Retired Maj. Nolan Herndon, a Doolittle Raider from South Carolina, died on Oct. 7 of pneumonia. He was 88. The State reports that Herndon was the navigator on the No. 8 B-25 Mitchell bomber, one of 16 bombers that launched off the USS Hornet to attack the Japanese mainland after the attack on Pearl Harbor. His aircraft was one that did not crash or run out of fuel after the mission. In an earlier interview, Herndon told the newspaper that No. 8 was diverted to the Soviet Union on a secret mission.
Lloyd Austin, President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Pentagon, spent his Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 19 pressing his civilian bona fides to lawmakers, with some pledging opposition to the waiver Austin would need to become the nation’s first Black Defense Secretary. Austin spent 40 years in the military…