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Location of Interment Taylor City Cemetery - Taylor, Texas
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Tail # 40- 2283 Take Off Order 5 Target: Tokyo
Rodney Wilder was one of the 80 airmen who, under the leadership of Jimmy Doolittle, disembarked from the U.S.S. Hornet in the first bombing raid over Tokyo in World War II. Prior to the raid, on December 24, 1941, Lieutenant Wilder was co-pilot of a B-25 credited with sinking a Japanese submarine at the mouth of the Columbia River. Following the raid he continued to fly combat missions in the European and Mediterranean Theaters of Operations.
Pilot
Cpt.
David M. Jones
Marshfield, OR
POW1
Nov 25, 2008
Co-Pilot
Lt.
Rodney Ross Wilder
Taylor, TX
Jun 07, 1964
Navigator
Lt.
Eugene Francis McGurl
Belmont, MA
KIA2
Jun 03, 1942
Bombardier
Lt.
Denver Vernon Truelove
Clermont, GA
KIA3
Apr 05, 1943
Eng/Gunner
Cpl.
Joseph W. Manske
Gowanda, NY
Apr 04, 1998
Other Comments:
Distinguished Flying Cross
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) Rodney Ross Wilder, United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement as Co-Pilot of a B-25 Bomber of the 1st Special Aviation Project (Doolittle Raider Force), while participating in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland on 18 April 1942. Lieutenant Wilder with 79 other officers and enlisted men volunteered for this mission knowing full well that the chances of survival were extremely remote, and executed his part in it with great skill and daring. This achievement reflects high credit on himself and the military service.