Lt. Col. Dick Cole, Last of Doolittle's Raiders, Passes at 103

Scott Sherer

And then there were none. The last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders died today at the age of 103. Retired Lt. Col. Richard E "Dick" Cole was Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot in the lead bomber during the 1942 raid on Tokyo. He was there by chance, as Doolittle’s original copilot became ill before the mission launched.

Cole was interviewed by HistoryNet.com in 2016 about the raid, and was asked how he felt to help lead the bombing mission on Tokyo. “I guess I felt the same way as the rest of the people aboard,” he told HistoryNet. “There was a lot of jubilation and so forth, and then it got kind of quiet as people realized what they were getting mixed up in. But nobody jumped ship and nobody bailed.” Cole described what it was like just before the bomb run. “As we were flying over the Japanese countryside, I was impressed by the beauty of the place, and as we came over Tokyo I was amazed that nobody was jumping us and that there was no ack-ack. This was the first time that any of us who were on the raid had seen combat, and I thought, ‘So far, so good.’"

Launched on April 18, 1942, the so-called Doolittle raid was a success mainly in the sense that it boosted morale in the dark days after Pearl Harbor, and was a dramatic show of force demonstrating that U.S. air forces could attack mainland Japan. Sixteen B-25 Mitchell bombers were launched from the USS Hornet that Saturday morning, having been modified to carry significantly more fuel than normal, at the expense of defensive weapons. The raid was conceived with no way to return, so the bombers were expected to continue into China. All crash landed but 77 of the 80 crewmen survived the raid.

Marc Cook, Avweb Flash

MikeJJ

I had the honor of meeting the last two survivors of the Doolittle Raid years ago at Oshkosh. There was a public interview in the Warbirds area, and they graciously stayed to sign autographs, shake hands, chat, etc. The line was long and the day was a hot one, but my wife and i stuck it out knowing we would soon be able to touch history. I remember the moment....both gentlemen seemed like time travelers on a visit to the present.

As the last surviving member, we listened to Dick Cole again at Oshkosh. This time in the EAA Museum theater. He was there with family, over 100 years old, a bit frail, a bit hard of hearing, but could still crack a joke and a smile!

Rest In Peace Lt. Col. Richard Cole. And thank you EAA for making aviation come alive each year at AirVenture.

Regards,

Mike

Scott Sherer

Well said, Mike.

Austin

Thanks for the info. I never met any of the Doolittle guys but I met several of the AVG Flying Tigers. All the pilots are gone now but several of the ground crew are still with us.
Austin

Scott Sherer

Thanks Austin.