Lt. Col. Cole last Doolittle Raider dead at 103

The raid on Toyko, while doing very little damage, was a big moral booster for Americans and their fight with Imperial Japan. The guys who volunteered to train and fly the B-25s off a carrier were true American heroes IMO. May Richard have a well deserved and good after life ...

Lt. Col. Richard Cole, the Last
Doolittle Raider, Dies at Age 103
PJ Media, by J. Christian Adams

Original Article

Posted By:JoniTx, 4/9/2019 3:18:45 PM

Sad news—the last Doolittle Raider has died. Lt. Col. Richard Cole passed away Monday at the age of 103.Cole was the final surviving member of the daring raid on Tokyo by carrier-launched B-25s. As I wrote for his 100th birthday in 2015: Col. Richard Cole was the co-pilot of "Crew 1," which means he sat alongside Col. Jimmy Doolittle at the tip of the tip of the American spear aimed at Imperial Japan. The Doolittle Raid on April 18, 1942, was a virtual suicide mission. It was a daring sea-launched bombing mission in the earliest days of World War II.

I am deeply saddened. The last, of one of our most courageous has passed.

I pray that the Creator gave him clear skies, for his flight home.

Too many of us looking back to events well over half a century ago see the minor damage inflicted and wonder at the uselessness of it.

Two, out of the five available, priceless aircraft carriers were sent deep into Japanese held waters, with many highly valuable, and highly trained aviators aboard, on a mission that, materially, accomplished little.

But...

That's not the truth of the matter. Doolittle's Raid was a badly needed boost to morale during a dark time. The pure guts it took to sail to within 600 miles of Japan to launch that attack boggles the mind.

That raid, followed closely by the Battle of the Coral Sea, and later, Midway were turning points in the war in the Pacific. It showed not only America, but the Japanese themselves, that they weren't invincible, nor untouchable.

originally posted by: seagull
Too many of us looking back to events well over half a century ago see the minor damage inflicted and wonder at the uselessness of it.

Two, out of the five available, priceless aircraft carriers were sent deep into Japanese held waters, with many highly valuable, and highly trained aviators aboard, on a mission that, materially, accomplished little.

But...

That's not the truth of the matter. Doolittle's Raid was a badly needed boost to morale during a dark time. The pure guts it took to sail to within 600 miles of Japan to launch that attack boggles the mind.

That raid, followed closely by the Battle of the Coral Sea, and later, Midway were turning points in the war in the Pacific. It showed not only America, but the Japanese themselves, that they weren't invincible, nor untouchable.

Our grand-parents... they truly were our greatest generation.

EDIT TO ADD: I am retired military... 21 years in the USAF, with 3 combat tours. The greatest hardship I ever endured, was going a week without a hot shower. I never doubted my survival, even during combat.

Those men, the "Doolittle Raiders"... they knew they might have to ditch their aircraft over a very hostile, pre-anime Japan.

They went anyway. To me, that is amazing.

Godspeed, to all of the "Raiders"...

The last of that generation are starting to move on, if you have the chance sit and talk with those people... not just the warriors but anyone that lived through that war.


They have so much knowledge and so many stories to tell, just ask some questions and let them talk and listen. We are not so advanced that we might not end up in a situation where things are rationed, and people are dying all over the globe.


I am certain he is hoisting a flagon in Valhalla with his brothers that preceded him, we are lesser for his passing.

I sent this announcement to many of my friends. One friend by the name of Marc sent back a reply to me that said, " I Met Mr. Cole last year in Pensacola. Very sharp at 102. These guys were true heroes."

Marc is a retired naval commander and fellow aviator who has been a friend for over 40 years.. I am glad to hear at 102 Mr. Cole was still sharp. I doubt Marc or myself will be the same at 102

a reply to: madmac5150

My parents, but agreed.

WWII was the first of three wars for my Dad. Four if you count the Cold War...

He served in the Pacific from late '42 through the first few months of the Occupation in Japan. Then Korea, then Vietnam. He retired 26 years Army Air Corp/Air Force.

There are fewer and fewer of them the Greatest Generation every day. The soldiers. The ship builders. The airplane riveters. All of 'em should have our undying respect, and thanks.

It's so bizarre to think that some day soon, all of the people from that era in our history will be gone and it will truly be nothing more than a thing that happened in the past for all of us. It's going to be interesting how an event so thoroughly documented passes from living memory into just another event in history.

a reply to: DavidDuchovny

Why bizarre?

Like anything else, events of even that magnitude pass into history. Though their voices, like my Dads, are gone now, the lessons are still there to be learned if we care to do so.

After my dad retired he spent a lot of time traveling (fishing tournaments). He told of how on one such journey he was deeply honored to find himself sitting next to one of the Raiders on a long plane ride. Of the same generation, they had a lot to talk about. Dad would have been 100 years old this year.