Podcast appearances and mentions of James H Doolittle

Today's show is a conversation with Jonna Doolittle, the granddaughter of James H. Doolittle – who shares great insights into the American military general and aviation pioneer. It was great to get the family insights from Jonna, and as always, the historical context.  Doolittle won air races, was a test pilot, completing the first outside loop, something most people thought was impossible. In WWI he was active with the Signal Corps' Aviation Section, but never saw combat. In WWII, Doolittle was chosen by Hap Arnold – the subject of our next episode, so stay tuned - to lead the planning of the first aerial raid on the Japanese mainland and retaliation for Pearl Harbor. Key Takeaways: Jimmy Doolittle was highly educated, as a mechanic, engineer, and pilot, which set up his career as an aviation pioneer Doolittle's innovation with blind flying and landing paved the way for landing in bad weather Doolittle helped organize the Air Force Association and was elected its first president Doolittle lobbied successfully to make the Air Force its own branch of the military Use the code SEASON1 for 20% off your Wings Membership! Become A MemberSupport Behind the Wings by making a financial contribution to Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum's Annual Fund! wingsmuseum.org/giveReferences: GENERAL JAMES HAROLD DOOLITTLE > Air Force > Biography Display (af.mil) I Could Never Be So Lucky Again by James H. Doolittle (goodreads.com) Become A Member | Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum (wingsmuseum.org)

In 1942, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle led an audacious one-way bombing raid to hit targets in Japan which many thought impossible. With nowhere to land their planes, eight American airmen who were captured afterward by Japanese troops in occupied Chinese territory, and later subjected to trials and death sentences. In his fascinating new book, "Last Mission to Tokyo: The Extraordinary Story of the Doolittle Raiders and Their Final Fight for Justice," Columbia Law Professor Michel Paradis takes the reader deep inside the first postwar war crimes tribunals organized by the Allies in Shanghai, which included trials of lawyers involved in the prosecution of the captured Doolittle airmen. In speaking with Robert Amsterdam about the book, Paradis remarks that much of the prosecutions that took place following the war were quite flawed examples of "victors' justice," but nevertheless set important precedent. "When we fall short in upholding justice, and we fall into the trap of victors' justice and revenge and show trials, you end up creating really unpredictable outcomes," Paradis says. "Now, here in 2020, 75 years later, Yamashita's trial is remembered as an outrage. (...) And we don't remember Yamashita as the really horrible fascist war criminal that he was. This is an issue that I try to explore in the book."

James H. Doolittle led the first air attack on Japan in the spring of 1942, just four month after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He received the Medal of Honor for the effort even though all the planes involved in the attack were lost. This is the story of what became known as The Doolittle Raid. James H. Doolittle is buried in Section 7A.

In this first segment of the four-part series – Remembering Midway this year marks the 67th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Four months after that attack, a daring plan was conceived to bomb targets on the Japanese mainland. Gen. James H. Doolittle led a squadron off the deck of the carrier USS Hornet to carry out this mission. While the actual damage done to Japan's war-making infrastructure was, minimal, the news of the successful attack on the mainland of Japan stirred the hearts of Americans. To learn more about this daring raid, we will hear, in his own words, what he felt about this raid. Courtesy of U.S. Naval Institute Oral History Program.

In this first segment of the four-part series – Remembering Midway this year marks the 67th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Four months after that attack, a daring plan was conceived to bomb targets on the Japanese mainland. Gen. James H. Doolittle led a squadron off the deck of the carrier USS Hornet to carry out this mission. While the actual damage done to Japan's war-making infrastructure was, minimal, the news of the successful attack on the mainland of Japan stirred the hearts of Americans. To learn more about this daring raid, we will hear, in his own words, what he felt about this raid. Courtesy of U.S. Naval Institute Oral History Program.