david thatcher, robert hite, edward saylor, thomas griffin, richard cole. the five surviving members of the famed doolittle raiders who in the aftermath of pearl harbor were given the daunting task of striking back. >> president roosevelt wanted to get back to the japanese. pe badgered his military people until somebody came up with a way to do it. >> reporter: back in 1942 the group numbered 80. serving under lieutenant colonel jimmy doolittle. he devised a plan to launch 16 b-25 bombers from the deck of an aircraft carrier. never done before. >> i had faith in the airplane. it was a good airplane. >> reporter: but when the carrier hornet was spotted in the western pacific, the raiders were forced to leave early. once they dropped their bombs, they wouldn't have enough fuel to fly to safety. >> i didn't think we'd survive, myself. >> reporter: they flew for hours, hitting their targets and then crossing their fingers, headed for china where they ditched their planes. one made it to russia. and yet when the raid was over, doolittle feared that he had failed