Page 13 - Aerotech News and Review, April 19, 2019

The Raiders remembered
by Bob Alvis
special to Aerotech News
Last week an airmen died, and with his passing so too comes the end of the journey of 80 men who, during World War II, did more to assure our victory and raise the spirits of citizens, dur- ing those dark days after Pearl Harbor, than any other event of that time.
Lt. Col. Richard Cole was the co- pilot of Jimmy Doolittle’s B-25 and the last survivor of those 80 men who took part in the famous raid on Tokyo on April 18, 1942.
At the age of 103 years he was the last crewmember alive who took off that day and the very last of the 80 sil- ver goblets to be turned over during a toast to the Raiders, honoring those who were no longer with us.
Last week Dick Cole took that last breath and brought to an end the living testimony to that incredible event in American history.
We here in the Antelope Valley have a connection to that mission our- selves as the leader and one of the ar- chitects of that raid, Maj. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, was no stranger to our High Desert home. Many times he was the guest of honor at many of our com- munity events.
With that notoriety and his incred- ible aviation career, he was a shoe-in for the first class of inductees on the Aerospace walk of Fame on Lancaster Blvd., with a monument and a beau- tiful mural depicting his dedication and skill. An original mural had also depicted those B-25s that so defined the lives of the 80 men who took part in that famous raid.
Courtesy photographs
Lt. Col. Richard Cole, last of Doolittle Raiders.
Some of us felt that the passing of Dick Cole was a watershed moment in history and that event should not go by here in our valley without some kind of recognition.
On the morning of April 13, there was a gathering on Lancaster Bou- levard at the site of the Jimmy Doo- little monument to remember the co-pilot who sat beside him when he took off from the deck of the USS Hornet so many years ago. With words, flowers, pictures and memo- ries we told the story of Richard Cole to those in attendance and shared the heartache of those who now feel the void of a world where the Doolittle Raiders no longer walk.
But as with all things with an incred-
ible story, Saturday morning would also have its own incredible moment. As the event was winding down
a couple walked up and pleasantries were exchanged and the question was asked, why are you here? A hush fell over the gathering when Palmdale resi- dent Harold Watson said he was here to honor the Raiders Dick Cole and his father, Harold F. Watson — the pilot of plane number nine of the 16 that comprised the entire strike force.
We were standing with the son of a legend and we were left pretty much speechless. As he told the story of that famous day from the perspective of a son we realized how his appearance brought a special feeling and meaning to the gathering.
It was made even more so when we learned that he is the recent recipi- ent of a heart transplant and that he didn’t really know if he should take the chance to attend as he’s still on the mend. But in that new heart of his he felt the need to remember the last survivor who served with his father on that fateful day and made the trip with his wife to join us on the Boulevard.
It was the perfect day in so many ways to say goodbye, but it came with a message from the son of pilot Harold Watson when he said let us not fail to tell the story of the Doolittle Raiders to future generations so that their legacy will live on long after that last silver goblet is turned over and how just or- dinary men became giants that all of America looked up to when the chips were down.
The Richard Cole remembrance at the Jimmy Doolittle monument on Lancaster Boulevard.
Harold F. Watson second from the left with his crew aboard the USS Hornet with their B-25.
Harold Watson, left, the Son of Harold F. Watson pilot of plane 9 of the Doolittle Raiders.
Thanks to all those who helped make this a special event — Chris Spi- cher, Bill Warford, Ida Ketchum and her son, Robert Broad, and those who took time out of their day to take a few
moments to remember a great man and some fellow airmen.
God speed Lt. Col. Richard Cole, the gathering now in heaven must be one for the ages.
Last surviving Doolittle Raider, passes away
by Master Sgt. Andrew Stephens
JB San Antonio-Randolph, Texas
A legendary chapter in Air Force history has come to a close.
Retired Lt. Col. Richard “Dick” E. Cole, the last survivor of the “Doolittle Raid,” died April 9, in San Antonio.
“Lt. Col. Dick Cole reunited with the Doolittle Raiders in the clear blue skies today,” said Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. “My heart goes out to his friends and family as our Air Force mourns with them. We will honor him and the courageous Doolittle Raiders as pioneers in aviation who continue to guide our bright future.”
On April 18, 1942, the U.S. Army Air Forces and the Doo- little Raiders attacked Tokyo in retaliation for the Japanese
April 19, 2019
attack on Pearl Harbor, which boosted American morale in the early months of World War II.
“There’s another hole in our formation,” said Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein. “Our last remaining Doolittle Raider has slipped the surly bonds of Earth, and has reunited with his fellow Raiders. And what a reunion they must be having. Seventy-seven years ago this Saturday, 80 intrepid Airmen changed the course of history as they executed a one-way mission without hesitation against enormous odds. We are so proud to carry the torch he and his fellow Raiders handed us.”
Cole was born Sept. 7, 1915, in Dayton, Ohio. In 1938, he graduated from Steele High School in Dayton and attended two years of college at Ohio University before enlisting as an aviation cadet on Nov. 22, 1940. Soon after he enlisted,
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Cole received orders to report to Parks Air College in East St. Louis, Ill., for training before arriving at Randolph Field, Texas, and later, Kelly Field, Texas. He completed pilot train- ing and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in July 1941.
While Cole was on a training mission with the 17th Bom- bardment Group at Pendleton, Ore., word came that the Japa- nese had attacked Pearl Harbor.
The 17th BG flew anti-submarine patrols until February 1942, when Cole was told he would be transferred to Co- lumbia, S.C. While there, he and his group volunteered for a mission with no known details. Cole would later say that he thought his unit was heading to North Africa.
For weeks, Cole practiced flying maneuvers on the B-25
See RAIDER, Page 11
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