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Doolittle Raider recalls famous flight

  • Published
  • By Raymond V. Whelan
  • 37th Training Wing Public Affairs Office
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  As soon as U.S. Army Air Forces officials started planning the attack, some of their higher-ups feared the mission would prove to be impossible.

Yet, 80 Army Air Corps pilots, bombardiers, gunners and navigators had no qualms about volunteering for the special project.

One of the volunteers was retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole-a lieutenant at the time. Born in Dayton, Ohio, the 91-year-old veteran now lives in Comfort.

"We were trained to fly bombers," Colonel Cole said during a book-signing event March 30. "We volunteered because that was our job."

Four months after Pearl Harbor, with Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle in command, Lieutenant Cole and the other volunteers took on the dangerous assignment. They launched 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers off the flight deck of the USS Hornet while the aircraft carrier was steaming through the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles east of the Japanese coast.

For roughly 13 hours, the bombers flew straight into enemy airspace until they reached Tokyo and other Japanese cities. Then, each plane dropped bombs and incendiaries and destroyed dry docks, factories, power plants, steel mills, oil refineries, warehouses and military installations.

The mission by Colonel Doolittle and his "Raiders" on April 18, 1942, was the first successful air strike against Japan during World War II.

"Japan had to pull back its defenses from that point on," said retired Air Force Col. Carroll V. Glines, the author of four books on the Doolittle raid.

Also, the Doolittle Raiders boosted the sagging morale of the United States during the early stage of its involvement in World War II.

At the time of the raid, Colonel Doolittle was 45 years old with 24 years of active duty and Reserve time and no combat experience. Years before, he attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a doctorate in aeronautical engineering. He became the first pilot to fly coast-to-coast across America in less than 24 hours. While he commanded the Flight Test Section at McCook Field in Dayton, he set other speed records as a test pilot.

"He was one of my idols," recalled Colonel Cole, who grew up near McCook Field.

Months before the Doolittle raid, Lieutenant Cole was part of the 17th Bombardment Group, 34th Bomb Squadron, in Pendleton, Ore. After he volunteered for the raid on Japan, his commanders selected him to serve as co-pilot to Colonel Doolittle, and they were at the controls of the first bomber to fly off the Hornet and wing toward Tokyo. Lt. Henry Potter, and Sgts. Fred Braemer and Paul Leonard were also aboard the plane.

"Colonel Doolittle had a lot on his mind," Colonel Cole recalled about the historic flight. "We were quite busy. We had to keep adjusting our engines to conserve fuel. There wasn't much time for chitchat."

One of the Hornet lookouts had detected what they presumed was a Japanese spy boat patrolling near the carrier. The Doolittle crews launched sooner and about 400 miles farther from the enemy shore than they originally planned-about 200 miles. Consequently, 15 of the bombers ran out of fuel after dropping their weapons, and their crews had to crash-land or ditch their aircraft. Colonel Doolittle, Lieutenant Cole and most of the other Raiders bailed out over friendly territory in China.

However, the Japanese captured eight raiders. Later, they executed Lts. William G. Farrow, Dean Edward Hallmark and Sgt. Harold A. Spatz. Lt. Robert John Meder died of starvation during internment. Lts. George Barr, Robert L. Hite, Chase J. Nielsen, and Sgt. Jacob DeShazer secured release after the war. During the raid, Cpl. Leland Faktor died while attempting to bail out of his aircraft, and Sgts. William J. Dieter and Donald E. Fitzmaurice died during crash-landing.

One bomber landed intact, but its five-man crew touched down inside the Soviet Union. Because the Soviets wanted to maintain neutrality with Japan, they seized the plane and interned Capt. Edward York, Lts. Robert Emmens and Nolan Hernson, and Sgts. Theodore Laban and David Pohl. After 14 months of imprisonment, all five raiders escaped to Iran.

As one of the few surviving crewmembers from the Doolittle raid, Colonel Cole appeared recently at the Randolph AFB Main Exchange to sign books and discuss his war experience. 

Colonel Cole doesn't know how he maintained emotional composure during the Doolittle mission.  "The main thing is, the whole crew was focused on getting the job done, and they supported each other," he said. 

After the Doolittle raid, Lieutenant Cole continued to fly combat missions through the end of World War II. Before he retired from the Air Force in 1967, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters.

Years after World War II, Colonel Cole kept in touch with Colonel Doolittle and several other raiders, and they frequently went hunting and fishing together.

Colonel Cole said what he remembers most about his military service is, "I had the honor, pleasure and privilege to fly with Colonel Doolittle."

Two months after the raid, Colonel Doolittle received the Medal of Honor from President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. Later during World War II, the Air Corps promoted him to lieutenant general, and he commanded the 8th Air Force. Before his retirement in 1959, he received the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters and the Bronze Star.

General Doolittle was buried in Arlington National Cemetery after his death in 1993.

"He was the smartest man I ever met," said Colonel Glines. "He could discuss any topic on earth. And, he was the master of calculated risk."