Cole, Richard Eugen “Dick”, born 07-09-1915, in Dayton, Montgomery, 
Ohio United States, to Frederick Burnham “Fred” Cole (1869-1966) and his mother Mabel Louise Cole (1879-1945). Richard “Dick” had three sisters and two brothers, Martha Elizabeth Cole (1906–1997), 
Josephine Cole (1908–1979), Mary Kathryn Cole Clemens (1910–2002), Fred Dryden Cole (1913–2004) 
and Thomas Franklin Cole (1917–1988) 
Dick graduated from Steele High School in 1934. 
He then worked for periods on a farm in Shelby County, Ohio and at the National Cash Register Company in Dayton. Cole completed two years at Ohio University and then attended Civilian Pilot Training at Wittenberg College in Springfield, Ohio 
where he received his private pilot’s license. He is also a graduate f the State Department Foreign Language Institute, the Air University Air Tactical School, the Air Command and Staff School, and the Armed Forces Staff College. 
Cole enlisted in the U.S. Army 
in November of 1940. After acceptance for Army Air Corps Flying Training he attended Parks Air College, East St. Louis, Illinois and Randolph and Kelly Flying Schools in San Antonio, Texas. Cole was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in July of 1941. He was assigned to the 34th Bombardment Squadron, 
17th Bombardment Group 
under command of Lieutenant Colonel William H. Crom stationed at Columbia, South Carolina in February 1942. Cole volunteered and took part in the Doolittle Raid 
on Tokyo, Japan on 18-04-1942. Doolittle Raid (also known as Doolittle’s Raid or the Tokyo Raid) was an air raid by the United States Army Air Forces 
on the Japanese capital of Tokyo and other places in Honshu during World War II. Launched on April 18-04-1942, it was the first American air operation to strike the Japanese archipelago. Although the raid caused comparatively minor damage, it demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attacks. It served as an initial retaliation for the attack on Pearl Harbor on 07-12-1941, and provided an important boost to American morale. The raid was named for Lieutenant Colonel James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle,
who planned and led the attack. It was one of six American carrier raids against Japan and Japanese-held territories conducted in the first half of 1942.
He remained in China until June 1943 flying bombing and transport missions over The Hump.Cole returned to the United States and was assigned to the Ferry Command. In October 1943 he volunteered for the First Air Commando Group 
and took part in the aerial invasion of Burma and flew missions in support of General Orde Charles Wingate
and the commando ground forces. He then returned to the U.S. in June 1944 and was assigned as a test pilot at the Douglas Aircraft Plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 
Cole was relieved from active duty in January of 1947, but was recalled in June of 1947. He served in the Far East flying administrative and cargo missions. He became jet-qualified and rated as a Command Pilot during peace-time service in Ohio, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, California, and Venezuela. He retired from the service in 1967 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Cole’s decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, 
the Air Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster, 
the Bronze Star, 
the Air Force Commendation Medal, a Presidential Unit Citation, and the Chinese Army, Navy, Air Corps Medal Class A 1st Grade. Cole went into the construction business in Comfort, Texas until his final retirement. All Doolittle Raiders were also awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in May 2014. 
Death and burial ground of Cole, Richard Eugen “Dick”.
Retired Air Force Colonel Richard Eugen Cole, the last of World War II’s Doolittle Raiders, passed away in San Antonio with his daughter and son at his side, according to reports from family and friends. Cole was 103 years old. Memorial services were held at Randolph Air Force Base, with interment following at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road, San Antonio, Texas, 78209. (interred with his wife Martha on 10-09- 2021).
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