OT: Another Doolittle Raider Gone
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From: Upstate NY
OT: Another Doolittle Raider Gone
I know there are a number of pilots on Rennlist so I thought I'd pass on some sad news – the second to last of the 1942 Doolittle “Raiders” recently died. David Thatcher was 94 and only 19 years old when he flew in Ship # 7 “The Ruptured Duck” off the Hornet in April 1942.
If any of you have seen the movie (or read the book) “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo”, David Thatcher was the flight engineer and gunner and was the only one of the crew of five that was uninjured when the B-25 ditched along the coast of China. All five of the crew survived and made it back home. The pilot (Ted Lawson) had to have his leg amputated in a China hospital. Many of the Raiders went on to serve out the rest of the war in Europe and David Thatcher went to North Africa. He was on the first bombing mission over Rome in 1943.
The only living Raider is now Richard Cole (100 years old). It seems fitting somehow as he was Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot in Ship # 1.
In 2002 on the sixtieth anniversary of the raid I was doing some reading and called information to see if there was a David Thatcher listed in Missoula Montana. He was of course – I called, he answered the phone and I asked him, “Are you the David Thatcher from The Ruptured Duck?” He said he was and we had a nice chat – he agreed to sign my first printing “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” book, so I sent it to him with a bottle of New York maple syrup as thanks. He signed my book and sent me a nice note.
He was a sweet and kind man and a brave soul. RIP.
If any of you have seen the movie (or read the book) “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo”, David Thatcher was the flight engineer and gunner and was the only one of the crew of five that was uninjured when the B-25 ditched along the coast of China. All five of the crew survived and made it back home. The pilot (Ted Lawson) had to have his leg amputated in a China hospital. Many of the Raiders went on to serve out the rest of the war in Europe and David Thatcher went to North Africa. He was on the first bombing mission over Rome in 1943.
The only living Raider is now Richard Cole (100 years old). It seems fitting somehow as he was Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot in Ship # 1.
In 2002 on the sixtieth anniversary of the raid I was doing some reading and called information to see if there was a David Thatcher listed in Missoula Montana. He was of course – I called, he answered the phone and I asked him, “Are you the David Thatcher from The Ruptured Duck?” He said he was and we had a nice chat – he agreed to sign my first printing “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” book, so I sent it to him with a bottle of New York maple syrup as thanks. He signed my book and sent me a nice note.
He was a sweet and kind man and a brave soul. RIP.
Nordschleife Master
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,314
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From: Los Altos, CA
Thanks for sharing your story! I was named in honor of the pilot of the Ruptured Duck 
I know there are a number of pilots on Rennlist so I thought I'd pass on some sad news – the second to last of the 1942 Doolittle “Raiders” recently died. David Thatcher was 94 and only 19 years old when he flew in Ship # 7 “The Ruptured Duck” off the Hornet in April 1942.
If any of you have seen the movie (or read the book) “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo”, David Thatcher was the flight engineer and gunner and was the only one of the crew of five that was uninjured when the B-25 ditched along the coast of China. All five of the crew survived and made it back home. The pilot (Ted Lawson) had to have his leg amputated in a China hospital. Many of the Raiders went on to serve out the rest of the war in Europe and David Thatcher went to North Africa. He was on the first bombing mission over Rome in 1943.
The only living Raider is now Richard Cole (100 years old). It seems fitting somehow as he was Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot in Ship # 1.
In 2002 on the sixtieth anniversary of the raid I was doing some reading and called information to see if there was a David Thatcher listed in Missoula Montana. He was of course – I called, he answered the phone and I asked him, “Are you the David Thatcher from The Ruptured Duck?” He said he was and we had a nice chat – he agreed to sign my first printing “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” book, so I sent it to him with a bottle of New York maple syrup as thanks. He signed my book and sent me a nice note.
He was a sweet and kind man and a brave soul. RIP.
If any of you have seen the movie (or read the book) “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo”, David Thatcher was the flight engineer and gunner and was the only one of the crew of five that was uninjured when the B-25 ditched along the coast of China. All five of the crew survived and made it back home. The pilot (Ted Lawson) had to have his leg amputated in a China hospital. Many of the Raiders went on to serve out the rest of the war in Europe and David Thatcher went to North Africa. He was on the first bombing mission over Rome in 1943.
The only living Raider is now Richard Cole (100 years old). It seems fitting somehow as he was Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot in Ship # 1.
In 2002 on the sixtieth anniversary of the raid I was doing some reading and called information to see if there was a David Thatcher listed in Missoula Montana. He was of course – I called, he answered the phone and I asked him, “Are you the David Thatcher from The Ruptured Duck?” He said he was and we had a nice chat – he agreed to sign my first printing “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo” book, so I sent it to him with a bottle of New York maple syrup as thanks. He signed my book and sent me a nice note.
He was a sweet and kind man and a brave soul. RIP.
