A Mission Fullfilled
The Last of the Doolittle Raiders Recounts Their Legendary Mission , 75 Years Later
From Lt . Colonel Richard E . Cole
Just four months after Pearl Harbor , on April 18 , 1942 , Richard E . “ Dick ” Cole joined a group of 80 airmen in 16 B-25 Mitchell Bombers lifting off from the USS Hornet aircraft carrier bound for military targets in Japan . To steer this fateful mission , which would prove a turning point in the war , U . S . Army Air Forces Lt . Gen . Henry H . “ Hap ” Arnold called on famed pilot , Lt . Col . James “ Jimmy ” Doolittle . His co-pilot in the lead plane was Cole and at that point neither man had flown a combat mission . In addition to putting the Japanese on the defensive , success in the “ Doolittle Raid ” improved morale for U . S . forces and provided a strategic advantage the U . S . Navy would exploit in the subsequent Battle of Midway . With the passing of retired USAAF Staff Sergeant David Thatcher on June 22 , 2016 , Cole , a 101-yearold retired Air Force lieutenant colonel , is now the last of the famed Doolittle Raiders . He recently shared his account of the Raid and its aftermath .
Growing up in northeast Dayton , I used to ride my bicycle over to McCook Field and go sit on the levy to watch planes take off . At that time , McCook served as the Eastern Army Corps ’ first test base and it certainly fed my early fascination with airplanes . Before I could join the Army and get into a cockpit of my own , in my youth I competed in the Airplane Model League of America , building and flying my own rubber band powered airplanes . Mr . Patterson , CEO at the time of National Cash Register Corporation , built a community auditorium and he would allow the league to fly our airplanes inside the auditorium every Saturday . I couldn ’ t have known then the adventures I ’ d soon find myself in
PLANE # 1 - PILOTED BY JIMMY DOOLITTLE AND RICHARD COLE - LAUNCHES FROM USS HORNET , APRIL 18 , 1942 . AFTER MAKING ONE CIRCLE AROUND HORNET , THEY SET COURSE FOR THEIR TARGET : THE HEART OF THE JAPANESE EMPIRE .
SPRING 2017 7