A final toast for the Doolittle Raiders

[FPrice]

And then there were four.

(CNN) -- It's the cup of brandy that no one wants to drink.

On Tuesday, in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, the surviving Doolittle Raiders will gather publicly for the last time.

They once were among the most universally admired and revered men in the United States. 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 mere mention of their unit's name, in those years, would bring tears to the eyes of grateful Americans.

Now only four survive.

Opinion: A final toast for the Doolittle Raiders - CNN.com

Let us work to insure that their story is not lost to future generations after they pass.

 

[Mudfish]

I got to see the goblets at the Air Force museum. It is a great display and pays due respect to those men. I HIGHLY recommend a trip to that museum, and plan to spend at least a full day there.

 

[Matt_SERE]

Thanks for posting this up Fred.

I will just share this very short video:

 

[noddaduma]

I'll drink to them tonight

 

[dustoff22]

God bless them all. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their unbelievable heroics.

 

[a73elkyss]

Truly "The Greatest Generation" of men. True Heroes!

 

[MAGG]

def the greatest generation of men and women...

 

[saltydude]

Well that explains why the story was on the military history channel again last night.
Watched it for perhaps the fourth time. It never gets old.

 

[Martlet]

What's sad is how few people even know what you're talking about if you mention this.

 

[a73elkyss]

What's sad is how few people even know what you're talking about if you mention this.

Exactly Martlet, but that is why we should be pointing out and educating how great they were to the younger generation as they probally are not taught this in school.

 

[Picton]

I've been fascinated by the Doolittle Raid since I was six; nowadays, having experienced the 1990s/2000s military, my main takeaway is just how impossible a Doolittle Raid would be now. The Pentagon risk management people would have stopped it as soon as enough people had doubts about B-25s being able to take off from the Hornet, and the lack of a return option would have sealed its fate.

We were a much braver country once.

 

[swatgig]

When I was in grammar school, we had to memorize and recite a poem. I chose this one. Can you imagine the reaction if some student did this today?

'Twas the eighteenth of April in forty-two
When we waited to hear what Jimmy would do,
Little did Hiro think that that night
The skies above Tokyo would be alight
With the fires Jimmy started in Tokyo's dives
To guide to their targets the B-25's.

One if by land and two if by sea
But if from the air the signal was three
When all of a sudden from out of the skies
Came of basket of eggs for the little slanteyes
So Hiro and Tojo just buried their heads
Under the carpets and under the beds

Their posteriors turned into rising suns
As bombs they fell by tons and tons
Then a stab of pain made Hiro shiver
Was it his kidney or was it his liver?
Or was it perhaps; alack, alas
A returned Jap medal was assaulting his (Honorable self)....

~Written by Commander Stanhope C. Ring, chief of the Hornet's air group, for the ship's newpapaer.

 

[Skysoldier]

My Dad knew one of those guy's back when we were in Hawaii in the late 50's on Wheeler Air Force Base.

He would come over to cookouts at our quarters, and everyone treated him like a King. And it wasn't just because he was an Officer.

I was too young to understand what he did back then.......

 

[Glockster30]

Another Doolittle Raider died yesterday. There are only two left out of the original 80.

Lt. Col. Robert Hite, one of the famed World War II "Doolittle Tokyo Raiders," died Sunday at 95.
Wallace Hite said his father died Sunday morning at a nursing facility in Nashville after battling Alzheimer's disease, according to The Associated Press.





"Today he decided to go home and be with his wife," Wallace Hite said.


Hite was among 80 men aboard 16 B-25 bombers whose mission was to strike Japan in April 1942. While the attack inflicted only scattered damage, it was credited with boosting American morale while shaking Japan's confidence and prompting strategy shifts less than five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Eight Raiders were captured and three were executed; one more died in captivity and three others were killed after crash-landing or ditching at sea. Hite was among the Japanese captives and was imprisoned for 40 months.

"I think he would want two things: that's the attitude we ought to have about our country; and the second is, he was just doing his job."- Wallace Hite
​

He was liberated by American troops in 1945. In 1951, he returned to active duty during the Korean War and served overseas before relief from active duty in 1955.
Wallace Hite said his father would want to be remembered for his patriotism, and for others to share the same sentiment.
"I think he would want two things: that's the attitude we ought to have about our country; and the second is, he was just doing his job," he said.
Hite's passing leaves two other surviving Raiders: retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher.
The Raiders will be honored with the Congressional Gold Medal on April 15 in Washington, then present it on April 18 -- the 73rd anniversary of the raid -- to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
The gold medal will go on display at the museum near Dayton, joining an exhibit depicting the launch from an aircraft carrier of the Raiders' 1942 attack.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

[the_shootist]

Another Doolittle Raider died yesterday. There are only two left out of the original 80.

