Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, co-pilot of Aircraft No. 1 of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid, raises a glass to toast the 74th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid April 18 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph. On the same day in 1942, Lt. Col. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle led a select team of 80 pilots, gunners, navigators and bombardiers to execute a surprise attack over the islands of Japan in retaliation after the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.  Cole, at 100-years-old, is one of two remaining survivors of the Doolittle Raid.  Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, who was unable to attend, is the second survivor.Randolph remembers Doolittle Raid’s impact on WWII
                        
                        
                        Retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, a co-pilot in the Doolittle Raid on Tokyo, raises a glass to toast the 74th anniversary of the raid on April 18, 2016, at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. On the same day in 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle led 80 pilots, gunners, navigators and bombardiers to execute a surprise attack over the islands of Japan in retaliation after the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941. The 100-year-old veteran is one of two surviving members from the raid.  (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Stormy Archer)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res
        


        Lt. Col. James Doolittle and his crew on the USS Hornet April 1942. From left: Lt. Henry Potter, navigator; Lt. Col. James Doolittle, pilot; Staff Sgt. Fred Braemer, bombardier; Lt. Richard Cole, co-pilot; and Staff Sgt. Paul Leonard, engineer/gunner.Randolph remembers Doolittle Raid’s impact on WWII
                        
                        
                        From left to right, Lt. Henry Potter, navigator; Lt. Col. James Doolittle, pilot; Staff Sgt. Fred Braemer, bombardier; Lt. Richard Cole, co-pilot; and Staff Sgt. Paul Leonard, engineer/gunner, aboard the USS Hornet in April 1942. (Courtesy photo)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Randolph remembers Doolittle Raid’s impact on WWIIPublished April 20, 2016
                    
                    By Airman 1st Class Stormy Archer
                    
                    
                    Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph Public Affairs
            **JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas (AFNS)  --**The Doolittle Raiders were honored here April 18 during a ceremony marking the 74th anniversary of their Tokyo raid during World War II.On the same day in 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle led 80 pilots, gunners, navigators and bombardiers as they flew 16 B-25 Mitchell bombers to attack Japanese islands in retaliation after the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.“It’s truly amazing what the 80 crewmembers did only four months after Pearl Harbor was attacked,” said Maj. Gen. James Hecker, the 19th Air Force commander. “They were able to take a B-25 that normally uses 3,000 feet to take off and they did it in 500 feet aboard an aircraft carrier. They risked their lives so we can do what we are doing today.”Retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, a co-pilot in Doolittle’s bomber and one of two surviving Raiders, was in attendance and recalled his time flying with the commander.“We were both there and we both knew what we needed to do,” Cole said. “Him more than me, of course. I was just a brand new second lieutenant and at that time in the military, second lieutenants were to be seen and not heard; but we were all part of his team.”Prior to the raid, the ships carrying the B-25s were spotted by a Japanese naval ship, forcing the Raiders to launch nearly 200 miles early, resulting in them arriving over Japan at the height of day with little cover.The Doolittle Raiders were still able to hit their targets with complete surprise and out run interceptors.After the raid, 15 of the 16 B-25s made it to China and one of the bombers landed in Russia. Three of the Airmen were executed after being captured by the Japanese, one died of disease while in a prison camp, another died parachuting from his aircraft, and two Airmen drowned while trying to ditch their aircraft.“The Doolittle Raid has, over time, been misunderstood,” said Gary Boyd, the Air Education and Training Command historian. “Originally, I think we were content with calling it a psychological victory. In reality it changed all of World War II in the Pacific because it proved to the Japanese how vulnerable they were to air attack; it changed their mindset and sense of self protection. After the attack they recalled aircraft back to Japan and they became obsessed with increasing the zone of protection for the home empire.”The decision to pull resources back to protect the homeland led directly to U.S. success at the Battle of Midway, Boyd said.“It was a tremendous victory at a time when we needed a victory of any kind,” he said. “At the end of the day, they were successful at changing the dynamic of the war.”Doolittle Raid 



WWII 



Japan 



B-25 



heritage 



Army Air Forces 



AETC

Related Links
        Doolittle Raider raises toast 74 years after historic mission Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                SecAF, CSAF, CMSAF begin Indo-Pacific trip focused on ACE
                    
                    DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fightInnovation
                F-16s arrive to be modified for autonomous testing
                    
                    AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalistsMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil