DAV Participates in Historic First and Last Flight at AirVenture 2012

The DAV Flight Team and the Commemorative Air Force co-sponsored the historic “First and Last Flight” at EAA AirVenture 2012. Commemorating the first and last bombing attacks of Japan during World War II, DAV and CAF joined forces to recognize the historic Doolittle Raid and the bombing over Hiroshima.

Representing the Doolittle Raid, B-25, “Panchito”, hosted Doolittle Raider, Lt. Col Richard “Dick” Cole on the flight. Flying alongside the B-25 and representing the bombing over Hiroshima, the world’s only flying B-29, “FiFi”, hosted Enola Gay navigator, Capt. Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk. Guest riders on the flights were members of the EAA Young Eagles.

2012 marked the 70th Anniversary of the Doolittle Raid where sixteen B-25 bombers launched off an aircraft carrier on a daring bombing mission over Tokyo, Japan. In it's modern-day mission with Disabled American Veterans, the B-25 travels to airshows throughout the country reminding people of the sacrifices veterans make for freedom. As brave men and women return from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the DAV’s services and advocacy are as relevant today as at any time in the nation’s history.

Disabled American Veterans, representing more than 1.2 million disabled veterans, is a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932. It is dedicated to one, single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their families. For more information go to www.dav.org.