McChord Honor Guard pays tribute to famed 'Doolittle Raider'

  • Published
  • By Tyler Hemstreet
  • Staff writer
MCCHORD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  The McChord Honor Guard recently played a pivotal role in honoring a deceased member of one of the most studied and talked about missions in the history of aerial warfare.

Retired Staff Sgt. Jacob DeShazer, 95, one of the famed "Doolittle Raiders," who helped boost American morale in the early days of World War II with a surprise air
attack on Japan, died March 15.

The Honor Guard here sent 21 Airmen to assist in his military burial March 29 in Salem, Ore.

"As far as World War II veteran funerals go, this is the highest profile and one of the most important ones we've done," said Master Sgt. Douglas Pecor, 62nd Services Squadron, the non commissioned officer in charge of the Honor Guard.

In order to prepare for the funeral, Sergeant Pecor did some extensive research on the Doolittle Raiders and briefed his Airmen on the gravity of the ceremony.

"I told his story to them and the importance of it just fell into place for them," he said.

At the funeral, Honor Guard Airmen presented the colors, performed pallbearer duties, conducted a 21-gun salute, performed "Taps" and coordinated a B1-B Lancer flyover from the 34th Bomb Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

The Doolittle Raiders were originally part of the 34th.

The coordination of the entire funeral took quite a bit of work, which included the pallbearers carrying the casket from the funeral home to the Hearst and then from the Hearst to the gravesite, Sergeant Pecor said.

The flyover also took some precise communication between everyone involved, said 1st Lt. LeRoy Cohen, 4th Airlift Squadron, who communicated with the pilots over the radio during the ceremony.

While everything was on a timed schedule, when the minister finished up early Lieutenant Cohen had to inform the pilots of the change.

"Since everything was a timed sequence, it was on my shoulders," he said. "There was a little bit more pressure than usual because of the fact there were so many people involved in the funeral. We knew it was important."

The precision paid off as the Lancer flew over a mere 40 seconds after "Taps" was finished being played.

"It was really amazing," Lieutenant Cohen said.

Since the funeral was close to the freeway, drivers even pulled over to watch the flyby, he said.

"Everyone at the funeral applauded... I'm sure it touched a lot of folks there," Lieutenant Cohen said.

As another token of the Honor Guard's appreciation, Sergeant Pecor even put together a flag box with all of Sergeant DeShazer's medals and insignias for his widow.

"To do something like that for Jacob was a true honor," said Sergeant Pecor, who also presented the flag to DeShazer's widow. "We had a great sense of pride after the ceremony that came from knowing everything went well."

Born Nov. 15, 1912, in Salem, Ore., Sergeant DeShazer graduated from Madras High School in 1931. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1940.

Sergeant DeShazer and the rest of his B-25 crew were forced to parachute into enemy territory over Ningpo, China, when their B-25 ran out of fuel. The entire crew was captured by the Japanese the next day.

During his captivity, Sergeant DeShazer was sent to Tokyo with the survivors of another Doolittle crew, and was held in a series of prison camps in Japan and China for 40 months, 34 of which were in solitary confinement. During this time he was subjected to unbelievable cruelty, including being forced to watch helplessly while one of his friends died of slow starvation.

Sergeant DeShazer was able to read the Bible for only three weeks. Still, its message had a lifelong impact on him. After his release, he attended college and then seminary in preparation to become a missionary.

Sergeant DeShazer returned to Japan in 1948, where he spent 30 years preaching and teaching Christianity.

He leaves behind his wife, Florence, and five children.

(Air Force Print News contributed to this article.)