One Last Toast…

…to the host of men we boast…

Update: Great video here — “A USAFA Tribute to the Doolittle Raiders”

Three of the four surviving Doolittle Raiders are getting together for one last toast tomorrow at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio:

On April 18, 1942, 80 men achieved the unimaginable when they took off from an aircraft carrier on a top secret mission to bomb Japan. Led by Lt. Col. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, these men came to be known as the Doolittle Tokyo Raiders. Today, just four of the men survive: Lt. Col. Richard E. Cole, co-pilot of Crew No. 1; Lt. Col. Robert L. Hite, co-pilot of Crew No. 16; Lt. Col. Edward J. Saylor, engineer-gunner of Crew No. 15; and Staff Sgt. David J. Thatcher, engineer-gunner of Crew No. 7. At this time, Cole, Saylor and Thatcher plan to participate on-site and Hite hopes to watch the ceremony from his residence due to health concerns.

In 1959 the city of Tucson, Ariz., presented the Doolittle Raiders with a set of silver goblets, each bearing the name of one of the 80 men who flew on the mission. At each of their past reunions, the surviving Raiders would conduct their solemn “Goblet Ceremony.” After toasting the Raiders who died since their last meeting, they would then turn the deceased men’s goblets upside down. The Nov. 9 event will mark their final toast.

This time the survivors will split the 1896-vintage ‘Hennessy Very Special’ cognac, marked for the year of Doolittle’s birth.

Tomorrow’s event will be livestreamed at www.nationalmuseum.af.mil and www.af.mil beginning at 6 pm EST. If you cannot give it a glimpse, consider “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” to celebrate the stories of these “80 Brave Men.”

“A toast to the host of men we boast…”

Update 2: “Doolittle Raiders Final Toast”