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Exceptional Story about courage and tradition
Opinion: A final toast for the Doolittle Raiders - CNN.com
I hope the 80 goblets and the opened bottle of 1896 Hennessy find a final resting place in the in the Smithsonian or Air Force Museum. What I would give to stand, salute and watch them take that last sip ? |
Great article and timely, thanks. My uncle flew P47's in Germany. He also lives in Florida and is one of the last survivors of that group. I believe they no longer get together either, very sad...
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Last Doolittle Reunion
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – Retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole is 97, but that didn't stop him from taking the controls and flying a vintage B-25 bomber at a reunion of the famous World War II Doolittle Raiders. Cole is one of four surviving crew members from the 1942 raid on Tokyo. Three of the men gathered at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida this week to mark the 71st anniversary of the April 18 raid. The men have said this will be their final public reunion. Cole was mission commander James Doolittle's co-pilot when the 16 B-25s flew off an aircraft carrier and bombed Japan just four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Eglin Air Force Based named an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter hangar for 93-year-old surviving raider Edward Saylor on Wednesday. |
I had read a similar article about this a month ago. It is sad and a dose of reality to realize how much time has passed since the raid and that there are only 4 surviving members of the raid left.
This also reminds me how much WWII still influenced kids like me growing up through the 60’s. Every boy always seemed to do a project or book report on something related to WWII. The school library was full of WWII books that always seemed to have the most checkout dates stamped in them. I tried to draw WWII aircraft and it was the norm to play with the plastic army men (Germans were always gray colored of course). Yes, I even had a plastic toy machine gun or two and fought some tough battles with friends (actually outside. Not on a video game). LOL I was soooo not PC back then and never knew it. I would be chastised today and thrown to the curb and labled a...you name it? sigh! |
Originally Posted by Ftrooppilot
(Post 1391501)
Opinion: A final toast for the Doolittle Raiders - CNN.com
I hope the 80 goblets and the opened bottle of 1896 Hennessy find a final resting place in the in the Smithsonian or Air Force Museum. It's the cup of brandy that no one wants to drink. The article had a few errors, though. They o̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ are among the most universally admired and revered men in the United States. The mere mention of their unit's name,̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶y̶e̶a̶r̶s̶,̶ ̶w̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ brings tears to the eyes of grateful Americans. They w̶e̶r̶e̶ are celebrated as national heroes, models of bravery. There were 80 of the Raiders in April 1942, when they carried out one of the most courageous and heart-stirring military operations in this nation's history. The 16 five-man crews, under the command of Lt. Col. James Doolittle, who himself flew the lead plane off the USS Hornet, knew that they would not be able to return to the carrier. The Raiders were told that they would have to take off from much farther out in the Pacific Ocean than they had counted on. They were told that because of this they would not have enough fuel to make it to safety. And those men went anyway. The Doolittle Raid sent a message from the United States to its enemies, and to the rest of the world: We will fight. And we will win. http://www.westsachistoricalsociety....ittle_raid.jpg |
If you want to read a good book, pick up a copy of Doolittle's autobiography: "I could never be so lucky again"
I was amazed by all the crashes he survived, before WWII ever came along! |
Originally Posted by Timbo
(Post 1393599)
If you want to read a good book, pick up a copy of Doolittle's autobiography: "I could never be so lucky again"
I was amazed by all the crashes he survived, before WWII ever came along! fantastic book! I enjoyed his story about flying on the McKinley Glacier... |
The new Wings over the Rockies Museum in Denver would be an excellent home for these heroes' priceless goblets....I haven't been yet but it is supposedly fantastic and has a great beer garden on site to boot
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They are currently on display at the Air Force Academy. I guess that may change after the final toast is completed.
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In my opinion, being the NATIONAL treasures that they are and the importance of the event, there is no other place than the Simthsonian to display the case and tell the story to future generations.
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