Nolan Herndon  

EDGEFIELD, S.C. (AP) -- Nolan Herndon, a member of the famed Doolittle
Raiders who bombed Japan in 1942, has died. He was 88.

Herndon died Sunday of pneumonia, Edgefield Mercantile Funeral Home
director David Burnett told The Associated Press on Monday.

Herndon, a Greenville, Texas, native, enlisted on July 27, 1940, after
attending two years of college, according to the Web site
www.doolittleraider.com. He was commissioned as a second
lieutenant about a year later.

Herndon participated in one of the most daring air raids in American
history, when 16 B-25 bombers took off from an aircraft carrier and
bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942.

The raid, planned by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, was the subject of the
book and movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" and the book "Four Came
Home".

After the raid, Herndon was interned for about a year in Russia and
returned to the United States in May 1943, where he held several
assignments until the end of World War II, according to the Web site.

He retired from active duty Nov. 4, 1945.



Nolan Anderson Herndon, 0-419328, Major
Bombardier-Navigator Crew 8

Attended college for two years and entered service on July 27, 1940 at Dallas, Texas.  Graduated from navigator training and commissioned as Second Lieutenant on June 24, 1941.  Completed bombardier training.  Was interned in Russia after Tokyo Raid for thirteen months until returned to the United States on May 29, 1943.  Held various Stateside assignments until the end of World War II.  Retired from active duty on November 4, 1945.  Decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Chinese Army, Navy, Air Corps Medal, Class A, 1st Grade.

Born December 12, 1918, Greenville, Texas

Died October 7th, 2007, Edgefield, South Carolina

Inducted Texas Aviation Hall of Fame, Galveston, TX



Crew No. 8 (Plane #40-2242, target Tokyo): 95th Bombardment Squadron, Capt. Edward J. York, pilot; Lt. Robert G. Emmens, copilot; Lt. Nolan A. Herndon, navigator/bombardier; SSgt. Theodore H. Laban, flight engineer; Sgt. David W. Pohl, gunner. (U.S. Air Force photo)