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.)
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.