WEBVTT

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- My name is Dick Cole.

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I was born on September 7th, 1915.

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I entered the U.S. Army Air Corps

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22nd of November, 1940.

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At that time, the Army Air Corps

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was the only flying part of the Army.

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We volunteered for supposedly
a dangerous mission

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and that's all we knew about it.

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(gentle music)

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The first time we'd
taken off of that carrier

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was when we launched for the mission.

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You wonder what you're heading into

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because none of us had
been in combat before.

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We flew the mission,

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I'd say an average

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of 250 feet or 300 feet,
except for the bombing mission.

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- [Newscaster] The planes sweep
in without being discovered.

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They separate into groups to
attack the several objectives

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carefully selected by means
of accurate intelligence

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to ensure that only targets
of military value will be hit.

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- I don't think any of the group considers

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themselves to be heroes.

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We were job-oriented and we were all happy

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with the fact that we did out job.

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The heroes of World War II
were not only the people

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that gave their life, but the people

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like the men and women
that built the equipment

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that we were able to fight the war with.

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(somber music)