His job is done...he can now rest!

 

[cfbackrow]

God bless them all. We owe them a debt of gratitude for their unbelievable heroics.

Totally agree

 

[DrBurnsides]

I remember reading about these guys.. I am surprised that they could get the planes off the ground. When you have a pair that big weight has got to be an issue.

 

[SteelShooter]

Sad to see history go, unfortunately not enough people remember and appreciate it. Heck, I ran into some teenagers yesterday that didn't know what happened on 9-11.

 

[FPrice]

Another Doolittle Raider died yesterday. There are only two left out of the original 80.

RIP Lt. Col. Robert Hite

 

[71montess]

Would a modern day twenty something hipster generation be able to grasp the magnitude of what they did , with what they had then ?

 

[dustoff22]

Would a modern day twenty something hipster generation be able to grasp the magnitude of what they did , with what they had then ?

Not a chance.

 

[June4th]

What's sad is how few people even know what you're talking about if you mention this.

I read about the story when I was either in elementary or middle school in China. I would bet that more school children in China know about the raid than there are here.

 

[M60]

These men are a perfect example of one of Americas finest hours.
Thank you Doolittle Raiders. Your memory is alive and well.

 

[Matt_SERE]

One of two remaining airmen who flew in World War II 'Doolittle Raid' dies

One of the last two surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders -- who bombed Japan in an attack that stunned that nation and boosted U.S. morale -- has died in Montana, his family said.

Retired Staff Sgt. David Jonathan Thatcher died Wednesday in a Missoula hospital. He was 94. He suffered a stroke on Sunday, Thatcher's son Jeff told the Missoulian newspaper.

Thatcher's death leaves Retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole of Comfort, Texas, as the only living airman from among 80 who took off from an aircraft carrier on 16 B-25 bombers to target factory areas and military installations in Japan on April 18, 1942. Afterward, the planes headed for airfields in mainland China, realizing they would run out of fuel, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The mission lifted American spirits five months after Pearl Harbor was bombed and forced the Japanese to spend resources defending their home islands.

Thatcher was engineer-gunner aboard the plane nicknamed "The Ruptured Duck."

After the bombing, Thatcher's plane -- running low on fuel -- crash landed in the ocean near China. The plane flipped over and all the crew members except for Thatcher were seriously injured. Thatcher was knocked out, but soon regained consciousness, gathered the rest of the crew, administered first aid and convinced some Chinese guerrillas to take the crew to safety in inland China.
Thatcher received a Silver Star for gallantry in action.

The crew's crash-landing and evasion of Japanese troops in China was depicted in the movie "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," based on the book written by the plane's pilot, Lt. Ted Lawson.

Because the bombing run was so dangerous, all those involved were volunteers. Thatcher said they gave little thought about earning a place in history.

"We figured it was just another bombing mission," he told The Associated Press in an interview in March 2015. In the years afterward, though, he said, they realized: "It was an important event in World War II."

After his military career, Thatcher worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years as a clerk and later a letter carrier. He retired in 1980. He stayed in contact with the surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders and attended nearly every reunion the group held through the Final Toast in November 2013.

In March 2015, Thatcher and Cole presented the Raiders' Congressional Gold Medal for heroism and valor to the Air Force museum for permanent display.

Thatcher was born on July 31, 1921 in Bridger, Montana, one of 10 children. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Dawn; three of their five children and seven grandchildren.

Thatcher's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday at Garden City Funeral Home, followed by burial with full military honors at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/06/2...flew-in-world-war-ii-doolittle-raid-dies.html

 

[garandman]

That mission was just so ballsy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Seconds_Over_Tokyo

 

[Marine-daughter]

Fly with the angels, Sir! Thank you for your valiant service. Prayers and blessings to all of your loved ones.

 

[FPrice]

RIP Staff Sgt. David Jonathan Thatcher, you have earned it.

 

[SteelShooter]

Every time I read their stories I am amazed and awestruck

 

[P-14]

Godspeed, David. You are a true American hero.

 

[fitzknny]

Real hero's