photo credit: pat j dooley photography
This World War II Air Force B-25B medium bomber was in the
Cleveland Air Show this weekend. As it was flown by the crowds, the announcer
paid tribute to Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle’s co-pilot, Richard E. Cole, born
in Dayton, Ohio. Earlier this year, Cole
passed away at age 103; he was the last survivor of the Doolittle raids on
Tokyo. From Wikipedia:
The Doolittle Raid, also known
as the Tokyo Raid (Saturday 18 April 1942), was an air
raid by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and
other places on Honshu during World
War II. It was the first air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. It demonstrated that the
Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attack, served as retaliation
for the attack on Pearl Harbor, and provided an
important boost to American morale. The raid was planned, led by, and named
after Lieutenant Colonel James
Doolittle of the United States Army Air Forces.
Sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium
bombers were launched without fighter escort from the U.S. Navy's aircraft
carrier USS Hornet deep in the Western Pacific Ocean, each with a crew of
five men. (from Wikipedia)
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