO THE U.S. IN MAY 1943, WHERE HE HELD SEVERAL ASSIGNMENTS UNTIL THE END OF WWII. RETIRED FROM ACTIVE DUTY NOVEMBER 4, 1945.