The “Doolittle Raiders” of the historical April 18, 1942, raid on Tokyo, Japan, recently gathered in Dayton, Ohio, for their 64th reunion—opening the normally private ceremony to the media. Eight of the 16 surviving Raiders were present, with retired Lt. Col. Dick Cole, 90, toasted Lt. Col. Horrace Crouch, the Raider who died since the group’s last meeting. “We do this to pay homage to the people we love and lost,” said Cole—who was Lt. Col. Jimmy Doolittle’s co-pilot. Each Raiders has an engraved silver goblet that is turned upside down upon his death. (Read our article on Jimmy Doolittle, “An American Hero.”) (The Air Force has a special Web site on the Doolittle Raider heritage.)
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
