Last week, the Air Force Academy unveiled plans for its football team to wear alternate uniforms that will honor the Doolittle Raiders, a group of pilots and crew who bombed Japan in response to Pearl Harbor.
Led by then-Lt. Col. James Doolittle, the Raiders were sent to Japan in response to the attack on Pearl Harbor to bomb targets in Tokyo and military locations on April 18, 1942.
The raids did not have a major impact on Japan from a damage standpoint, but they were said to have impacted the morale of the Japanese military as well as boosted American morale at a time when it was needed.
The uniforms will feature a chrome helmet with “B-25” on the front bumper and nicknames of specific planes or “Doolittle” on the back. The uniforms will also feature letters and numbers that resemble steel and rivets. “Ever into Peril,” a mantra used by the Raiders, will be included on the pants.
https://twitter.com/AF_Football/status/1692299010932129950
“The APLS uniform is selected to honor historical moments of the Department of the Air Force and Army Air Corps and aircraft used during these moments,” the Air Force athletic department told the Los Angeles Times. “Our Association of Graduates organization is housed on our campus in a building named after General Doolittle (Doolittle Hall). The idea of doing something to honor the Raiders has always been in the plans.”
The decision to honor the Raiders has caused some negative pushback. Some found it distasteful and dishonorable to use the “ambush” as something to showcase on a football uniform. Other social media users disliked the correlations between football and war and that it was honoring the bombing of a country that is currently a U.S. ally.
Get your Doolittle Raiders gear 👀
🔗 https://t.co/9ATWYli1qB pic.twitter.com/uUQ85RMv2i
— Air Force Football (@AF_Football) August 18, 2023
The Air Force Academy responded to questions about the negative response by saying that they’ve seen overwhelmingly positive responses.
“This year’s edition of the Doolittle Raiders has been extremely well received,” the athletic department told the LA Times in an email. “The post you mention has caused a few negative social media posts, but most of the people on the forum have reacted to the negative posts in a supportive way for the Academy. All of the posts have been factual and taken from accounts of the raid and aftermath.”
