Photo: Toasting history
The Tinker Club and Moet Hennessy USA hosted a toast to the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders on April 18 to honor the 80 men, led by Lt. Col. James “Jimmy” Doolittle, on April 18, 1942, during World War II, who flew a bombing mission to Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The mission was basically a suicide mission, especially having to launch 200 miles off the Japanese coast knowing there wasn’t enough fuel to return to the aircraft carrier. Sixty-two out of the 80 survived and the surviving Raiders have met annually on April 18 since the 1950s to toast their fallen comrades. On Nov. 9, 2013, the four remaining Raiders met (one was too ill for the ceremony, but watched online) one last time and opened the bottle of cognac gifted to their leader almost 56 years before. The significance of their last toast together symbolized the completion of their mission. Currently, only two Doolittle Tokyo Raiders survive: Lt. Col. Richard Cole and Staff Sgt. David Thatcher. (Air Force photo by Kelly White/Released)