Richard E. Cole
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Richard Eugene Cole (September 7, 1915 – April 9, 2019) was a
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
. During World War II, he was one of the airmen who took part in the
Doolittle Raid The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japan ...
on
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan, on April 18, 1942. He served as the co-pilot to Lieutenant Colonel
Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...
in the lead airplane of the raid by sixteen
B-25 The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...
bombers, which for the first time took off from an
aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...
on a bombing mission. Cole remained in China after the raid until June 1943, and served again in the
China Burma India Theater China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the United States military designation during World War II for the China and Southeast Asian or India–Burma (IBT) theaters. Operational command of Allied forces (including U.S. forces) in the CBI was officia ...
from October 1943 until June 1944. He later served as operations advisor to the
Venezuelan Air Force , colours = Bleu celeste , colours_label = , march = , "Hymn of the National Military Aviation" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December (Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_honou ...
from 1959 to 1962. He retired from the Air Force in 1966 and became the last living Doolittle Raider in 2016.


Early life

Richard Eugene Cole was born on September 7, 1915, in
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
. He graduated from Marion L. Steele High School and went on to attend
Ohio University Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...
for two years.


Military career


Doolittle Raid

Cole enlisted as an
aviation cadet A flight cadet is a military or civilian occupational title that is held by someone who is in training to perform aircrew duties in an airplane. The trainee does not need to become a pilot, as flight cadets may also learn to serve as a bombardie ...
in the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
on November 22, 1940, at
Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the northw ...
. He was commissioned as a
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in July 1941 and rated as a pilot, when he was awarded his pilot wings at
Randolph Field Randolph Air Force Base was an United States Air Force base located at Universal City, Texas ( east-northeast of Downtown San Antonio). Opened in 1931, Randolph has been a flying training facility for the United States Army Air Corps, the Uni ...
, Texas, on July 12, 1941. His first assignment was as a
B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...
pilot with the
34th Bomb Squadron The 34th Bomb Squadron is part of the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. It operates Rockwell B-1 Lancer aircraft providing strategic bombing capability. Overview The 34th Bomb Squadron is presently the 4th-oldest active ...
of the 17th Bomb Group at
Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...
, in July 1941. Cole was assigned as the co-pilot of the first B-25 Mitchell medium bomber (Aircraft Number One), plane # 40–2344, for the famous "Doolittle Raid" in the wake of the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
after two other pilots became ill. The raid was daring not only because of the intended targets, the Japanese homeland and its capital Tokyo, but because the pilots trained to take-off in a B-25 bomber from the deck of an aircraft carrier, something neither the designers of the B-25, nor the aircraft carrier, ever envisioned. Cole was co-pilot in the first bomber to depart the deck of the USS ''Hornet'' during the mission, and it was piloted by the leader of the raid, then-Lieutenant Colonel
Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...
, giving him, and the plane, the very least amount of runway available. On April 18, 1942, Doolittle and his B-25's four crewmembers, took off from the ''Hornet'', reached
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan, bombed their target, then headed for their recovery airfield in China. Doolittle and his crew bailed out safely over China when their B-25 ran out of fuel after flying . By then, they had been flying for about 13 hours, it was nighttime, the weather was stormy, and Doolittle was unable to locate their landing field in Chuchow. He and his crew linked up after the bailout and were helped through Japanese lines by Chinese guerrillas and American missionary John Birch.


Post raid

After the raid, Cole remained in China and flew
C-47 Skytrain The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota (Royal Air Force, RAF, Royal Australian Air Force, RAAF, Royal Canadian Air Force, RCAF, Royal New Zealand Air Force, RNZAF, and South African Air Force, SAAF designation) is a airlift, military transport ai ...
s to transport supplies from Burma to China over the dangerous Himalayan mountains known as
The Hump The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and t ...
, from May 1942 to June 1943. He later served with the 5th Fighter Group in
Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, from June to October 1943. Cole then volunteered for Project 9, which was the birth of the Air Commandos. He served as an original Air Commando in the Transport Section of Project 9 in the CBI Theater. They took part in the Invasion of Burma, where they invaded with
glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
s, built a couple of
airfield An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...
s behind Japanese lines, which was the beginning of the march from
northeastern India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...
by the ground forces to retake Burma. Cole served with the Air Commandos from October 1943 until he returned to the United States in June 1944. His next assignment was as an Army Air Forces plant representative and acceptance test pilot at
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...
, from June 1944 to October 1945, and then as officer in charge of the training section at
Victorville Army Air Field Victorville is a city in Victor Valley in San Bernardino County, California. Its population as of the 2020 census was 134,810. History In 1858, Aaron G. Lane came to what is now known as Victorville and founded a waystation called "Lane's Cro ...
, California, from October 1945 to November 1946. Cole went on terminal leave beginning November 13, 1946, and left active duty on January 11, 1947.


