Contra Costa Council of the Navy League of the US

Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Museum to Commemorate WWII Doolittle Raid
16th April 2011

Publicist: Elizabeth Rajs
Raise Communication
(925) 895-4118
Media Contacts: Heidi Shave
(510) 521-8448, ext. 224
heidi.shave@uss-hornet.org
Madeline McEntyre
(510) 521-8448, ext. 282
mmcentyre@uss-hornet.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aircraft Carrier USS Hornet Museum to Commemorate WWII Doolittle Raid
Special Recognition to Navy Captain Stephen Jurika
Saturday, April 16
The USS Hornet Museum will commemorate the 69th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, America’s
heroic World War II bombing raid of Tokyo on Saturday, April 16, during the aircraft carrier’s
special “Living Ship Day.” The day-long tribute will feature guest speakers and special exhibits
honoring the Doolittle Raid and its participants, with a special focus on former Bay Area resident
Captain Stephen Jurika.
The “Doolittle Raiders” were an elite group of airmen who executed an historic, daytime air raid
against Tokyo in WWII led by legendary pilot Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, USAAF (who was born
in Alameda). Bob Fish, USS Hornet Museum historian, noted, “the initial plan for the raid,
however, arose from the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest King, with great
assistance from then-Lt. Stephen Jurika, the Air Intelligence Officer of the USS Hornet CV-8.” The
Hornet Museum’s special Living Ship Day tribute will unveil – for the first time ever -- the full
extent of the Navy’s role in planning and executing this mission.
The public program at 1 p.m. will feature speakers who will be announced at a later date. The
Living Ship Day events include flight simulations between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., when the
museum comes to life as an operating aircraft carrier. Visitors get to meet former crew, sit in the
cockpit of a fighter jet, enjoy the sights and sounds of naval aviation and witness simulated flight
operations as aircraft are lifted to the flight deck and placed into launch position.
Living Ship Day demonstrations are held on the third Saturday of most months. Normal museum
admission prices will apply. Ample free parking is available across the street from the pier. The
USS Hornet Museum is located at 707 W Hornet Ave, Pier 3 in Alameda.
The Hornet Museum decided to pay tribute to the Doolittle Raid in April to commemorate the 69th
anniversary of the historically important attack. The raid has special significance to the museum
because its predecessor ship, Hornet CV-8, was the carrier that launched this daring raid off the
Japanese coast. Of special significance to Alameda, sixteen B-25 bombers, their five-man
volunteer crews, and maintenance personnel were loaded aboard the Hornet CV-8 at Alameda
Naval Air Station on April 1, 1942, adjacent to where the USS Hornet museum is located today.
The next day, the Hornet and her escorts sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, reaching their
destination two weeks later. On April 18, the Army Air Force crews flew 650 nautical miles from
their launch point in the Pacific, dropped their bombs on several Japanese cities and flew on to
China where many crash landed.
The bombing gave a tremendous psychological boost to Americans, still reeling from the attack
on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese military’s hasty response was to attack Midway Island, where its
navy was soundly defeated. Many historians consider the Doolittle Raid to be a turning point in
the war.
Captain Jurika’s role in the raid was portrayed in the 1944 hit movie “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo”
by actor Leon Ames. He spent much of his later life in the South Bay area. His final Navy
assignment was Commanding Officer of the Stanford University NROTC program from 1959-
1962. After retiring from the Navy, he taught political science classes at Stanford University
(1962-1964), then the University of Santa Clara (1964-1975) and finally at the Naval
Postgraduate School in Monterey (1975-1986). He earned a Ph.D. while at Stanford and was a
research scholar at the Hoover Institution from 1980 until 1986. Captain Jurika died in 1993,
having been awarded sixteen medals including the Navy Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and
two Navy Commendations.
About the USS Hornet Museum
The USS Hornet Museum is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to inspiring people of
all ages to experience the legacy of naval history, science, and space technology. A registered
state and national historic landmark, the ship is permanently berthed at 707 W. Hornet Avenue,
Pier 3 in Alameda, CA. The ship is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regular
museum admission is $6-$15 and there is ample free parking across from the pier. For more
information, visit www.uss-hornet.org or call (510) 521-8448.
-end