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Doolittle Raider raises a toast 74 years later

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Sam Fogleman
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. --  Fairchild AFB had the distinct opportunity to host Army Air Force Staff Sgt. David Thatcher for a commemorative toast April 18 in honor of the 74th anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid.

Thatcher, a member of Flight Crew No. 7, is one of two surviving Doolittle Raiders.

The air raid, led by then Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle, was the United States' first strike against the Japanese islands during World War II. In the years leading up to the raid, Japan had annexed Korea, invaded China and other parts of mainland Asia, and ultimately bombed Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 1941. The Allies were desperate to send the Japanese Empire a message that it was not invincible. Though the damage inflicted on Japanese targets in the strike was seemingly insignificant, the Doolittle Raid emphasized the war was not over. America's Pacific fleet was still reeling from the damage incurred at the war's opening, but the sea-to-air attack, launched from the deck of the USS Hornet just a few hundred miles from Japan's coast, showed America was a force to be reckoned with.

The Hennessy toast, part of an annual tradition of the Doolittle Raiders, symbolizes Doolittle receiving a vintage 1896 bottle of cognac on his 60th birthday in 1956. The 1896 bottle was opened at the final 2013 group celebration, where 3 of the 80 Raiders in total were in attendance. In times of commemoration since, the Hennessy toast celebrates the raid and its accomplishments. 

"Wow!  What an incredible opportunity for the Airmen of Team Fairchild to hear firsthand the story of 80 great Americans who launched an incredibly daring and dangerous mission despite knowing that they might not make it," said Jim O'Connell, 92nd Air Refueling Wing historian.  "Sgt. Thatcher and his fellow Doolittle Raiders, who were 'just doing their job,' through their actions, established another milestone in a legacy of excellence, and created, forever, an indelible mark in the history of the United States."

The legacy of Thatcher and his comrades lives on in the minds of today's Airmen.

"It's not every day you have a Doolittle Raider on stage with you," said Col. Brian McDaniel, 92nd Air Refueling Wing commander. "We all remember the photographs in our history books of the planes taking off from the Hornet. What an honor to have a legend here with us today."

The Fairchild celebration culminated with a special toast between Thatcher and the base's Airmen.

"The Doolittle Raid showed what we can accomplish when we work together to achieve a common goal," Thatcher said, now in his mid-90s. "I hope that Airmen will continue to honor the Raid and remember what was done."