Robert Emmens was one of the 80 airmen who, under the leadership of Jimmy Doolittle, disembarked from the U.S.S. Hornet in the first bombing raid over Tokyo in World War II. Following the raid, due to mechanical problems, his aircraft had insufficient fuel to reach China and landed at a field near Vladivostok, Russia. There, the neutral Soviets confiscated the bomber and interned the crew until they subsequently escaped to Persia and returned home in May 1943.