Doolittle Raiders: un vétéran de 98 ans se souvient

Plus de 16 millions d'américains ont participé à la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale et 1 million et demi d'entre eux sont toujours en vie. Parmi ces survivants on retrouve Richard Cole qui a participé à une intervention qui faisait suite à l'attaque de Pearl Harbor. Une opération dangereuse et méconnue.

 "In retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raiders flew in 16 B-25s toward Japan without enough fuel to reach friendly airfields in China — a dangerous mission that prompted Japan to launch the Battle of Midway, a turning point that led to American victory on the Pacific front.

Cole recalled how angry and fearful Americans were after Pearl Harbor and how, a few months later, he saw a notice inside the Columbia, S.C., tent camp where he was based that sought volunteers for “a dangerous mission.”

 He and others volunteered, not knowing what was planned until they were at sea aboard the USS Hornet aircraft carrier, Cole said.

The pilot he had been teamed up with for the mission became ill and had to drop out.

 In stepped Doolittle, taking a seat with Cole in the cockpit in what would be the lead plane in the mission known then as “Special Project No. 1.”

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/doolittle-raiders-awarded-congressional-gold-medal/2014/05/25/de05e9aa-e27e-11e3-8dcc-d6b7fede081a_story.html?hpid=z1