From the April 19, 2013, USA Today, AP, "Doolittle Raiders wrap up missions."
The final reunion, number 71, took place at Eglin Air Force Base near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. They met here because it is where they trained in early 1942 for their top-secret mission, a short time after the devastation at Pearl Harbor.
There are still four survivors of the raid and three were present at the reunion. Robert Hite, 93, was unable to attend.
Richard Cole, 98, can still fly and land a vintage B-25, which he did, waving and smiling from the cockpit at onlookers.
David Thatcher, 91, loves to tell stories about his part in the 1942 Doolittle Raid on Tokyo.
Edward Saylor, 93, still gets laughs from his one-liners that helped U.S. morale as much as it hurt that of Japan.
The Final Toast Taken. --GreGen
My Cooter's History Blog has become about 80% World War II anyway, so I figured to start a blog specific to it, especially since we're commemorating its 70th anniversary and we are quickly losing this "Greatest Generation." The quote is taken from Pearl Harbor survivor Frank Curre, who was on the USS Tennessee that day. He died Dec. 7, 2011, seventy years to the day. His photo is below at right.
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