Lt. James “Herb” Macia Jr. was a navigator in WWII's Doolittle Raid

" In April 1942, just four months after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. military launched a retaliatory attack against Japan, sending 16 B-25 bombers on a one-way mission from the USS Hornet.

The Doolittle Raid, named for its commander, Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, was the first U.S. strike against targets on the Japanese home islands.

The mission was aimed at lifting America's morale, and showed that the United States was capable of bringing the war to Japan.

Among the 80 crewmembers — all volunteers — was Lt. James “Herb” Macia Jr., who died Dec. 20 in Philadelphia of complications from Alzheimer's.

He was 93.

The son of a miner in Tombstone, Ariz., Macia decided to pursue a degree in mining engineering at the University of Arizona.

During this time, a group of his buddies signed up for the flying cadet program, and though Macia never had an interest in planes, he applied.

Macia was accepted and trained as a navigator.

About a year after completing navigation training, Macia volunteered for a mission that he knew little about.

“After he volunteered, he was in a briefing room and Jimmy Doolittle walked in, who at the time was the premiere aviator,” his son James “Herb” Macia III said. “That's when he realized this would be something big.”

And it was. The B-25 crewmembers trained diligently for about a month, learning the skills needed to take off from the deck of an aircraft carrier.

It was meant to be a night raid, but on the day of the planned attacks, that changed.

“The Japanese discovered them, so they had to take off early,” Macia's son said. “My father told the pilot, ‘This looks like we may not make it,' but they all just accepted that possibility.”

Macia's crew did make it. After hitting their targets they bailed out over China.

“His crew was completely unscathed,” Macia said. “And after that, he knew what he was up against, so future missions he was a lot more afraid.”

Macia went on to fly 80 missions in World War II, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He later worked for the Pentagon with the director of intelligence and at Kelly AFB as the director of operations for the Air Force Security Service.

After retirement he was business manager at Assumption Seminary, where he helped organize the visit of Pope John Paul II to San Antonio in 1987.

“He always had this kind of optimism, like ‘Hey, we can do this,'” his son said. “I think that came from being a first-generation son of the American western frontier, that's a legacy of all first-generation people.”
Former crewmen of the Doolittle Raid have hosted an annual reunion for over 60 years.

Macia attended many of these gatherings, which honor the airmen who never made it home."



Macia was a navigator in WWII's Doolittle Raid

 

Rest in Peace Col. Macia. The world, we hardly knew ye.

 

RIP Mr Macia