WASHINGTON, April 20, 2009 – Thousands of people, young and old, gathered to honor five of the nine surviving Doolittle Raiders at the 67th Reunion in Columbia, S.C., April 16-18.
On April 18, 1942, the Doolittle Raiders, led by then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, became the first to bombard Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
\”Early on, everybody thought leaving the flight deck of the carrier was the biggest challenge of the trip,\” retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, Doolittle\’s co-pilot, said. \”As it turned out, it was the easiest thing, and I had a special advantage because I was sitting next to the best pilot in the world. I admire all of the guys; I especially admire the man I was sitting next to, a fine man and a great pilot.\”
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