Doolittle Raider visits Hurlburt Airmen

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jeff Parkinson
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  One of the last surviving Doolittle Raiders visited Air Commandos, here, Dec. 9.

Retired Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, co-pilot to Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle during the Doolittle Raid, was at the 319th Special Operations Squadron for a Q&A session.

Air Commandos asked various questions about Cole's experiences during his time in service and as a member of the Doolittle Raiders.

"When our nation was faced with a threat [against] our way of life we responded with some very heroic actions," said Col. Sean Farrell, commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing. "Colonel Cole was a part of that top secret mission to do something that was acknowledged as a potential one way trip to go bomb Japan. It was an amazing feat that is worth talking about again."

The Doolittle Raid was a surprise bombing on Tokyo, Japan, designed to avenge the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. On April 18, 1942, 16 B-25 bombers, commanded by Doolittle, took off from the deck of the USS Hornet headed toward Tokyo and other key Japanese industrial cities.

After attacking Japan, most of the aircrews flew to China. The aircraft were low on fuel, and the aircrew either bailed out or crash-landed along the coast and was rescued by local villagers, guerrillas or missionaries.

Post Doolittle raid and his time flying "the hump," the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains where Allied pilots flew military transport aircraft from India to China for resupply. He later found himself a part of the 1st Air Commando Group.

As a pilot and engineering officer for the transport section, Cole helped stand up the 319th Special Operations Squadron, known then as the "question mark squadron."

Cole retired from the Air Force in 1967, and celebrated his 100th birthday this past September.

When asked what his proudest moment was looking back at his life, Cole simply replied, "The fact that I was able to do my job and that we were able to fight back."

Lastly, Cole left the current and future generations of Air Commandos at the 319th SOS with some final advice.

"Always keep learning," said Cole. "Learn everything you can about everything and charge on."