Brigadier General James H. Doolittle
U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF), U.S. Air Force (USAF)

Background
James Harold Doolittle was born on December 14, 1896 to parents Frank Halliard Doolittle and Rosa Cerenah (née Shephard) Doolittle in Alameda. Nicknamed "Jimmy". Doolittle was a flying instructor during World War I and a reserve officer in the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC).

Wartime History
On July 1, 1940 recalled to active duty with the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) with the rank of Major and assigned as the assistant district supervisor of the Central Air Corps Procurement District and worked with auto manufacturers to convert their factories to build aircraft. On June 20, 1941 became part of the U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF).

On January 2, 1942 promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and assigned to Army Air Forces Headquarters to plan the first retaliatory air raid against Japan. He volunteered for and received approval from General Henry "Hap" Arnold to lead the top secret raid to launch B-25 Mitchell medium bombers from a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier for a bombing mission against Japan. The pilots and aircrafts trained for the mission at Eglin Field and Wagner Field in northwest Florida.

Doolittle Raid
On April 18, 1942 Doolittle led the "Doolittle Raid" piloting B-25B Mitchell 40-2344 the aircraft number one (no. 1) of sixteen bombers that took off from USS Hornet CV-8 on a bombing mission against targets in Japan including Tokyo, Kobe, Yokohama and Nagoya. Afterwards, the bombers proceeded westward and landed, ditched or crash landed in China. Afterwards, Doolittle viewed the raid as a failure because all the bombers were lost and the raid failed to cause any serious damage. On April 19, 1942, promoted two ranks to Brigadier General.

Medal of Honor
On May 19, 1942  at a White House ceremony, U. S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt bestows the Medal of Honor on General James H. Doolittle for his role leading the April 18, 1942 "Doolittle Raid" against Japan. The ceremony was also attended by General George C. Marshall, General Henry H. Arnold and his wife, Mrs. Doolittle with a photographer documenting the presentation.

Medal of Honor General Orders No. 29 (June 9, 1942), Amended by Army G.O. No. 22 (1959) & No. 4 (1960) Citation: "The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Brigadier General [then Lieutenant Colonel] James Harold Doolittle (ASN: 0-271855), United States Army Air Forces, for conspicuous leadership above the call of duty, involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life while Commanding the First Special Aviation Project in a bombing raid of Tokyo, Japan, on 18 April 1942. With the apparent certainty of being forced to land in enemy territory or to perish at sea, General Doolittle personally led a squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews, in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland."

In July 1942, General Douglas MacArthur rejected Doolittle as a replacement for Lt. General George H. Brett. In September 1942, he was assigned to the 12th Air Force (12th AF) in North Africa and promoted to to the rank of Major General two months later. Afterwards, took command of the 15th Air Force (15th AF) in the in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and continued to fly combat missions occasionally. In January 1944 he took command of the 8th Air Force (8th AF) and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.

Postwar
Doolittle was the head of the "Doolittle Board" on the relationship between officers and enlisted men. In 1946 he retired from the U.S. Army to inactive reserve status then was transfered to the U.S. Air Force (USAF). In 1956, appointed chairman of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) until superseded by NASA. On February 28, 1959 he retired from the USAF and remained active in aviation as the chairman of board of TRW Space Technology Laboratories. On April 4, 1985 he was promoted to the rank of four-star General in the U.S. Air Force by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.

Awards
Doolittle earned the Medal of Honor and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, two Distinguished Service Medals, the Silver Star, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, the Bronze Star Medal, four Air Medals, and decorations from Belgium, China, Ecuador, France, Great Britain, and Poland. He was the first American to be awarded both the Medal of Honor and the Medal of Freedom. He was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath.

Memorials
Doolittle passed away September 27, 1993. On October 1, 1993 he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery at section 7A site 110.

References
General Doolittle's Report on Japanese Raid April 18, 1942
Franklin D. Roosevelt Day by Day - May 19th, 1942
"Presentation of Congressional Medal of Honor to Brig. Gen. James H. Doolittle (with pictures). Also present: Gen. George C. Marshall, Gen. Henry H. Arnold, Mrs. Doolittle."
Congressional Medal of Honor Society - James Harold Doolittle (MOH citation)
Hall of Valor - James Harold Doolittle (full MOH citation)
Arlington National Cemetery (ANC Explorer) - James H. Doolittle (grave photos)
FindAGrave - Jimmy Doolittle / James Harold Doolittle (photos, grave photo)
FindAGrave - Col Henry A Potter (photos, grave photo)
AP "WWII era bombers fly over Doolittle Raiders memorial service" April 20, 2017