June 23
2016
And then there was one.
(Sgt. Thatcher on left)
From the Missoulian
newspaper:
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — One of the last two
surviving members of the Doolittle Raiders — who bombed Japan in an attack that
stunned that nation and boosted U.S. morale — has died in Montana, his family
said. Retired Staff Sgt. David Jonathan Thatcher died Wednesday in a Missoula
hospital. He was 94. He suffered a stroke on Sunday, Thatcher's son Jeff told
the Missoulian newspaper (http://bit.ly/28V8l2c).
Thatcher's death leaves Retired
Lt. Col. Richard "Dick" Cole of Comfort, Texas, as the only living
airman from among 80 who took off from an aircraft carrier on 16 B-25 bombers
to target factory areas and military installations in Japan on April 18, 1942.
Afterward, the planes headed for airfields in mainland China, realizing they
would run out of fuel, according to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.
The mission lifted American spirits five months
after Pearl Harbor was bombed and forced the Japanese to spend resources
defending their home islands.
Time is just about done with the “greatest generation,” the WWII
and the Korean War guys; it’s starting to gnaw on us Viet Nam guys and before
you know it, we’ll be watching all the other intervening wars' lucky
participants disappear into the gaping maw that is history. That’s just the way
it is.
For now, though, let’s celebrate the lives of the giants who
walked before us and have now walked on by.
Doolittle’s Raiders were the epitome of what America stood
for in the 20th century: bold, courageous, determined, self-sacrificing, hard working and humble. Words we simply do not recognize today. They fought a war, won the peace
then came home and ran companies, became teachers and even delivered the mail
(jobs that are now largely vilified I might add.) They lived with a quiet
optimism that was justified by the very lives they led.
It’s not clear to me how we have distanced ourselves from
them this far, this fast; today we are selfish, fearful and petty. There are
still, of course, many examples of courage and strength to do the right thing today - but almost none by the
leaders of the country. And things aren’t looking too good for the future
either.
There is a famous quote by Sir Isaac Newton that said, "If I have seen further, it is by standing
on the shoulders of giants.” Makes you wonder what we shall see standing
on the shoulders of today’s pygmies.
RIP Sgt. Thatcher and thank you for what you did for your country.
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