James Doolittle

1896- 1993

American General

Lt. General James Doolittle was born in Alameda California on December 14, 1896. He went to Manual Arts and then to University of California. He left school during World War I to joint the army and become a pilot. He rose to become the commander of US air forces in North Africa and Europe during World War II.

Doolittle had achieved fame as a pilot in the 1920s for completing the first coast-to-coast crossing of the country in one day. He had also won a number of races and had pioneered instrumentation flying.

In 1932, he set a speed record for land planes. He is perhaps best remembered for leading a 16-plane B-25 force on the first bombing attack on Tokyo in 1942.