• Final Reunion for Surviving Veterans of Doolittle Raid.
    31 replies, posted
[IMG]http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/NkTfGEZPCtBYG2qYW0DaeQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTYzNDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz0xMzY0/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/d9e5b884cace9f25420f6a7067000063.jpg[/IMG] [quote]Washington (AFP) - For Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot, taking off from an aircraft carrier, flying hundreds of miles and bombing Japan was the easy part of the daring 1942 American air raid on Tokyo. The worst moment came hours later, when he had to parachute out of his B-25 bomber over China in the middle of a heavy storm. "That was the scariest time," said Richard Cole, now 98 years old. "There you are in an airplane over a land you are not familiar with, under a big weather front, very active with lots of rain, with thunderstorms and lots of lightning and you are going to jump out," he said. "There are lots of questions that are going through your mind." The oldest of four surviving veterans of the storied Doolittle raid that boosted America's morale in the early days of World War II, Cole will take part in a final reunion Saturday with two of his comrades at the US Air Force's National Museum near Dayton, Ohio.[/quote] [IMG]http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/4uKlWYRewDIKjI8BQGVADQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTU1NDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz03Njg-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/afp.com/e96a1bce947b5d1f5774b776b49bcbfeb185943f.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://tbo.com/storyimage/TB/20131109/ARTICLE/131109220/AR/0/?maxH=337?/AR-131109220.jpg[/IMG] [URL="http://news.yahoo.com/final-reunion-vets-wwii-doolittle-raid-173621683.html"]Source[/URL] [URL="http://tbo.com/list/military-news/only-3-to-attend-final-reunion-of-doolittle-raiders-20131109/"]Alternate source with actual information on the reunion because Yahoo journalism fucking sucks [/URL]
Fucking badasses.
Makes me sad that I will see the generations that fought WWI and WWII pass away during my life time.
[QUOTE=zerglingv2;42815873]Makes me sad that I will see the generations that fought WWI and WWII pass away during my life time.[/QUOTE]Makes you wonder what kind of major wars we'll see in our lifetime, if even (let's hope not)
I can't believe that man can stand with the weight of his steel balls.
[QUOTE=Killer900;42815912]Makes you wonder what kind of major wars we'll see in our lifetime, if even (let's hope not)[/QUOTE] It makes you wonder about the possible reasons for these wars.
[QUOTE=LoganIsAwesome;42815931]I can't believe that man can stand with the weight of his steel balls.[/QUOTE] I'd have trouble standing too after drinking 117 year old Cognac. [editline]10th November 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Rangergxi;42815958]It makes you wonder about the possible reasons for these wars.[/QUOTE] Resources most likely.
[QUOTE=zerglingv2;42815873]Makes me sad that I will see the generations that fought WWI and WWII pass away during my life time.[/QUOTE] I don't think there are any surviving WW1 vets.
[QUOTE=Rofl my Waff;42815985]I don't think there are any surviving WW1 vets.[/QUOTE] Well now there aren't, but that statement would be incorrect less than 2 years ago. [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_veterans_of_World_War_I[/url]
[QUOTE=Killer900;42815912]Makes you wonder what kind of major wars we'll see in our lifetime, if even (let's hope not)[/QUOTE] I doubt will see any massive scale wars waged on the level on World War 2 or 1 in our life time. These gentlemen are the last of there kind.
[QUOTE=zerglingv2;42815873]Makes me sad that I will see the generations that fought WWI and WWII pass away during my life time.[/QUOTE] With all due respect to veterans, I'm very happy to live in a time where there are fewer and fewer living world war veterans. It means the world is a lot more stable and a lot less violent, and has been for quite some time. Nobody should have to go through what they went through, and for many many years, not very many people have.
[QUOTE=DJ999;42816010]Well now there aren't, but that statement would be incorrect less than 2 years ago. [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_veterans_of_World_War_I[/url][/QUOTE] Yeah I remember the facepunch article about Florence Green. That's what sparked my memory.
[quote]The worst moment came hours later, when he had to parachute out of his B-25 bomber over China in the middle of a heavy storm. "That was the scariest time," said Richard Cole, now 98 years old.[/quote] That's the funniest thing about talking to any vet, they're always most afraid of the shit you'd least expect. One of my classmates in physics was talking the other day about how he's deadly afraid of heights but when he had to jump out of an airplane or a helicopter, he just wanted to get the 80 pounds of gear off his back
[QUOTE=Dr.C;42816135]That's the funniest thing about talking to any vet, they're always most afraid of the shit you'd least expect. One of my classmates in physics was talking the other day about how he's deadly afraid of heights but when he had to jump out of an airplane or a helicopter, he just wanted to get the 80 pounds of gear off his back[/QUOTE] There was a veteran Ranger in my scuba class that was discharged after being wounded in Iraq. He was a complete bad ass, motorcycles, extreme sports, surviving his wounds. He was also deathly afraid of needles.
