Doolittle Raider Dies at age 94

Now there is only one Doolittle Raider left alive.

David Thatcher, one of the Doolittle Raiders of World War II, died last week in Montana. He was 94.

Dick Cole, age 100 of Comfort, Texas is the lone survivor of the 80 Doolittle Raiders who flew 16 B-25s on a daring bombing raid over Tokyo on April 18, 1942 - less than 5 months after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

The Doolittle Raiders dropped bombs in the first air raid to strike the Japanese Home Islands. It demonstrated that Japan was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was planned and led by Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle.

The Sixteen B-25s were launched from the U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier USS Hornet. The plan called for them to bomb military targets in Japan, and to continue westward to land in China. Landing a b-25 on the Hornet was impossible. Fifteen aircraft crash-landed in China. The 16th landed in the Soviet Union. All but three of the 80 crew members initially survived the mission. Eight soldiers were captured by the Japanese Army in China; three of those were later executed. Fourteen complete crews, except for one crewman who was killed in action, returned either to the United States or to American forces.

The raid caused negligible material damage to Japan, but the goal of raising American morale and casting doubt in Japan on the ability of its military leaders to defend their home islands was achieved.

The Doolittle Raiders are the focus of the 1944 movie, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo. The film is noted for its accurate depiction of the historical details of the raid, as well as its use of actual wartime footage of the bombers in some flying scenes.