[darkwing104]

Staff Sgt. David Jonathan Thatcher and Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole

[Snickering Hound]

The last survivor is Dolittle’s copilot.

[MUDDOG]

B-24’s little brother.

[oh8eleven]

The Doolittle Raid was a direct response to Japan's cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor. Essentially - in your face MFers.
If Øbama and Loretta Lynch were in office on 7 December 1941, instead of Doolittle, we'd have sent a teddy bear conveying our love and understanding.

[Pontiac]

Blue skies and soft landings Sargent.

[fireman15]

May Staff Sgt. David Jonathan Thatcher rest in peace.

One of the other last Doolittle Raiders, Edward J. Saylor lived just a few miles from us. He was 94 and died last year. I took video of him speaking at the annual Heritage Dinner at the Officer’s Club at McChord AFB on Joint Base Lewis-McChord the year before he died. He was a very good speaker and it was an amazing talk. After he died I asked the Retired General in charge of the retired officers group if he would mind if I posted the video online but he didn’t want me to.

We last visited with Ed Saylor at a “Ronald Reagan Club” meeting in South Tacoma a few months before he died. He was still very sharp mentally, but did seem tired compared to previous years. My wife was scheduled to speak; she asked if Ed would say a few words, but he wasn’t feeling up to it.

My wife met Doolittle’s granddaughter, Jonna Doolittle Hoppes and several remaining Doolittle Raiders in Hawaii in 2008. Jonna has written several books. My wife was invited to attend the ceremonies commemorating the Pearl Harbor attack that year by the Fort DeRussy Museum Staff. My wife works with museums and military organizations setting up displays and giving presentations honoring our military. It is more of an obsession and hobby, but it does give us the opportunity to travel and meet a lot of interesting people.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/31/us/edward-j-saylor-airman-who-took-fight-to-japan-with-the-doolittle-raiders-dies-at-94.html

[mowowie]

RIP HERO

[zek157]

Times not on the side of these guys. I saw Dick Cole last year at an event last year. Doing reasonably well for being 100’ but he’s 100...

[WKUHilltopper]

Wow...he was on the “Ruptured Duck”. I remember reading this in the book “Thirty seconds over Tokyo” when I was a kid.

So sad. RIP.

[higgmeister]

I wonder if they had a tontine?

[Bringbackthedraft]

I grew up, and even served with their contemporaries. To think that we still had a couple of CW vets still around when I was a kid and when the raid on Tokyo occurred. I hate hearing about these WW II guys passing away, they had such an influence on my life. I will always feel attached to them. Especially that Retired 3 Star General who encouraged me to go OCS when I was 19 and in college.