Last WWII "Doolittle Raider" Dies At 103

[ucfgrad93]

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, the last surviving member of World War II’s Doolittle Raiders, died Tuesday in Texas at the age of 103.

The president of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders Association told The Air Force Times that Cole died in San Antonio on Tuesday morning with his son and daughter by his side.

Cole, originally from Dayton, Ohio, was mission commander Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot in the 1942 bombing attack less than five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.The bold raid on Japan is credited with providing the United States with a morale boost and helping turn the tide of the war in the Pacific.

A true American hero. RIP.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/last-wwii-doolittle-raider-dies-at-103

 

[rhett7660]

There will come a day, and it is rapidly approaching, there will be no more WWII vets.

RIP Mr. Cole.

 

[Volusia]

Thank you, Sir, for your service, and God speed.

 

[ucfgrad93]

There will come a day, and it is rapidly approaching, there will be no more WWII vets.

RIP Mr. Cole.

Very true.

Every day, memories of World War II—its sights and sounds, its terrors and triumphs—disappear. Yielding to the inalterable process of aging, the men and women who fought and won the great conflict are now in their late 80s and 90s. They are dying quickly—according to US Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, we are losing 372 veterans per day and only 620,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II were alive in 2016.

https://www.nationalww2museum.org/about-us/frequently-asked-questions