Doolittle Raider Helps Dedicate Exhibit

A remodeled Doolittle Raiders exhibit at Eglin AFB, Fla., had a special guest at its dedication Saturday: the last surviving Doolittle Raider. Lt. Col. (ret.) Dick Cole, 100, was Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot in America’s first air raid on the Japanese mainland, on April 18, 1942. Cole called it an honor to be at the dedication of the exhibit at the US Air Force Armament Museum, according to an AFSOC release. Lt. Gen. Brad Webb, commander of Air Force Special Operations Command, said it was an honor to “even be in the same room” with Cole. The Doolittle Raiders trained at Eglin before leaving the US, according to a press release. Cole was able to avoid capture, and he went on to fly supply missions in the China-Burma-India theater until April 1943. He later became a founding member of the 1st Air Commando Group. Cole became the last surviving member of the Doolittle Raiders following the death of former SSgt. David Thatcher on June 22.