Richard Cole

The last surviving participant in the Doolittle Raid has, like the monkey, gone to heaven. Richard Cole was co-pilot of the first flight of said raid, which saw more than 80 US Air Force individuals take to the sky in the first significant aerial attack on the Japanese mainland following Pearl Harbor. Although the attack was a limited success in pure numbers – it killed only 50 people and made no significant military damage – Doolittle is credited with significantly swinging the morale levels both in the US and Japan. Following the war, Cole became a fruit salesman who was loathe to talk about his exploits during Doolittle.

Richard Cole
September 7, 1915 – April 9, 2019
Died aged 103 (four picks, one joker)