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January 30, 2009
The Doolittle Raiders
The story of the Doolittle Raiders is a made-for-Hollywood story. Unbelievable.
"The Doolittle Raiders have held an annual reunion almost every year since the late 1940s. The high point of each reunion is a solemn, private ceremony in which the surviving Raiders perform a roll call, then toast their fellow Raiders who passed away during the previous year. Specially-engraved silver goblets, one for each of the 80 Raiders, are used for this toast. The goblets of those who have died are inverted. When only two Raiders remain alive, they will drink a final toast using the vintage 1896 bottle of Hennessy cognac which has accompanied the goblets to each Raider reunion since 1960. The vintage was chosen because it was the year of Jimmy Doolittle's birth. The bottle of cognac and the goblets had been maintained by the United States Air Force Academy on display in Arnold Hall, the cadet social center. On 19 April 2006, the memorabilia were transferred to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
As of 2008, only nine Raiders are still alive. Only eight were able to attend the 64th anniversary reunion held in Dayton, Ohio, in April 2006. Seven were able to attend the 65th anniversary in April 2007 in San Antonio, Texas. Six of the Raiders were able to attend the 66th anniversary in April 2008 in Dallas, Texas."
Posted by Rob Kiser on January 30, 2009 at 8:00 PM
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"As of 2008, only nine Raiders are still alive. Only eight were able to attend the 64th anniversary reunion held in Dayton, Ohio, in April 2006. Seven were able to attend the 65th anniversary in April 2007 in San Antonio, Texas. Six of the Raiders were able to attend the 66th anniversary in April 2008 in Dallas, Texas."
Dick Cole, last of the Doolittle Raiders, dies at 103 04/09/2019
related post: "B-25 Pilots from WWII" 01/31/2009
Posted by: anonymous on April 10, 2019 at 9:39 AM