Lest we forget.
In memory of and to honor those 80 men who participated in the Doolittle Raid and those who served on the ships and provided other support for the raid. Out of 80 Doolittle Raiders, some did not survive the war and you can learn more about the Doolittle Raid at http://www.doolittleraider.com/. Richard Cole – https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/198217258/richard-eugene-cole who was the last living member of the 80 Raiders who flew in the raid 76 years ago died April 9, 2019. He was 103. This should have been posted yesterday, but I am posting it today.
Here are my other blog posts about the Doolittle Raid: https://upsdownsfamilyhistory.wordpress.com/tag/doolittle-raiders/.
Here’s a list of the crew and their targets: http://cv6.org/1942/doolittle/doolittle_crews.htm. The 80 men flew in 16 B-25s against targets in Japan.
I became aware of the Doolittle Raid in elementary school when I read Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo by Ted Lawson, one of the pilots on the raid. His plane was the “Ruptured Duck” and you can learn more about his story and how the plane came to be known by this nickname by reading the book (available at a number of book resellers, including Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Kobo, Google Play, among other places). You can also buy or rent/buy the movie based on the book. One of the biggest advantages for me in reading the book is it sparked a love of reading that is still with me many decades later. It was a while before I saw the movie as it’s not one that was easy to find back when I read the book.
There are several Virtual Cemeteries on Find-A-Grave for the Raiders – https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/917989?page=1#sr-56305660;
https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/315611?page=1#sr-56305660;
https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/344898;
https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/793569. There are a couple of other Doolittle Raider-related Virtual Cemeteries – (Contributor profile) – https://www.findagrave.com/user/profile/46633397
https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/822384;
https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/822504 (honorary Raiders);
and https://www.findagrave.com/virtual-cemetery/822407 (Raider wives).
Ups Downs Family History 