Warbird Information Exchange

News says that the 2013 reunion really will be the last public gathering and that the Raiders who are well enough to attend will open the famed bottle of cognac.

http://m.nwfdailynews.com/local/doolitt ... 8307?tc=cr

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

It is a bit weird that when I read about this reunion when I was a kid, I always wondered when the day would come when this bottle would be opened. And now I know.

May God bless these men and the other heroes who are leaving us so fast. And Thank You, from a grateful American.

It a very sad day to know that it will all be over. Thank you all for your part in this daring endeavor. Let Freedom ring. Thank you for your service to this great Country. May God bless you all.

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When you meet a Veteran shake his or her hand and thank them, they earned your freedom.
I plan to fly in as many B-25 as possible be fore I die! B-25 for ever!!!

While I was saddened to hear that this will be their last reunion, I am thankful for the two large Dayton reunions in recent years. What a send off! I am also glad to hear they will be opening the cognac and sharing it amongst the attending Raiders, I always thought the idea of just the last two sharing it was a bit depressing.

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Share your story: Rutgers Oral History Archive http://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/

So is this the third or fourth last reunion?

Kind of like a going out of business sale that lasts 4 years...

I think the survivors should just finish the bottle while they can still enjoy it!

Regarding the original bottle and its replacement; quoted here: http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/2004/0 ... e-raiders/


"At their Tucson meeting, Hoover was appointed chairman of the 1960 reunion committee.

Doolittle turned the display case and contents over to the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., that same year. It has been housed there ever since, but each year the goblets are delivered in a folding display case to the city where the Raiders hold the reunion.

The goblets and case have been a constant for 45 years, but in 1971 the bottle of cognac intended to be shared by the final two survivors was stolen, said Col. Mark Wells, head of the history department at the Air Force Academy.

“It’s not the brightest moment in Air Force Academy history,” Wells said. “At some point the case was broken into, and the bottle of vintage cognac was stolen. There was great embarrassment, as you can imagine.”

The graduating class of cadets managed to replace the bottle with the same vintage and sent a letter to Doolittle to explain what happened.

“They got a letter back from Doolittle thanking the wing for replacing it. At the end of the letter, he said, ‘If I’d have been a cadet, I’d have probably stolen it, too,’ ” Wells said."



And a conflicting update to the original story regarding 2013:
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/ticke ... eo-1.89873

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

that is so Jimmy Doolitle

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Kind Regards,
Gary Lewis
J.A.F.O.

Looks like the banquet tickets have sold out already.

If you have them and for any reason you cannot go, please pm me. I have two USAF vet uncles who are really interested in going.

I think it's going to be quite sad as we will begin to see a procession of "lasts" occuring over the next several years, until, just like we witnessed recently, the last survivor from this greatest generation will be gone. That's why it is so important to embrace the people we do have around now and to encourage them to tell their stories and experiences.