On 18 April 1942, Jimmy Doolittle led 16 Army Air Force B-25s on a stunning raid over the Japanese home island. Sitting in the co-pilot seat beside then LTC Doolittle in plane 1 was 1Lt RE “Dick” Cole. Behind them in plane 10 was 1LT Horace “Sally” Crouch Citadel Class of ‘40. Sally and Dick were the closest of friends.

As the last surviving Doolittle Raider, Dick Cole was a revered American hero and in the eyes of many the most inspirational living American. He personally signed the print you see here. It was used to raise money for the Doolittle Scholarship Fund and to ensure that the Raid stayed strong in American memory.

Dick Cole died in 2019. This print is one of the last ones that will ever be available for acquisition. Tip Hargrove K’71 was friends with Dick; he received the last few remaining prints from Dick just before Dick’s passing. It is a priceless piece of US military history and a striking reminder of The Citadel’s connection to the Doolittle Raid.