ALAMEDA - Living Ship Days Heroes of Space September 12, 2015, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

USS Hornet Museum -- American Astronaut Daniel (Dan) W. Bursch (CAPTAIN, USN, RET.), as part of Heroes and Patriots Week. Bursch's presentation will take place at 1 p.m.

Living Ship Day demonstrations are held on the third Saturday of most months. Normal museum hours and admission prices apply. Ample free parking is available across the street from the pier. The USS Hornet Museum is located at 707 W Hornet Ave, Pier 3 in Alameda.

The USS Hornet Museum inspires people of all ages to experience the legacy of naval history, science, and space technology. A registered state and national historic landmark, the ship is permanently berthed at 707 W. Hornet Avenue , Pier 3 in Alameda , CA . It is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regular museum admission is approx. $6-$15 and there is ample free parking across from the pier. Call (510) 521-8448. uss-hornet.org

PAST EVENTS: 71st anniversary of the Doolittle Raid bombing of Tokyo, an historically important attack that took place during WWII.

The special program features flight simulations, guest speakers with a special focus on former Bay Area resident Captain Stephen Jurika, who pay tribute to the Doolittle Raiders, former crew of a fighter jet, opportunity to sit in the cockpit, enjoy the sights and sounds of naval aviation and witness simulated flight operations as aircraft are lifted to the flight deck and placed into launch position.

Captain Jurika's role in the raid was portrayed in the 1944 hit movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” His final Navy assignment was Commanding Officer of the Stanford University NROTC program from 1959-1962. After retiring from the Navy, he taught political science classes at Stanford University (1962-1964), then the University of Santa Clara (1964-1975) and finally at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey (1975-1986). He earned a Ph.D. while at Stanford and was a research scholar at the Hoover Institution from 1980 until 1986. Captain Jurika died in 1993, having been awarded 16 medals including the Navy Cross, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and two Navy Commendations.

Doolittle Raiders were an elite group of airmen who executed an historic, daytime air raid against Tokyo in WWII led by legendary pilot Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle, USAAF (who was born in Alameda ). The initial plan for the raid, however, arose from the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Ernest King, with assistance from then-Lt. Stephen Jurika, the Intelligence Officer of the USS Hornet CV-8. The Hornet Museum 's special Living Ship Day tribute unveils -- for the first time ever -- the full extent of the Navy's role in planning and executing this mission.

The Doolittle Raid has special significance to the USS Hornet museum because its predecessor ship, Hornet CV-8, was the carrier that launched this daring raid off the Japanese coast. Of special significance to Alameda, sixteen B-25 bombers, their five-man volunteer crews, and maintenance personnel were loaded aboard the Hornet CV-8 at Alameda Naval Air Station on April 1, 1942, adjacent to where the USS Hornet museum is located today.

The next day, the Hornet and its escorts sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, reaching their destination two weeks later. On April 18, the Army Air Force crews flew 650 nautical miles from their launch point in the Pacific, dropped their bombs on several Japanese cities and flew on to China where many crash landed.

The bombing gave a tremendous psychological boost to Americans, still reeling from the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Japanese military's hasty response was to attack Midway Island, where its navy was defeated. Many historians consider the Doolittle Raid to be a turning point in the war.

Other Alameda events you might enjoy include: Alameda Sand Castle Contest

Alameda, California Earth Day Celebration

Alameda Egg Scramble, Bunny Breakfast.