Robert L. Hite

Lieutenant Colonel Robert "Bobby" Hite, USAF is a former American pilot and prisoner of war. Hite served as an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War and the Korean War.
As of September 2012, he is one of the 5 surviving Doolittle Raiders.
Early Military Career
Hit enlisted as an Aviation Cadet on September 9, 1940 at Lubbock, Texas. He was commissioned as Second Lieutenant and rated as pilot on May 29, 1941.
The Doolittle Raid
Hite was assigned as the co-pilot of the 16th aircraft, Plane # 40-2268, nicknamed "Bat Out of Hell". This was the final B25 to depart the deck of the Hornet. Due to low fuel, Pilot Lieutenant Bill Farrow instructed his crew to bail out even though he knew they were close to enemy-held Nangchang city. Within an hour Lt. Barr was captured and before noon all five crewmen became Prisoners of War.
POW
Following the Tokyo Raid, the crews of two planes remained unaccounted for. On Aug. 15, 1942, it was learned from the Swiss consulate general in Shanghai that the Japanese had eight American flyers at police headquarters in that city. On Oct. 19, 1942, the Japanese broadcast that they had tried two crews of the Tokyo Raid and sentenced them to death. No names or facts were given.
A War Crimes Trial in Shanghai that opened in February 1946 uncovered the details. The court tried four Japanese officers for mistreatment of the eight POWs of the Tokyo Raid. In addition to being tortured, these men contracted dysentery and beri-beri as a result of the deplorable conditions under which they were confined.
On Aug. 28, 1942, the eight were given a "trial" by Japanese officers, although they were never told the charges against them. On Oct. 14, 1942, Doolittle Raiders Dean Hallmark, Bill Farrow and Harold Spatz were advised they were to be executed. The next day the Japanese brought them to Public Cemetery No. 1 outside Shanghai. In accordance with proper ceremonial procedures of the Japanese military, they were then shot.
Hite remained in solitary confinement on a starvation diet, his health rapidly deteriorating. In April 1943, he was moved along with 4 other Raider POWs to Nanking. On Dec. 1, 1943, fellow Meder died. The other four men began to receive a slight improvement in their treatment and by sheer determination and the comfort they received from a lone copy of the Bible, they survived to August 1945 when they were freed. The four Japanese officers tried for their war crimes against the eight Tokyo Raiders were found guilty. Three were sentenced to hard labor for five years and the fourth to a nine-year sentence.
Hite's weight dropped to 80 pounds during his stay in Japanese prisons. He was bitten by bugs, rats and lice, suffered starvation and had water poured down his nose.
Honors and awards
Military honors
Distinguished Flying Cross citations
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) Robert L. Hite (ASN: 0-417960), 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 Hite 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.

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