Last Of Famed WWII 'Doolittle Raiders' Dies In San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — The last of the famed Doolittle Raiders known for their World War II derring-do, Richard "Dick" Cole, has died in San Antonio at the age of 103, family members said Tuesday.

A longtime resident of the town of Comfort , Texas — some 45 miles northwest the Alamo City in the Texas Hill Country — Cole had been hospitalized at Brooke Army Medical Center. There, he was visited by a long queue of high-profile visitors, the San Antonio Express-News reported, including the chief of staff for the U.S. Air Force, Gen. Dave Goldfein.

Given his longevity, Cole had emerged as arguably the most celebrated of the 80 members of the legendary Dolittle Raiders, the newspaper noted. To that acclaim, Cole would invariably react with self-deprecating one-liners such as: “For me, I think the secret is you’ve got to keep moving like the sheriff is after you.”

The Doolittle Raiders of which Cole was a part is best known for its exploits in the South Pacific theater of World War II, particularly a daring air raid in Japan in the battle's fifth month that boosted American morale. Cole played a key role as a 26-year-old co-pilot to Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle during a Tokyo raid in April 18, 1942. He co-piloted the lead aircraft in a flank of 16 two-engine bombers from the USS Hornet, passing over Tokyo before landing at friendly airfield in China, the newspaper noted.

Having spotted a Japanese trawler, Doolittle ordered the nighttime raid to start early. Amid grim outlooks for Americans on the South Pacific front, the raid boosted morale after becoming front-page news back in the states. The raid later became fodder for Hollywood in a movie that starred Spencer Tracy in the leading role.

As the Express-News reported, Cole idolized the man for whom he'd later co-pilot over Japan, once riding a bicycle 25 miles just to see him fly. “I had my own confidence, but we all had Jimmy Doolittle,” Cole told the newspaper in an interview. “His confidence flowed into us and we would have followed him anywhere.”

Tributes rolled in as news of Cole's passing spread. The actor Gary Sinise — Lt. Dan in "Forrest Gump" now heralded for his work assisting military veterans, called him "an extraordinary man" in a Twitter tribute.

Goldfein offered a heartfelt tribute, writing on Twitter: "Lt. Col. Dick Cole has slipped the surly bonds of Earth & reunited w/his fellow Doolittle Raiders. We offer our eternal thanks & condolences to his family. We will proudly carry the torch he & his fellow Raiders handed us. May we never forget the long blue line...it's who we are."

Similar sentiments abounded on social media upon news of Cole's death.

Gen. Douglas MacArthur once observed that old soldiers never die, they just fade away. That's what happened to Cole on Tuesday morning, when his daughter reported he died peacefully in his sleep.