[QUOTE=OvB;42816286]There was a veteran Ranger in my scuba class that was discharged after being wounded in Iraq. He was a complete bad ass, motorcycles, extreme sports, surviving his wounds. He was also deathly afraid of needles.[/QUOTE] that's the cool thing about college, there's always veterans in your classes but you never notice it until they mention it because they're just regular guys. There was a short guy in my anthropology class who was really interested in anthropology and I never would have guessed it's been a few years since he finished serving in the IDF.
[QUOTE=Dr.C;42816135]That's the funniest thing about talking to any vet, they're always most afraid of the shit you'd least expect. One of my classmates in physics was talking the other day about how he's deadly afraid of heights but when he had to jump out of an airplane or a helicopter, he just wanted to get the 80 pounds of gear off his back[/QUOTE] I went through Hell and back in Afghanistan and I'm still afraid of the dark.
[QUOTE=DJ999;42816010]Well now there aren't, but that statement would be incorrect less than 2 years ago. [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_veterans_of_World_War_I[/url][/QUOTE] It would be so awesome to live and see the world change around you. I'm always fascinated by the 1920's-1940's and wish I could live in that time. Man, living up to 110? That's a good life.
[QUOTE=Killer900;42815912]Makes you wonder what kind of major wars we'll see in our lifetime, if even (let's hope not)[/QUOTE] I really hope not, especially considering there's an even chance I'll hold some sort of leadership position in starting in the next few years. I'd end up fighting said wars. Still, that's why we have a standing professional military. Like the old Latin proverb says, if you want peace, prepare for war.
Uhm [quote] in the early days of World War II[/quote] I get they mean "early days of American participation" or something but it's pretty ignorant to smack it like this, "early days of WWII" when people were already dying in the war for three years.
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;42819325]Uhm I get they mean "early days of American participation" or something but it's pretty ignorant to smack it like this, "early days of WWII" when people were already dying in the war for three years.[/QUOTE] This article was written by the American press. Need I say more?
[QUOTE=Awesomecaek;42819325]Uhm I get they mean "early days of American participation" or something but it's pretty ignorant to smack it like this, "early days of WWII" when people were already dying in the war for three years.[/QUOTE] Yes but [I]Americans[/I] weren't dying for those three years so technically it never happened
[QUOTE=DaysBefore;42819346]Yes but [I]Americans[/I] weren't dying for those three years so technically it never happened[/QUOTE] [img]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_mihE76tA4co/S_HQPGQ5JgI/AAAAAAAAA-w/cRFC8Cg-efs/s1600/Adolf+the+Wolf.jpg[/img]
Reading about that raid was really interesting. I still don't understand why they didn't allow for an escort.
[QUOTE=Empty_Shadow;42816026]With all due respect to veterans, I'm very happy to live in a time where there are fewer and fewer living world war veterans. It means the world is a lot more stable and a lot less violent, and has been for quite some time. Nobody should have to go through what they went through, and for many many years, not very many people have.[/QUOTE] When these men pass away people will begin to forget how terrible war is
[QUOTE=Laserbeams;42820668]When these men pass away people will begin to forget how terrible war is[/QUOTE] This is why I'm glad I got to hear WWII veterans and Holocaust survivors speak about their experiences in person because in just 10-20 years time, they're all gonna be gone.
[QUOTE=Rangergxi;42820627]Reading about that raid was really interesting. I still don't understand why they didn't allow for an escort.[/QUOTE] Because there wasn't a fighter with the range to fly escort for them. The B-25's themselves were already falling out of the sky half way to China, so theres no way any other fighter would be able to effectively fly escort for them. That wasn't just an issue during that mission either; when B-17's were firebombing schools and civilian populaces in Germany, escort fighters weren't able to escort the bombers all the way to their targets and back.
[QUOTE=Laserbeams;42820668]When these men pass away people will begin to forget how terrible war is[/QUOTE] Many people who fought in the second world war were veterans of the first one, the winter war, or other. Knowing that wars are bad doesn't really prevent them all that much.
I love the B-25, its like WW2s A-10, with the strafing variations of it
I give a salute to those fine gentlemen
[QUOTE=Saxon;42816015]I doubt will see any massive scale wars waged on the level on World War 2 or 1 in our life time. These gentlemen are the last of there kind.[/QUOTE] The middle east overshadows both WWI and WWII by a long shot. It's been in a perpetual clusterfuck for the past 5,000+ years. Religious wars, fiefdom wars, raiders, famine, ethnic cleansing, dictatorships, etc. far outstrips both of the world wars in death toll, economic and historical damage. I think the next most likely place for a massive war to start would probably be China. You have ~800,000,000 Chinese living in stone huts subsistence farming and basically living in squalor and ~400,000,000 living in cities. The Chinese government is already walking a fine line, it'd only take one major thing to piss the wrong people off and cause a massive uprising.
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