HOUSTON, April 10 (Xinhua) -- The amazing story of the Doolittle Raid is worth telling time and again, Chinese film makers said here Wednesday, a day after the death of the last survivor of the raid in World War II.
Richard Cole, the last survivor of the Doolittle Raid who bombed Japan during an aerial raid in World War II, died Tuesday at the age of 103 in the city of San Antonio, Texas.
Xu Fengnian, a Chinese actor and vice chairman of the 52nd Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, told Xinhua that Cole's life experience impressed him very much.
"I'm deeply moved by his heroism," Xu said at the Fame Hall Masters Meeting of the festival, a meeting that aims to recognize excellence in film and video, promote cultural exchanges among countries, and add to the rich cultural fabric of the city of Houston.
Zhang Ling, executive chairperson and head of Asia for the festival, also showed her respect to Cole, saying what she is doing today, just like what Cole did almost 80 years ago, aims to bring peace and harmony to the world.
The Doolittle Raid, planned and led by U.S. Lieutenant Colonel James Doolittle on April 18, 1942, was an air raid by the United States on seven Japanese cities including capital Tokyo during World War II, as retaliation for the attack on U.S. Pearl Harbor.
The Pearl Harbor attack was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' formal entry into World War II the next day.
Being one of the 80 U.S. Air Force personnel who took part in the Doolittle Raid, Cole was Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot in the lead plane that bombed Tokyo. Running out of fuel on their return, they ditched off the Chinese coast, and were later helped by Chinese troops.
Cole's death was announced Tuesday via the official twitter account of the U.S. Naval Institute. The last Doolittle Raider will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, a U.S. military cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia.
