Annual Ceremony Honors Those Who Didn't Come Home
The Doolittle Raiders held their traditional
goblet ceremony April 16 during the group's 61st annual reunion,
held at Travis AFB (CA) and in the local community this week.
During the goblet ceremony, the men toast with cognac and then turn
over the goblets of those who have died since the last meeting.
Each silver goblet bears the name of one of the 80 Doolittle
Raiders who were part of the pivotal mission April 18, 1942, to
bomb Tokyo as symbolic revenge against Japan's attack on Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii. The mission was led by then-Lt. Col. James
Doolittle.
An Emotional Reunion
As Doolittle Raider Chase Nielsen raised his goblet for the
toast, he said he felt proud to be representing Crew No. 6. He was
also emotional because he is the only surviving member of his
crew.
"We have had a representation from all 16 crews until this
year," Nielsen said. "We had two crews wiped out because time is
taking its toll. It's a privilege and pleasure for me to be part of
this group and to have been friends and rubbed elbows with a man
like Doolittle - they never come any better."
Nielsen has been the only survivor of his crew since 1942.
During the mission over Tokyo, two of his men died when they
ditched into the ocean, one man was executed, and one man died in
prison camp.
A Cadet's Honor
The 80 silver goblets were moved from their display case at the
U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., to the reunion
that began April 15. The goblets were flown aboard a B-25 and
escorted to the reunion by the two senior cadets who earned top
honors in an airpower history course last year.
"It's a great honor to be here because the men are all heroes,"
said Cadet 1st Class Jason McClure. "I am in awe and humbled by
them."
McClure and Cadet 1st Class Anna Reitze earned the honor of
escorting the goblets to the reunion.
At the academy, a bottle of 1896 cognac commemorating the year
Doolittle was born is displayed in the case with the goblets.
Doolittle's wish is that the final two surviving Raiders will use
that bottle to drink a final toast for their comrades.
Helping Preserve History
The reunion also kicks off fund-raising efforts for the Jimmy
Doolittle Air and Space Museum. The proposed, state-of-the-art
facility will replace the current Travis Air Museum, which is not
open to the general public and needs major upgrades. All proceeds
raised from the reunion will go toward the new museum.
"We're really happy to be here today and have the museum named
after our boss," Nielsen said. "After all, he has done so much for
aviation, flying and the safety of flight. (Doolittle) was so
energetic and more than a good aviator. He went to MIT for
aeronautical engineering in 1927. He used to kid us about that and
said, 'That's when you should have gotten your education because we
only had two airplanes - it was easy.'"
The silver goblets were returned to the academy after the
reunion ended Saturday.
(Special thanks to 1st Lt. Angela Arredondo, 60th Air
Mobility Wing Public Affairs)