Only One Crewman From The Storied Mission Remains

One of the last two airman from Doolittle's Raiders has Gone West.

David Thatcher passed away Wednesday at a hospital in Missoula, MT, where he lived. He was 94.

Thatcher had been the tail gunner/engineer on the B-25 dubbed "Ruptured Duck" when it departed from an aircraft carrier to conduct the now-famous raid on Tokyo. After completing the mission, pilot Lt. Ted Lawson steered the plane toward China. It ran out of fuel, and Larson ditched it in about 15 feet of water near an island. Thatcher was bruised and disoriented, but otherwise uninjured, when the plane flipped over on its top. He managed to escape from the back of the plane and rescued the other four more seriously injured crewman. The were led to safety through Japanese patrols by Chinese guerrilla fighters.

The Missoulian reports that Thatcher is survived by his wife and three of their five children. After the war, he became a clerk and later a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Missoula.

Thatcher's son Jeff said he had been in deteriorating health for about the past month, and has suffered a massive stroke on Father's Day. His passing leave Dick Cole of Comfort, TX as only remaining member of the 80-man Doolittle’s Raiders crew.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.doolittleraider.com