Thousands of people, young and old, gathered to honor five of
the nine surviving Doolittle Raiders at the 67th Reunion in
Columbia, S.C., April 16-18. On April 18, 1942, the Doolittle
Raiders, led by then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, became the first to
bombard Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor. "Early on,
everybody thought leaving the flight deck of the carrier was the
biggest challenge of the trip," retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole,
Doolittle's co-pilot, said. "As it turned out, it was the easiest
thing, and I had a special advantage because I was sitting next to
the best pilot in the world. I admire all of the guys; I especially
admire the man I was sitting next to, a fine man and a great
pilot."
Cole said he grew up idolizing Doolittle. As a teenager, he
added, he watched Doolittle conduct flight testing, and was amazed
at his luck to fly with him. "I was amazed, dumbfounded and proud,"
Cole said. "I was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, where they had
the first test base. I used to watch Col. Doolittle."
Cole said he doesn't consider himself a hero, but rather was
"just doing my job" when he participated in the raid on Japan. Of
the thousands who gathered during the three-day reunion, many came
to pay their respects for the raiders' symbolic act only a few
months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Some of the attendees
commented that this would probably be the last time the raiders
would participate in a reunion in Columbia. Previous reunions of
the Doolittle Raiders in Columbia were organized by the Celebrate
Freedom Foundation.
"We consider Columbia the home of the Doolittle Raiders," said
Ken Breivik, public affairs director for the Celebrate Freedom
Foundation, who coordinated both the Doolittle Raiders' 67th "Where
Victory Began" reunion, as well as the group's 60th reunion. To pay
tribute to the raiders, a visible reminder of the length of the USS
Hornet's flight deck was displayed from the mouth of Columbia's
Aeronautics Commission Hangar doors adjacent to a U.S. Air Force
B-1 bomber, which displayed the official Doolittle Raider crest and
the inscription, "Toujours au Danger" -- "Always into Danger."
As hundreds of spectators gathered at the hangar, four Doolittle
Raiders -- Cole, retired Maj. Thomas C. Griffin, retired Lt. Col.
Robert L. Hite, retired Lt. Col. Edward Saylor and retired Staff
Sgt. David J. Thatcher -- passed the official Doolittle Raider
crest to the 34th Bomb Squadron's flagship B-1 bomber's crew April
17 at the hangar. Participating in the official passing of the
crest was Brig. Gen. James Kowowski, commander of the provisional
Air Force Global Strike Command. "President [John F.] Kennedy was
quoted as saying that you can tell the character of the nation not
only by the men that it produces, but by the men that it honors,"
Kowowski said.
For their raid 67 years ago, the Doolittle Raiders were drawn
from the World War II versions of the 95th, 34th, 37th and the 89th
reconnaissance squadrons of the 17th Bomb Group. Air Force Col.
Carl "Buck" Shawhan, 28th Operations Group commander at Nellis Air
Force Bas, Nev., oversees the present-day 37th and the 34th bomb
squadrons.
"As airmen, we understand the significance of the original acts
the Doolittle Raiders performed in World War II, and the original
Doolittle Raiders were the first airmen to strike against Japan in
World War II, flying their B-25 in a surprise attack against the
Japanese mainland," Shawhan said. While it was a different time and
era, the colonel said, he is awed by their ability to carry out
such a bold raid 67 years ago.
"When they took off, they had no idea they would ever see their
families again," he said. "They had no idea what kind of impact
they would have." The attack had a substantial impact strategically
on Japan's defenses, Shawhan noted, and was an uplifting moment in
U.S. history.
"Zoom forward to the future: 2001, after 9/11, when the United
States was attacked, people were ... wondering about our ability to
defend ourselves," Shawhan said. He added that the modern day
Doolittle Raiders were one of the first to attack against the
Taliban in Afghanistan a month after the Sept. 11 attacks. U.S. Air
Force Academy Cadet Helen "Meg" Wildner, granddaughter of Doolittle
Raider Lt. Carl Wildner, navigator of the raid's second B-25, will
graduate from the academy in 2010, and reflected on the importance
of the raid.
"Personally, the Doolitte Raid is definitely important to our
history" she said. "It was a huge morale boost. Even after Pearl
Harbor, it was an encouraging fact that we could stand up for
ourselves and persevere. When you talk to the Doolittle Raiders,
they don't necessarily consider themselves these huge heroes. They
were just doing their jobs." [ANN thanks Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg,
who serves in the Defense Media Activity's emerging media
directorate, for the story.]