This past Memorial Day, at a ceremony at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, a wreath was laid by 102 year old veteran Richard Cole, the last surviving member of the Doolittle Raid, a daring April 1942 long-range bombing run over the main Japanese island of Honshu. The mission was a one-way flight over Japan due to the difficulty of landing the B-25 Mitchell bombers on the aircraft carriers from which they took off.
Me being me, I immediately thought of the haunting Pere Ubu song 30 Seconds Over Tokyo, inspired by the book and movie of the same name. The song, a particular favorite of mine, gives me goosebumps. Here is a 2013 live rendition:
If you can't distinguish the lyrics, the album version is more intelligible.
Thankfully, we of the US are friends and allies of the Japanese people, to the extent that an attack on Tokyo is one of our greatest fears when it comes to international policy.
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