I mentioned him before, but came across some more about his life. Unfortunately, we lost him to old age back in November.
He was a retired US Air Force Master-Sergeant. With his passing and that of retired Major General Davy Jones the day before, that brings the number of Doolittle survivors down to nine.
The group had trained in top secrecy at the then Eglin Field near what is now State Road 285 in Walton County. They practiced taking off from a marked 300 foot strip, which was how much room they'd have on board a carrier.
Sgt. Horton retired in 1960 after 25 years in the service and had lived in Okaloosa County since 1947. His final public event was the Doolittle Raiders Homecoming at Eaglin Air Force Base in May.
He joined the Army in 1935 and was 21 years old at the time of the April 18, 1942, raid. Each of the 16 B-25 bombers carried four 500-pound bombs and were forced to take off earlier than planned when a Japanese patrol boat spotter the carrier. When ordered to bail out over China, Horton responded, "Well, thanks for the swell ride." Every member of his plane's crew survived.
Retired Lt. Col Richard Cole, Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot was expected to attend.
Quite a Story from One of America's Greatest Generation. --Cooter
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