article: The last two 'Doolittle Tokyo Raiders' presented the group's Congressional Gold Medal for permanent display at the National Museum of the US Air Force on Saturday, 73 years to the day after their daring bombing attack on Japan rallied Americans in World War II. Retired Lt Col Richard 'Dick' Cole, age 99, gave the medal to the museum's director in a ceremony at the museum attended by military and political officials and relatives of the original 80 Raiders. The medal, awarded by Congress earlier in the week, arrived in a ceremonial B-25 flight. Scroll down for video . Staff Sgt David Thacker (left) and Lt Col Richard Cole (right) presented the Doolittle medal during a ceremony . The last Tokyo Doolittle Raiders gave the Congressional Gold Medal to the National Museum of the US Air Force . The important medal, which was awarded by Congress earlier in the week, arrived in a ceremonial B-25 flight . Cole, a Dayton native, was mission leader and James 'Jimmy' Doolittle's co-pilot for the B-25 bombers' attack that stunned Japan and lifted American spirits less than five months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Last month, Lt Col Robert Hite (pictured), one of the three remaining Tokyo Doolittle Raiders, died after a battle with Alzheimer's disease at the age of 95 . Retired Staff Sgt David Thatcher, 93, came from Missoula, Montana, for the event, and said the medal was for all 80. Cole came from Comfort, Texas. Cole recalled wryly Saturday that on the evening of April 18, 1942, Thatcher was on the beach in China helping save his crew after a crash-landing, 'And I was hanging in my parachute in a tree.' Cole flew with Doolittle in plane No. 1 of the 16 launched from an aircraft carrier. Thatcher was engineer-gunner aboard the 7th plane, nicknamed 'The Ruptured Duck,' whose crew's crash-landing and evasion of Japanese troops in China was depicted in the movie Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. Thatcher, who was played by Robert Walker in the movie while Spencer Tracy portrayed Doolittle, chuckled as he recounted how the Raiders had given little thought at the time of the raid about earning a place in history. 'We figured it was just another bombing mission,' he said in a recent phone interview from his home. In the years afterward, though, he said, they realized: 'It was an important event in World War II.' Cole said: 'We proudly hand over our Congressional Gold Medal to [museum director retired Lt Gen] Jack Hudson, who we trust will respectfully guard it and have it securely displayed... for the world to see and appreciate.' Their medal will join the museum's diorama about their raid. Hudson has pledged their inspirational story 'will live on.' The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, on April 18, 1942, caused negligible material damage to Japan . The raid by the US boosted American morale in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 . Three Raiders have died since their 70th anniversary reunion at the museum in Ohio, two of them this year. The latest to fall was Lt. Col. Robert Hite, who died March 29 at age 95 at a Nashville, Tennessee, nursing facility. Hite was also the last of the eight Raiders who were captured by Japanese soldiers. Three were executed and a fourth died in captivity. Three other Raiders were killed soon after the bombing run, as most crash-landed or had to bail out. Thatcher joined Cole and Lt. Col. Edward Saylor at the museum less than two years ago for a public 'Final Toast' in which they lifted specially engraved silver goblets for the traditional toast of their reunions to those who have gone. He and Cole planned to do so again this weekend at a private gathering, now saluting Hite and Saylor, who died in January at 94. The medal will join a diorama about the raid and museum director John Hudson (right) pledged the story will live . The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, on 18 April 1942, was an air raid by the United States during World War II. The raid, led by Lieutenant Colonel James 'Jimmy' Doolittle, caused negligible material damage to Japan, but helped to boost a wounded nation's morale in the aftermath of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. US Army Air Forces B-25B Mitchell medium bombers, with five crewmen on each were launched without fighter escort from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific. The 16 planes, loaded with one-ton bombs, took off from the aircraft carrier on less than 500 feet of runway. They had only enough fuel to drop their bombs on military targets in Japan and try to land in China with the hope that the Chinese would help them to safety. Pilots volunteered and trained in Florida for what they only knew was 'extremely hazardous.' Navigator Griffin, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, got top-secret briefings with pilot David Jones in Washington, just five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Once at sea, the rest learned targets - factories, plants, military facilities on mainland Japan. They knew the uncertainties: what if the Navy task force was attacked? What defences would they face? And with B-25s unable to land on a carrier decks, could they reach friendly bases in China? Aircraft: The raid, led by Lieutenant Colonel James 'Jimmy' Doolittle, B-25B Mitchell medium bomber launched without fighter escort from an aircraft carrier in the Pacific . The Raiders brushed aside Doolittle's assurances that anyone was free to withdraw. After encountering Japanese patrols, the raid launched ahead of plan, some 200 miles farther from shore for fuel-stretched bombers. Doolittle's plane took off first at 08:20 from a pitching carrier deck. They flew low in radio silence, skimming seas and then treetops. Cole recalls the country song 'Wabash Cannonball' running through his head. He tapped his foot in time until Doolittle shot him a questioning look. They were greeted by anti-aircraft guns and puffs of black smoke. Flak shook planes. When they arrived at the target, Col. Doolittle ordered to open up the bomb bay doors. The bombs dropped, and the raiders 'got the heck out of there.' The danger was just beginning. All 16 planes lacked enough fuel to reach bases and either crash-landed or ditched in dark, rough weather along China's coast south of Shanghai. They narrowly stayed ahead of Japanese searchers, who killed villagers suspected of helping the Americans. Eight Raiders were captured, and three executed. A fourth died in captivity. Three had died off the coast of China. In the end, fourteen crews, except for one crewman, returned either to the United States or to American forces. Bird's eye view: The 16 planes, loaded with one-ton bombs, would fly over military targets in Japan and try to land in China with the hope that the Chinese would help them to safety .
highlights: Lt Col Richard 'Dick' Cole, 99, gave the medal to Air Force museum director .
  Staff Sgt David Thatcher, 93, came from Missoula, Montana, for the event .
  Ceremony 73 years to day after their bombing of Japan rallied US in WWII .
  Military and political officials and relatives of original 80 Raiders attended .
  The group's Congressional Gold Medal arrived in a ceremonial B-25 flight .
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