[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 62 (Wednesday, April 10, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H3241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HONORING THE PASSING OF THE LAST WORLD WAR II DOOLITTLE RAIDER

  (Mr. CHABOT asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, when I was reading the Cincinnati Enquirer 
online this morning, an article headline grabbed my attention: ``Last 
WW II Doolittle Raider dies.'' Lieutenant Colonel Dick Cole was 103 
when he passed away Tuesday in Texas.
  There were 80 Raiders, and the fifth last to survive was Tom Griffin, 
from my Cincinnati, Ohio, district, who was 96 when he died a couple of 
years ago. I had the honor of getting to know Tom well over the years. 
He was a wonderful guy, and, yes, he was a hero.
  That is a term that gets used quite frequently nowadays; but Tom 
Griffin, and Dick Cole, and the other 78 brave Americans who took off 
that night from the USS Hornet truly were heroes.
  Only months after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, their 
daring feat gave America a much-needed shot in the arm that was a first 
and major step in winning that war.
  Now these 80 courageous, gallant, patriotic Doolittle Raiders are all 
gone, but they will never be forgotten.

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