Retired LtCol Richard “Dick” Cole, the co-pilot to Jimmy Doolittle and last surviving member of the raid, died yesterday at the age of 103.
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After his military career, Thatcher worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years as a clerk and later a letter carrier. He retired in 1980. He stayed in contact with the surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders and attended nearly every reunion the group held through the Final Toast in November 2013.
Retired LtCol Richard “Dick” Cole, Doolittle’s co-pilot, is the last Read more
LtCol Robert Hite, one of the last three living Doolittle Raiders, died Sunday at the age of 95. Hite was a POW of the Japanese after the raid for the remainder of the war, until his camp was liberated three years later in 1945.
With his death, Read more
Today, just four of the men survive: Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, co-pilot of crew No. 1; Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, co-pilot of crew No. 16; Lt. Col. Edward J. Saylor, engineer-gunner of crew No. 15; and Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher, engineer-gunner of crew No. 7…
Each year, the remaining Raiders have toasted their comrades and turned over the goblets of those who passed away the prior year. The original plan had been for the final two to open a celebratory bottle of cognac in a last gathering. Due to age and health concerns, they decided to make this their final year.