Doolittle Raiders Make The Final Toast

[Dan McNally]

In 1982 I was on temporary duty to Hawaii from Korea with my boss, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel. We were in the dining room of the Hale Koa Hotel, a military Morale, Welfare, and Recreation facility in Honolulu. We had just been seated at our table, when an older gentleman was seated at the table right next to ours, directly behind my boss. I asked my boss if he had ever met General Jimmy Doolittle before. When he said no, I said: "Well, allow me to introduce you. General Doolittle, this is LTC Lawrence. LTC Lawrence, this is Lieutenant General Doolittle." The LTCs chin dropped and Jimmy Doolittle started laughing out loud! We chatted for a bit and he invited us to join him. There I was, a TSgt (E-6 to you non-USAF vets) having dinner with a Medal of Honor winner and one of the greatest heroes of WWII. It was a real high point in my life.

Last night, three of the last four survivors of the Doolittle Raiders met at Wright Patterson AFB, in Dayton Ohio. Three of the four surviving Raiders sipped from silver goblets engraved with their names and filled with 1896 Hennessy cognac. You can see the final toast, here http://www.af.mil/live.aspx My wife and I watched this over the internet, and shared a toast of Hennessy with them . . . Damn, I miss being in the Air Force . . .

 

[Bob Denman]

They were "the Greatest Generation", for sure! :2thumbs:

 

[Dan McNally]

:agree:

 

[Magdave]

Very cool :doorag: That was one bodacious exhibition those guys put on in Tokyo. Old soldiers never die the just fade away :bowdown:

 

[finless]

Great story thanks for sharing.

We are losing these folks rapidly. My Dad passed away in April. He was the last WWII vet in my family.

Bob

 

[Bob Denman]

I thought that I might have heard on Fox News this morning, that 600 WWII vets are now passing away each day... :shocked: ray:ray:ray:ray:

 

[ARtraveler]

Time does creep up on us. I am hoping the remembrances will continue. Hopefully, these unsung heroes will NEVER be forgotten. ray:ray:ray:

 

[bruiser]

I watched the full one hour version. Another chapter is closed on the greatest generation.

I had the opportunity to fly with General Doolittle. Indirectly of course. We were stationed in England when we got word that Kris' dad had passed. We were put on a C5 bound for Dover Delaware. Since I had been stationed at Dover prior to England I wanted to go up front and see if I could get some seat time and see if I knew any of the crew. I asked the loadmaster if I could and he said they had a VIP on board and the flight deck was off limits. VIP quarters were just aft of the flight deck. He did call forward but my request was denied. After some prodding he did tell me that the VIP was General Doolittle and his wife who were returning from a trip to Europe. That was 1981. Kris' dad served on the USS Hornet during WWII. However, it was the second Hornet CV12. The one that the raid was launched from CV8, was sunk after the battle of Santa Cruz Islands after one year six days in service, and was the last fleet carrier sunk by enemy fire.

By the way, the date of that cognac is significant as it was Doolittle's date of birth.

 

[Oldmanzues]

I was able to attend part of the several hours of ceremony for the Doolittle Raiders as a member of the PGR. There were breaks in between. The PGR had a presense for all of them. We were able to talk to many of the Family members and a few moment with the Raiders, on their terms, of course.
The words they said, that stay with me, speak loud and clear. "If we had to do it over, knowing what we know now, We would still go."
Oldmanzues

 

[Yazz]

Thank you for sharing! Watched the ceremony and was touched by being able to watch a piece of history in the making.

Wanted to forward it to Hubby so he could watch it. Both of us have great admiration for the Doolittle Raiders and what they went through.
The problem is... that link now shows the news of the day. :gaah:

Does anyone have a permanent like?

Thanks!

 

[Dan McNally]

Thank you for sharing! Watched the ceremony and was touched by being able to watch a piece of history in the making.

Wanted to forward it to Hubby so he could watch it. Both of us have great admiration for the Doolittle Raiders and what they went through.
The problem is... that link now shows the news of the day. :gaah:

Does anyone have a permanent like?

Thanks!

Right here: