True story.

In 2010, I got to be a part of a deal to bring four heroes of WWII to my home town to raise money for Honor Flight (google it).

One of the heroes was Dick Cole (Dick Cole was right-seat to Jimmy Doolittle when they took off from the USS Hornet to bomb Japan on the historic “Doolittle Raid.”)

To say Dick is a hero is an understatement of the highest order.  But, it was pretty cool to get to hang with a man who made history.

Fast forward to 2018 and I’m attending a Premiere at the National Museum of the Pacific War (for an OGTA production) and someone in the crowd says, “Who’s the guy in the wheelchair?”

I look up…and dangit.  It’s Dick Cole.

He was over ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD at the time…and I’m thinking, “Ha.  Lets see if he remembers me…”

I weave my way through the crowds, extend my hand and say, “Dick?  My name is John Mollison and I hosted you in…”

“Yeah.  I remember you.  Your art is hanging up over my bed.”

Sh*t.

Dick is in my Pantheon.  If I speak to your group/event, I’ll tell you more.

But suffice it to state, Dick is a huge hero, badass and when he died in 2019, the world lost something so huge, so strong, I swear the orbit moved…click here.