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.