Dick Cole, the last surviving Doolittle Raider, dies at 103
Richard"Dick" Cole didn't just have a front-row seat to history. On an April day in 1942 -- just four months after Pearl Harbor -- he sat next to Jimmy Doolittle as 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers lumbered down the deck of an aircraft carrier to begin a mission that ended in a huge morale boost for the United States.
Eighty gallant men volunteered for that successful mission -- which turned out to be a one-way attack -- vengeance for Japan's strike on Hawaii that crippled the US Navy fleet and left 2,403 dead.Cole, the last surviving Doolittle Raider, died Tuesday in San Antonio, the US Air Force announced. He was 103."Lt. Col. Dick Cole reunited with the Doolittle Raiders in the clear blue skies today," said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson.
— Gary Sinise April 9, 2019 Cole was remembered across social media, with actor Gary Sinise, who has long championed military veterans, calling the aviator an"extraordinary man."The Doolittle mission called for crews to bomb five Japanese cities and fly on to China, where the men would connect with friendly forces who would help them get home.On April 18, 1942, Lt. Col.
Hide Caption 6 of 11 Photos: The daring flight of the Doolittle RaidersCole and Doolittle made one circle over the Hornet and then pointed the airplane toward Japan. They were followed by the 15 remaining planes. Their grueling mission had begun.Hide Caption 7 of 11 Photos: The daring flight of the Doolittle RaidersThe B-25s targeted five Japanese cities. Doolittle's bomber was the first to fly over Japan. It dropped four incendiary bombs on a Tokyo factory area.
Hide Caption 10 of 11 Photos: The daring flight of the Doolittle RaidersCole, Doolittle and their three crewmen safely parachuted to the ground. Days later, friendly Nationalist Chinese troops escorted them to a US military aircraft, which flew them to safety. Now 101 years old, Cole is the last living Doolittle raider. He toasted the mission's 75th anniversary in April 2016 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas.
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