Richard Cole, a retired lieutenant colonel who was the last surviving member of the Doolittle Raid, the first American strike on Japan in World War II, died Tuesday at 103.
Cole, a Dayton, Ohio, native, was part of the 80-man volunteer team that opened America’s Pacific Theater during the war. The Doolittle Raid targeted some of Japan’s most important weapons factories and military bases in and around Tokyo. Cole served as mission commander Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot in the April 18, 1942, raid just over four months after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.
Nine men died during the mission, including four who were captured by Japanese forces and executed. After hitting targets in Tokyo, Doolittle and Cole flew to China, planning to refuel at an airfield in Chuchow. As they approached, in the middle of a severe rainstorm that included lightning, Chinese authorities thought the engines they heard were Japanese and turned out the airfield’s lights. Unable to find a place to land in the dark, the crew flew until they ran out of gas and then parachuted out. Cole got stuck in a pine tree and climbed down in the morning. He walked all day until he found some Chinese civilians, who led him to his partner. “Boy, am I glad to see you,” Doolittle told Cole when they were reunited.
The successful mission boosted United States morale and showed that America was willing and able to target the Japanese islands. But Cole demurred when he was called a hero. “We were just doing our job, part of the big picture, and happy that what we did was helpful,” he once said.
“There’s another hole in our formation. Our last remaining Doolittle Raider has slipped the surly bonds of Earth, and has reunited with his fellow Raiders. And what a reunion they must be having,” Gen. David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, said in a Facebook post Tuesday. “77 years ago this Saturday, 80 intrepid Airmen changed the course of history as they executed a one-way mission without hesitation against enormous odds.”
“The Legacy of the Doolittle Raiders – his legacy – will live forever in the hearts and minds of Airmen, long after we’ve all departed. May we never forget the long blue line, because it’s who we are,” he added.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan offered his condolences via Twitter. “Our Nation has lost a legend. Our thoughts are with the family of Lt. Col. Dick Cole, the last of the Doolittle Raiders, who passed away at age 103. He was a true trailblazer, and his selfless legacy of service lives on in our Airmen of today and tomorrow,” Shanahan said.
Cole and his fellow Raiders were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2015 for their “outstanding heroism, valor, skill and service to the United States.” He donated his medal to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in his native Ohio. He also earned the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, and the Air Force Commendation Medal.
Cole will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the Air Force Times reports. A memorial service is being scheduled at Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.
