JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson, commander of Air Education and
Training Command, hosted a distinguished visitor, retired Lt. Col. Richard Cole,
one of two surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders from WWII Oct. 30.
Cole was the co-pilot for then-Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, mission commander, during
the Doolittle Raid, which was a bombing mission in WWII on Japan April 18,
1942, in retaliation for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941.
Roberson hosted the event in honor of Cole's 100th birthday in September.
“Being discovered (and launching) 200 miles early meant that
their plans on how to get back were shattered,” Roberson said during the
ceremony. “Everyone, 80 members, took off in the B-25s that day on a mission
that was one way. They knew that they were not able to come back and didn’t
know where they were going to land, but they needed to send a message to Japan.
They were all committed and willing to sacrifice their lives to do it.”
“The truth is, we were at war and that was our job,” Cole said.
The Doolittle Raiders were able to surprise the Japanese and
completed their mission successful. Out of the 80 volunteers, 73 returned –
though 73 years later only two remain, one of them being Cole.
Also in attendance were members of the U.S. Air Force
Thunderbirds and Wings in Blue demonstration teams, who were in San Antonio for
the 2015 JBSA Air Show and Open House at JBSA-Randolph.
“I speak for both teams when I say that we are humbled to be
able to hear your stories,” Lt. Col. Chris Hammond, Thunderbird #1 and
commander, said. “You are our inspiration, our heritage and epitome of our
greatest generation. You have paved the way for all of us who have followed in
the many decades. As we go out to try to inspire future Airmen, you inspire us to
continue serving and strive for excellence.”
For Roberson, hosting the Thunderbirds was especially meaningful
since he was a member of “America’s Ambassadors in Blue” from November 1993 to
December 1995.
“Having the Thunderbirds here and being able to interact
with them in a way that I haven’t had a chance to in many years was really
awesome,” he said.
Roberson felt that the celebration was the perfect
opportunity to bring together an Air Force legend and the next generation of
Airmen.
“We all stand on Lieutenant Dick Cole’s shoulders,” Roberson
said. “And now, we have youngsters in
our Air Force that are going to remember that and speak to it in the future, so
we don’t forget our heritage and our past.
It’s a tremendous heritage and air power has been a critical factor in
all of our wars for every war that we’ve been in.”