Raider Note

We just learned that Ellen Lawson, the widow of Tokyo Raider pilot Ted Lawson, passed away Feb. 5, 2009, at the age of 89, at her home in Chico, Calif. Ted, who died in 1992, was the author of the World War II classic Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, which detailed his experiences as a member of the 80-man group of Doolittle Raiders that bombed Japan on April 18, 1942. Mrs. Lawson was an active member of the Raiders Association, serving as secretary and historian. In fact, at the time of her death, she was working on two books on the Raiders. She also wrote the introduction (read it at Google book preview) to the 60th anniversary reprint of Thirty Seconds. She is survived by three children, two daughters, a son, and several grandchildren.