April 9, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 61 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session

[Page S2313]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



              Remembering Lieutenant Colonel Richard Cole

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, we lost an American hero today--the last 
in the line of heroes that will I explain in a moment. He was Ohio 
native Lt. Col. Richard Cole, and he was the last of the fabled 
Doolittle Raiders.
  In the spring of 1942, the Nation was reeling from Pearl Harbor, and 
80 Americans embarked on a mission that many thought to be impossible. 
They knew the dangers. They knew many of them would not come home. The 
Raiders showed America and the world that the United States and the 
Allied Forces could win the war. It was considered a turning point in 
the news coverage and in people's minds.
  Like my dad, the Doolittle Raiders came from a generation that spoke 
proudly of their service to their country. They rarely drew attention 
or talked much about their own courage. They sought no recognition but, 
oh, how they earned it.
  It was an honor to help award the Congressional Gold Medal to the 
Doolittle Raiders in Washington 4 years ago--a long time in coming and 
so deserved. I believe, at that time, there were five Doolittle Raiders 
left, and after the death of Mr. Cole, there are none today.
  I am so glad that Dick Cole was able to live to receive that medal, 
as were a handful of others. These men are no longer with us, so it is 
all the more important that we continue to tell their story. My heart 
goes out to the families and friends of Lieutenant Colonel Cole and to 
those of all the Raiders. I thank the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders 
Association for keeping that memory alive.