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Members of the Doolittle Raid at the 15th anniversary reunion at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in 1957
WWII Army veteran George A. McCalpin (right) talking to Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole (seated) about McCalpin's cousin, raider Sgt. William 'Billy Jack' Dieter, at the 66th anniversary reunion at the University of Texas at Dallas in April 2008
Major Tom Griffin's signature on a B-25 operated by the Tri-State Warbird Museum
The Doolittle Raiders held an annual reunion almost every year from the late 1940s to 2013. The high point of each reunion was a solemn, private ceremony in which the surviving Raiders performed a roll call, then toasted their fellow Raiders who had died during the previous year. Specially engraved silver goblets, one for each of the 80 Raiders, were used for this toast; the goblets of those who had died were inverted. Each Raider's name was engraved on his goblet both right side up and upside down. The Raiders drank a toast using a bottle of cognac that accompanied the goblets to each Raider reunion.[74] In 2013, the remaining Raiders decided to hold their last public reunion at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, not far from Eglin Air Force Base, where they trained for the original mission. The bottle and the goblets had been maintained by the United States Air Force Academyon display in Arnold Hall, the cadet social center, until 2006. On 19 April 2006, these memorabiliawere transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.[75]
On 18 April 2013, a final reunion for the surviving Raiders was held at Eglin Air Force Base, with Robert Hite the only survivor unable to attend.[76]
The "final toast to fallen comrades" by the surviving raiders took place at the NMUSAF on 9 November 2013, preceded by a B-25 flyover, and was attended by Richard Cole, Edward Saylor, and David Thatcher.[77]
A group of 17 B-25s forming up over Wright Field at Wright-Patterson AFB Dayton, Ohio, 18 April 2012, the 70th anniversary of the raid
Seven other men, including Lt. Miller and raider historian Col. Carroll V. Glines, are considered honorary Raiders for their efforts for the mission.[5]
The Children of the Doolittle Raiders organization was founded on 18 April 2006, authorized by the Doolittle Raiders organization and the surviving members at the time. Descendants of the Doolittle Raiders organize fundraisers for a scholarship fund and continue to organize the Doolittle Raiders reunions. The 2019 reunion was held at Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole's memorial service.[78]
Lt. Col. Edward Saylor, the then-enlisted engineer/gunner of aircraft No. 15 during the raid, died 28 January 2015 of natural causes at his home in Sumner, Washington, at the age of 94.[81]
Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, co-pilot of aircraft No. 16, died at a nursing home in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 95 on 29 March 2015.[82][83] Hite was the last living prisoner of the Doolittle Raid.
S/Sgt. David J. Thatcher, gunner of aircraft No. 7, died on 22 June 2016 in Missoula, Montana, at the age of 94.
Lt Col. Richard E. Cole, Doolittle's copilot in aircraft No. 1, was the last surviving Doolittle Raider[84]and the only one to live to an older age than Doolittle, who died in 1993 at age 96.[note 13] Cole was the only Raider still alive when the wreckage of Hornet was found in late January 2019 by the research vessel Petrel at a depth of more than 17,000 feet (5,200 m) off the Solomon Islands.[85]Cole died 9 April 2019, at the age of 103
Doolittle Raid - Wikipedia
After the war[edit]
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Members of the Doolittle Raid at the 15th anniversary reunion at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in 1957
WWII Army veteran George A. McCalpin (right) talking to Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole (seated) about McCalpin's cousin, raider Sgt. William 'Billy Jack' Dieter, at the 66th anniversary reunion at the University of Texas at Dallas in April 2008
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Major Tom Griffin's signature on a B-25 operated by the Tri-State Warbird Museum
The Doolittle Raiders held an annual reunion almost every year from the late 1940s to 2013. The high point of each reunion was a solemn, private ceremony in which the surviving Raiders performed a roll call, then toasted their fellow Raiders who had died during the previous year. Specially engraved silver goblets, one for each of the 80 Raiders, were used for this toast; the goblets of those who had died were inverted. Each Raider's name was engraved on his goblet both right side up and upside down. The Raiders drank a toast using a bottle of cognac that accompanied the goblets to each Raider reunion.[74] In 2013, the remaining Raiders decided to hold their last public reunion at Fort Walton Beach, Florida, not far from Eglin Air Force Base, where they trained for the original mission. The bottle and the goblets had been maintained by the United States Air Force Academyon display in Arnold Hall, the cadet social center, until 2006. On 19 April 2006, these memorabiliawere transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio.[75]
On 18 April 2013, a final reunion for the surviving Raiders was held at Eglin Air Force Base, with Robert Hite the only survivor unable to attend.[76]
The "final toast to fallen comrades" by the surviving raiders took place at the NMUSAF on 9 November 2013, preceded by a B-25 flyover, and was attended by Richard Cole, Edward Saylor, and David Thatcher.[77]
A group of 17 B-25s forming up over Wright Field at Wright-Patterson AFB Dayton, Ohio, 18 April 2012, the 70th anniversary of the raid
Seven other men, including Lt. Miller and raider historian Col. Carroll V. Glines, are considered honorary Raiders for their efforts for the mission.[5]
The Children of the Doolittle Raiders organization was founded on 18 April 2006, authorized by the Doolittle Raiders organization and the surviving members at the time. Descendants of the Doolittle Raiders organize fundraisers for a scholarship fund and continue to organize the Doolittle Raiders reunions. The 2019 reunion was held at Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole's memorial service.[78]
Last surviving airmen[edit]
Col. Bill Bower, the last surviving Doolittle raider aircraft commander, died on 10 January 2011 at age 93 in Boulder, Colorado.[79][80]Lt. Col. Edward Saylor, the then-enlisted engineer/gunner of aircraft No. 15 during the raid, died 28 January 2015 of natural causes at his home in Sumner, Washington, at the age of 94.[81]
Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, co-pilot of aircraft No. 16, died at a nursing home in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 95 on 29 March 2015.[82][83] Hite was the last living prisoner of the Doolittle Raid.
S/Sgt. David J. Thatcher, gunner of aircraft No. 7, died on 22 June 2016 in Missoula, Montana, at the age of 94.
Lt Col. Richard E. Cole, Doolittle's copilot in aircraft No. 1, was the last surviving Doolittle Raider[84]and the only one to live to an older age than Doolittle, who died in 1993 at age 96.[note 13] Cole was the only Raider still alive when the wreckage of Hornet was found in late January 2019 by the research vessel Petrel at a depth of more than 17,000 feet (5,200 m) off the Solomon Islands.[85]Cole died 9 April 2019, at the age of 103
