ATLANTA — The annual Atlanta Warbirds Weekend backed by the Commemorative Air Force Dixie Wing exceeded expectations this year at KPDK (DeKalb-Peachtree Airport). Thousands attended the event in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the American Volunteer Group, better known as the Flying Tigers. Their legendary shark-faced nose P-40 Warhawks outgunned and outflew the superior Japanese Zeroes in occupied China before the U.S. entered World War II. The Warbird Weekend agenda was the largest gathering of airworthy P-40s since 1954, and I had the honor of meeting two members of the original Flying Tigers in attendance.
One of the legends in attendance was Lt. Col. Richard ‘Dick’ Cole, who was the co-pilot for Col. Jimmy Doolittle, who was piloting the first B-52 to launch on April 18, 1942, when 16 heavy B-25 medium bombers took off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet to bomb Japan, thus giving America a much needed boost in morale. Of the 80 men known as The Doolittle Raiders, Lt. Col. Cole is the only living survivor at 101 years of age.
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