04-09-2019, 11:57 AM
The last surviving flyer of the Doolittle Raid:
Richard E. Cole (September 7, 1915 – April 9, 2019) was a retired career officer in the United States Air Force. He was one of the airmen who took part in the Doolittle Raid, serving as the co-pilot to Jimmy Doolittle in the lead plane of the raid.
Cole remained in China after the raid until June 1943, and served again in the China Burma India Theater from October 1943 until June 1944. He later served as Operations Advisor to the Venezuelan Air Force from 1959 to 1962. He retired from the Air Force in 1966 and in 2016, became the last living Doolittle Raider.[1]
Cole enlisted as an aviation cadet on November 22, 1940 at Lubbock, Texas. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in July 1941 and rated as a pilot.[2]
Main article: Doolittle Raid
Cole was assigned as the co-pilot of the 1st aircraft, Plane # 40-2344. This was the first B-25 to depart the deck of the Hornet, and it was piloted by the leader of the raid, Jimmy Doolittle.[3]
On April 18, 1942, Doolittle and his B-25 crew took off from the Hornet, reached Japan, bombed their target, then headed for their recovery airfield in China. Doolittle and his crew bailed out safely over China when their B-25 ran out of fuel. By then, they had been flying for about 12 hours, it was nighttime, the weather was stormy, and Doolittle was unable to locate their landing field. Doolittle came down in a rice paddy near Chuchow (Quzhou). He and his crew linked up after the bailout and were helped through Japanese lines by Chinese guerrillas and American missionary John Birch.[citation needed]
Cole is the last surviving airman to participate in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942; David Thatcher died on June 23, 2016.[2][4][5]
On September 19, 2016, the Northrup Grumman B-21 was formally named "Raider" in honor of the Doolittle Raiders.[6] As the last surviving Raider, Cole was present at the naming ceremony at the Air Force Association conference.[7]
He died on April 9, 2019, aged 103.[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Cole
Richard E. Cole (September 7, 1915 – April 9, 2019) was a retired career officer in the United States Air Force. He was one of the airmen who took part in the Doolittle Raid, serving as the co-pilot to Jimmy Doolittle in the lead plane of the raid.
Cole remained in China after the raid until June 1943, and served again in the China Burma India Theater from October 1943 until June 1944. He later served as Operations Advisor to the Venezuelan Air Force from 1959 to 1962. He retired from the Air Force in 1966 and in 2016, became the last living Doolittle Raider.[1]
Cole enlisted as an aviation cadet on November 22, 1940 at Lubbock, Texas. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in July 1941 and rated as a pilot.[2]
Main article: Doolittle Raid
Cole was assigned as the co-pilot of the 1st aircraft, Plane # 40-2344. This was the first B-25 to depart the deck of the Hornet, and it was piloted by the leader of the raid, Jimmy Doolittle.[3]
On April 18, 1942, Doolittle and his B-25 crew took off from the Hornet, reached Japan, bombed their target, then headed for their recovery airfield in China. Doolittle and his crew bailed out safely over China when their B-25 ran out of fuel. By then, they had been flying for about 12 hours, it was nighttime, the weather was stormy, and Doolittle was unable to locate their landing field. Doolittle came down in a rice paddy near Chuchow (Quzhou). He and his crew linked up after the bailout and were helped through Japanese lines by Chinese guerrillas and American missionary John Birch.[citation needed]
Cole is the last surviving airman to participate in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo in April 1942; David Thatcher died on June 23, 2016.[2][4][5]
On September 19, 2016, the Northrup Grumman B-21 was formally named "Raider" in honor of the Doolittle Raiders.[6] As the last surviving Raider, Cole was present at the naming ceremony at the Air Force Association conference.[7]
He died on April 9, 2019, aged 103.[8]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_E._Cole
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