FILE – In this Nov. 9, 2013, file photo, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, a surviving member of the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, opens an 1896 bottle of cognac the Raiders had been saving for their final toast, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Cole, co-pilot of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders’ lead plane and a fly-over by vintage B-25 bombers will be part of Ohio events April 17-18, 2017 for the 75th anniversary of the daring attack that helped turn the tide of World War II. (AP Photo/Al Behrman, File)
Republished April 18, 2017 - 3:10 PM
Original Publication Date April 17, 2017 - 9:20 PM
DAYTON, Ohio - World War II era B-25 bombers flew over a memorial service in Ohio marking the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders' attack on Japan.
The last Raider living, 101-year-old retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, attended Tuesday afternoon's service at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton. Lead plane co-pilot Cole came from his Comfort, Texas, home.
Among speakers was Jeff Thatcher, whose father Staff Sgt. David Thatcher died last year in Missoula, Montana. Cole planned a traditional toast to the 79th Raider to die, in a private ceremony with Thatcher relatives and others.
Three Raiders died trying to reach safety in China, Japanese soldiers executed three, and one died in captivity after the daring attack credited with helping turn the tide of World War II.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017