I had the pleasure of meeting Col Cole (Doolittle's copilot and the only surviving Raider) in 2012 at the reunion at Wright-Patt. It was an honor to shake the hand of a man who (literally) helped change the course of the war in the Pacific.
During the ceremony in 2012, there was a formation of 20 B25s that overflew the Museum. That much noise was truly awe-inspiring. Jets are sexy, but 40 radial engines beating the air into submission is a gut-shaking event that, rightly so, should send fear into the hearts of our enemies.
Brave, selfless, ordinary men who did extraordinary things.
Funny moment, there was a WWII vet behind us as the B25s approached....and I figured that out when I heard an old-guy, "my hearing is bad and that means I have no volume control" voice behind me say "THAT'S a piss-poor formation!" You could actually hear the
in his voice.
God bless our vets who have no ability for internal dialogue.