[Bob Dillon]

WWII Doolittle Raiders making final toast
By DAN SEWELL, Associated Press

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — The few surviving Doolittle Raiders are making their final toast to comrades who died in or since their World War II bombing attack on Japan.

The toast grew from reunions led by James "Jimmy" Doolittle, who commanded the daring mission credited with boosting American morale and throwing the Japanese off balance after a string of military successes.

Officials at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton say more than 600 people, including Air Force leaders and Raiders widows and children, planned to attend the invitation-only ceremony Saturday evening. Also expected were relatives of Chinese villagers who helped Raiders elude capture.

After Thomas Griffin of Cincinnati died in February at age 96, the survivors decided they would gather this autumn for one last toast together. Only four of the 80 Raiders are still alive, and one wasn't able to travel because of his health.

Raiders expected to attend were Richard Cole, Doolittle's co-pilot, of Comfort, Texas; David Thatcher of Missoula, Mont., and Edward Saylor of Puyallup, Wash.

Fourth surviving Raider, Robert Hite, 93, won't make it but his son and other family members from Nashville, Tenn., planned to be there. Hite is the last alive of eight Raiders who were captured by Japanese soldiers. Three were executed; another died in captivity.

The goblets, presented to the Raiders in 1959 by the city of Tucson, Ariz., have the Raiders' names engraved twice, the second upside-down. During the ceremony, white-gloved cadets pour cognac into the participants' goblets. Those of the deceased are turned upside-down.

The cognac will be from 1896, Doolittle's birth year.

The Air Force planned to live-stream the traditionally closed ceremony.

Many more people were expected to greet the Raiders at public events Saturday and see a B-25 bomber flyover.

[455firebird1969]

My professor, Lawrence Fahey is an elderly gentleman and is probably a generation behind General Doolittle, and the raiders. He is teaching a course named "the history of aviation in America". During class he tells stories that he lived back when aviation was in its youth. When Mr. Fahey received is first doctorates degree, his school in CA made arrangements for General Doolittle to attend the ceremony. General Doolittle told Mr. Fahey to use discretion concerning his advanced education in the aviation field, as it was General Doolittle's opinion it would not sit well with many in the industry.

At another time, Mr Fahey was getting a check ride in a large transport aircraft, one of many in use by Air Corps at the time, but the airplane broke early in the flight, and had to be taken back to the base for repairs. Eventually his check pilot told him about another flight they could jump on and complete his checkout, it was the same type aircraft. The flight was a passenger transport mission with Floyd Odlum and Jackie Cochran on board. After the aircraft was airborne, Jackie Cochran, a well know female aviation pioneer of the time, went to the cockpit to chat with the pilots. When she asked Mr. Fahey how much time-in-type he had, he said he looked at his watch, and then to her, and said, one hour and twenty minutes. I guess she was expecting to hear something different, but it was the truth.

I love hearing of these stories about early aviation, it's been a fun class.

[Ogre]

Heck of a mission. From that point on the Japanese knew that we could reach them ... changed the entire war in the Pacific. I used to go to Arnold Hall and just stare that display of the goblets, and wonder what it must have been like.

Here's the page to the Wright-Patt museum honoring them: Doolittle's Raiders

Here's the link to the live stream which will be active tonight @ 6:00 pm ET (1800 hrs): The Last Reunion

Ogre

[Dennis H.]

Thanks for the link, was well worth watching!

[A Schab]

A friend of the familys father Colonel C Ross Greening was the pilot of plane 11. His niece wrote a book from his diary titled Not As Briefed many years after his death in 1957 that is very interesting to read. He is the one that desinged the cheap bomb sight that many speak of,the original one his still with his son Allen.

[Bob Dillon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9jktdhM0ZU

[hurryinhoosier62]

Pat,

Thanks for the post.

[Icefan71]

That was one hell of a generation.

[Txbobcat]

Heros everyone one of them

[Bob Dillon]

Originally Posted by Icefan71

That was one hell of a generation.

We shall not soon see their like again.