Posted on 04/10/2019 5:24:27 AM PDT by ExTxMarine
Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Richard E. “Dick” Cole, the last living connection to a daring World War II bombing mission and a frequent visitor to Northwest Florida, died Tuesday in Texas at the age of 103. A memorial service is planned for Randolph Air Force Base in Texas with interment later at Arlington National Cemetery.
Cole was among the 80 Army Air Corps airmen who volunteered for the Doolittle Raiders, a team led by then-Lt. Col. James Doolittle to strike Japan after the Japanese laid waste to American naval power in an attack on Hawaii’s Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
(Excerpt) Read more at nwfdailynews.com ...
The last of a great generation. Prayers to his family...
What a life! I hope he enjoyed the cognac.
RIP to an American Hero......what a life this man has lived....they just don’t make them like that anymore.
Got spotted by Jap ships early, had to suddenly launch further out.
They had to dump over all kinds of stuff to take on the required extra fuel. They even had to jettison much-needed machine-guns for their basic defense; for scary machine-gun appearances they used broom handles painted black.
Most of them got their heads whacked off after crashing in occupied territory:
Those guys were amazing.
Rest in Peace, Colonel; you guys had nerves of steel and BIG brass ones! God bless!
There is a joyous reunion going on right now.
Real heros who inspired others!
This morning I told a 30-year colleague of mine of Col. Cole’s passing and mentioned that he was the last of the Doolittle Raiders. He gave me a puzzled look and said he had never heard of Jimmy Doolittle, the Doolittle Raid or anything about this stuff. I told him about the basics, but told him to look it up for all the strip-down they had to do to get those bombers able to take off from an aircraft carrier and make the distance.
He looked it up and said, “WOW! That was either extreme bravery or extreme stupidity. But either way, those guys had to have nerves of steel and balls of brass!”
I thought it sad that this man, who has a Bachelors degree had never heard of Jimmy Doolittle’s Raiders! Our education system is a waste of time!
Those were exciting times.
Not quite true.
(From Wikipedia et al) "Sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium bombers were launched without fighter escort from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) deep in the Western Pacific Ocean, each with a crew of five men.
Fifteen aircraft reached China, but all crashed, while the 16th landed at Vladivostok in the Soviet Union. 77 of 80 crew members initially survived the mission. Eight airmen were captured by the Japanese Army in China; three of those were later executed.
The B-25 that landed in the Soviet Union was confiscated, with its crew interned for more than a year before being allowed to "escape" via Soviet-occupied Iran. Fourteen complete crews of five, except for one crewman who was killed in action, returned either to the United States, or to American forces."
The physical damage inflicted by the raid was minimal, but I understand the mental damage inflicted on a country whose people believed their emperor was practically infallible was tremendous.
They were, indeed, amazing, and truly a part of "our greatest generation......".
Sad news...RIP, hero.
Why weren’t incendiaries used?
Incendiaries were used. The bomb load for at least several, if not all 16 B-25’s consisted of three 500 lb general purpose bombs and one 500 lb incendiary bomb.
Striping the B-25’s of extra weight was done during the training phase at Eglin Field in Florida. There were no tail guns on the B model B-25 and the broomsticks were put on to “scare” the Japs. The bottom turret, which was a remote control unit that had multiple mechanical problems was replaced with a fuel tank to supply extra fuel. Because the mission was going to be a low level attack, the Norden bomb sights were replaced with a simple sight that is clearly shown in the movie “Thirty seconds Over Tokyo.”
“There is a joyous reunion going on right now.”
Yes, just hope they have another bottle of Cognac!
103!!! Well done Col. Cole. A 95 yr old cousin (who flew B24s in WW2) of my husband’s is currently in hospice. Not long before they are all gone.
Mission: Bomb Tokyo in response to the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Date: April 18, 1942.
Launch Vessel: USS Hornet CV-8, escorted by the USS Enterprise.
Aircraft: (16) B-25 Mitchell bombers.
Aircrews: 80 Airmen, (16) crews of five. Pilot, Co-Pilot, Navigator, Bombardier, Engineer / Gunner.
(3) Aircraft ditched at sea off the Chinese coast.
(12) Aircraft crashed / crashed landed in China.
(3) Raiders KIA during the mission, one on bail out and two drowned.
(1) Raider had his leg amputated by another crew member, a doctor serving double duty as a gunner.
(8) Raiders were captured by the Japanese Army in China.
(3) Raiders of the eight captured were executed by the Japanese Army.
(1) Raider died of malnutrition during captivity.
(5) Captured Raiders received life sentences, (4) were liberated while being sent to a secret prison.
(1) B-25 made it intact to Russia and was confiscated by our “allies” the Red Army.
(5) Raiders were detained for the duration of the war in Russia but escaped after a year.
Aftermath: 50 Japanese killed, limited damage to targets, huge psychological effect on Japan.
The Raid stopped Japanese expansion in the Pacific and it adopted a defensive stanch for the duration of the war.
A quarter million Chinese were killed by the Japanese in retaliation of the Raid.
(13) Raiders later died in combat while serving elsewhere in the Pacific and Europe.
(4) Raiders were later shot-down over Europe and became German POWs.
(2) Navy seamen died during naval operations during the Raid.
I was fortunate to share a beer with Lt Col Cole at (if memory serves me right) their last public reunion back in 2013 here in Ft Walton Beach. A humble and friendly hero. RIP.
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