Then There Were Three Doolittle Raiders Left: Death of Edward Saylor

From 1-29-15 ABC News "1 of 4 Remaining World War II Doolittle Raiders Dies at 94" by Phuong Le, AP.

Lt.Col. Edward Saylor, 94, died January 28, 2015 in Sumner, Washington.

I am sorry to have to report this, but their deaths are inevitable at these advances ages.

Edward Saylor was a flight engineer-gunner, one of 80 volunteers who flew B-25 bombers from the deck of an aircraft carrier (something said to be impossible) on that April 18, 1942, mission that gave the United States and Allies hope during those desperate days after Pearl Harbor.

Saylor said simply, "It was what you do...."

Sixteen B-52s, each carrying bombs and five brave men took off from the deck of the USS Hornet.  Of them, 3 died on the mission.  Eight were captured by the Japanese of which three were executed and one died in captivity.

In a 2013 interview, he told AP that he was one of the lucky ones from his generation, "There were a whole bunch of guys in World War II, a lot of people didn't come back."

Lt.Col. Saylor grew up on a ranch in Montana and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1939.  He served in the Air Force for 28 years, retiring as a Lt. Colonel.

One of the Greatest of the Greatest Generation.  --GreGen