Jack Manch – Doolittle Raider

Staunton, Virginia has been running a campaign to honor Jack Manch for being the hero that he was.  A low, black granite monolith in his honor to stand on a plot of ground donated by the city in Gypsy Hill Park.

In the Staunton “News Leader,” Baldwin Jennings,[ raising the memorial fund at 332 Sharon Lane] remarked:  “Standing 6’7”. Manch was far too tall to fly, so General “Hap” Arnold got him to bend his knee… A true American hero who deserves recognition for what he did.” [during the war and later in life].  Manch volunteered and joined the Doolittle Raiders and was one of the men who bailed out over China and worked his way back to friendly lines.

Jack Manch

He returned to Staunton, and “Shorty” remained an aviator.  In 1958 he became the base inspector at Nellis Air Force base.  On the…