When 19-year-old Edward Saylor joined the U.S. Army Air Corps on Dec. 7, 1939, he had no idea that exactly two years to the day later, the Imperial Japanese Navy would bomb Pearl Harbor and he'd be part of a historic raid that would alter the course of the war in the Pacific.

"Once is enough," said the now 92-year-old retired lieutenant colonel, referring to the famous Doolittle Raids. "I volunteered for a classified, super-secret mission just to be with my plane. There were 16 aircraft fueled on a flight deck with only 400 feet left for takeoff, when, over the loudspeaker I found out we were heading to Tokyo. The Navy cheered, but the Air Force guys didn't cheer quite that loud. The Navy helped us a lot when an engine failed, but one thing they couldn't do was steady the ship. Taking an engine off on a flight deck carrier was difficult."

Saylor made an appearance and visited with McChord Field Airmen and veterans last week during the monthly Order of Daedalians meeting on base.  

The veteran, who spent time stationed at then McChord Air Force Base, was a maintenance engineer with crew 15 and was on the USS Hornet (CV-9) when he mobilized for the historic raid.

The carrier was heading out on a daring operation led by Lt. Col. James Doolittle - a mission that would test the possibility of launching twin-engine B-25 bombers from an aircraft carrier. However, the carrier encountered enemy picket boats sooner than expected and was forced to launch 600 miles out - an extra 200 miles that put the mission in jeopardy.

"I saw black smoke," Saylor said of the chaos that ensued. "I hadn't seen any war movies yet, so I didn't know what it was, but quickly figured it out. We ran out of gas 100 miles from China and only made it that far because of tail winds. I didn't know who turned the wind around, but it was a good idea."

Forced to ditch in the China Sea, Saylor and his crew were rescued by local fishermen, who snuck them to a local Pagoda where they then hid in a cave.

With their destination thousands of miles away, they began walking west. If it weren't for a local orphaned boy who spoke some English and became their navigator and interpreter, they may not have made it out. Japanese surveillance continued for three weeks.

"We owed that kid big time," Saylor said, choking up. "I never knew what happened to him. I wanted to bring him home, but we couldn't bring back civilians."

The crew was later awarded Chinese Air Corps medals, which aired on the news in America. "My wife went to the movies in Tacoma and saw me in it," he said. "She knew where I was without me breaking any secrets."

Many of the raid's 80 crewmembers were stranded in the region, and it took three months for Saylor's team to cross China, South Africa and Brazil before landing in Washington, D.C.

Eight crewmembers were captured in the conflict: three were executed; one died of malnutrition and disease, and four remained in a prison camp before being rescued.

"They say we changed the course of the war and gave us a lot of credit," Saylor said. "I suppose it did have some effect. The surprise element saved us - well, that and (whomever) turned the wind around."