Post war

Cole returned to active duty on July 7, 1947, and served on the group staff at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place just east of Dayton, Ohio, in Greene County, Ohio, Greene and Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery counties. It includes both Wright and Patte ...
, Ohio, from July 1947 to January 1952, followed by attending the
Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...
at Norfolk, Virginia, from January to September 1952. During the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, Cole next served on the staff of Far Eastern Air Forces in Japan from September 1952 to March 1955, and then on the staff of Headquarters
U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
in
the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
from March 1955 to July 1958. After attending Spanish language training, he served as an advisor to the
Venezuelan Air Force , colours = Bleu celeste , colours_label = , march = , "Hymn of the National Military Aviation" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 December (Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_honou ...
in Caracas, Venezuela, from January 1959 to August 1962, followed by service with the 464th Troop Carrier Wing at
Pope Air Force Base Pope Field is a U.S. military facility located 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the central business district of Fayetteville, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, United States.. Federal Aviation Administration. effective 15 November 2012 ...
, North Carolina, from August to October 1962. His next assignment was on the staff of the Joint Development Group at
Fort Bragg Fort Bragg is a military installation of the United States Army in North Carolina, and is one of the largest military installations in the world by population, with around 54,000 military personnel. The military reservation is located within Cum ...
, North Carolina, from October 1962 to February 1963, and then as director of operations, executive officer, and as vice commander of the 831st Combat Support Group at
George Air Force Base George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air Co ...
, California, in February 1963. Cole retired from the military in 1966.


Post-retirement

On May 23, 2014, Cole was present in the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
when
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
signed a bill on awarding the
Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...
to the Doolittle Raiders. On April 15, 2015, President Obama presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Cole and three other surviving members of the raid, in a ceremony at the White House. Cole was the last surviving participant in the
Doolittle Raid The Doolittle Raid, also known as the Tokyo Raid, was an air raid on 18 April 1942 by the United States on the Japanese capital Tokyo and other places on Honshu during World War II. It was the first American air operation to strike the Japan ...
. Staff Sergeant David J. Thatcher, gunner of aircraft No. 7, died on June 23, 2016, at the age of 94. Cole, who lived to be 103, was the only participant to live to a higher age than the raid's leader, Jimmy Doolittle, who died in 1993 at age 96. On September 19, 2016, the
Northrop Grumman B-21 The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is an American strategic bomber under development for the United States Air Force (USAF) by Northrop Grumman. As part of the Long Range Strike Bomber (LRS-B) program, it is to be a long-range, stealth intercon ...
was formally named "Raider" in honor of the Doolittle Raiders. As the last surviving Raider, Cole was present at the naming ceremony during the
Air Force Association The Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, professional military association for the United States Air Force and United States Space Force. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, its declared mission is " ...
conference.


Death and burial

Cole died in
San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...
, on April 9, 2019, at the age of 103. A memorial service for Cole was held at
Joint Base San Antonio Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) is a United States military facility located in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force 502d Air Base Wing, Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The win ...
on April 18, the 77th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid. Cole was scheduled to be buried with full military honors at
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
. Originally planned for August 2019, his burial was postponed to April 18, 2020, the 78th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, but that was delayed by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. His family finally decided to have Cole buried along with his wife at
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery in the city of San Antonio in Bexar County, Texas. Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it encompasses , and as of 2014, had over 144,000 interme ...
in San Antonio on September 7, 2021, his 106th birthday. Cole was posthumously promoted to Colonel at the ceremony at Joint Base San Antonio on September 7.


Family

Richard Cole was married to Lucia Martha "Marty" (Harrell) Cole, who died in 2003 at the age of 79, for 59 years. Richard and Marty had five children and numerous grandchildren.


Military awards

Cole received the following decorations and awards:


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Richard E. 1915 births 2019 deaths Aviators from Ohio Doolittle Raiders Military personnel from Dayton, Ohio Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army Air Forces bomber pilots of World War II United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War American expatriates in Venezuela American centenarians Men centenarians United States Air Force colonels Burials at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery