Just a few short months after a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, a daring raid launched from the aircraft carrier Hornet changed the tone of the war. It set the U.S. and its allies on a course that would eventually lead to domination of the Pacific during World War II.

This year marks the 64th anniversary of the famed “Doolittle Raid,” when a group of 16 B-25 bombers comprised of 80 pilots and crew left their aircraft carrier on April 18, 1942, on a one-way, 500-mile trek to Tokyo to drop the first bombs on mainland Japan. Lt. Col. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle commanded “Task Force 16,” in a daring assignment that in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words, took “…the war to Japan.”

A special Web exclusive this month on Air Force Link, the official U.S. Air Force Web site, highlights those accomplishments and the men who made history. A special multi-media presentation presents a visual look at the historic mission and the 80 men who changed the course of the war, as well as snapshots from the aircraft carrier as the mission began.

There is also a Doolittle documentary, an audio and video presentation in Colonel Doolittle’s own words about the mission and why its success was not only important to the task force involved, but to the entire United States during the darkest part of World War II. A special focus on Colonel Doolittle, the mastermind of the raid, shows why he went from major to major general in the span of a year, and one day became a four-star general.

A National Museum of the Air Force page provides details on this year’s Doolittle reunion marking the 64th anniversary of the raid on Tokyo.

To learn more about one of the most decisive and important missions of World War II and the men who valiantly put their lives on the line to make it happen, go to http://www.af.mil/library/doolittleraiders.asp.