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.
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