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Ohio

WWII era bombers fly over Doolittle Raiders memorial service

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    FILE – In this Nov. 9, 2013, file photo, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, a surviving member of the 1942 raid on Tokyo led by Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, opens an 1896 bottle of cognac the Raiders had been saving for their final toast, at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Cole, co-pilot of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders’ lead plane and a fly-over by vintage B-25 bombers will be part of Ohio events April 17-18, 2017 for the 75th anniversary of the daring attack that helped turn the tide of World War II. (AP Photo/Al Behrman, File) (The Associated Press)

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    FILE – In this April 18, 2015, file photo, two members of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole, seated front, and retired Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, seated left, pose for photos after the presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal honoring the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Cole, co-pilot of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders’ lead plane and a fly-over by vintage B-25 bombers will be part of Ohio events April 17-18, 2017 for the 75th anniversary of the daring attack that helped turn the tide of World War II. Cole said it will be a somber moment when he toasts fellow Raider, Thatcher, who died in 2016. (AP Photo/Gary Landers, File) (The Associated Press)

DAYTON, Ohio – World War II era B-25 bombers have flown over an Ohio memorial service marking the 75th anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders' attack on Japan, credited with helping turn the tide the war.

The last Raider living is 101-year-old retired Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole. He attended Tuesday's service at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton. Lead plane co-pilot Cole came from his Comfort, Texas, home.

Among the speakers was the son of Staff Sgt. David Thatcher, who died last year in Missoula, Montana. Cole planned a traditional toast to the 79th Raider to die, in a private ceremony with Thatcher relatives and others.

Three Raiders died trying to reach safety in China. Japanese soldiers executed three. One died in captivity after the daring attack.
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