THE GREATEST DRAMA

the greatest drama the memorable story of the great among us written by you the people this chapter the wild blue yonder the story of jimmy doolittle jimmy doolittle air corps general stun pilot speed racer his story is the record of man's conquest of the sky and his victory over fear the story begins at an army airfield during the first world war doolittle was an air cadet before making his first flight he saw two cadets killed in a crash jimmy was young newly married as he walked toward his plane he asked himself would his fate be the same no wonder he flew badly that first time up death rode beside him in that early training plane jimmy won his wings after the war he remained in the air force stationed at kelly field texas he enjoyed the flying routine he was happily married he had an infant son and he had an itch to learn all there was to know about airplanes there was much to be learned in those pioneer days of aviation how much strain could a plane take without disintegrating how much strain could the human body take only one way to find out the dangerous way jimmy doolittle tried every stunt in the book not because he was a daredevil not because he lacked fear he knew the cold sweat and the acid taste in the mouth that comes with danger but he choked down the fear and became one of the best test pilots the army ever had september 1922 at home mrs doolittle was about to have her second child in florida jimmy was attempting to fly from the atlantic to the pacific a tremendous dangerous hop in those days doolittle was nervous but determined but so many things could go wrong a loose wire a defective spark plug could mean death west over florida and texas no radio beams or beacons at that time jimmy depended on his compass and flying skill to bring him to a safe landing on the pacific coast he made it the first flyer to cross the country in less than a day for that historic flight the distinguished service cross you and your little family were proud your flight had brought credit to the army air corps that was important because the air corps needed public support to help get that support you entered the schneider cup races of 1925. your plane was number three flying seaplanes was a new dangerous experience with wide open throttle you streaked over the course like a veteran and won the race not satisfied you were back again next day your goal the world speed record for seaplanes shooting for high and risky stakes one wrong move of the stick and that speeding plane would crash into the sea but you held her steady and broke the speed record your next opponent fog an even greater menace to aircraft than it was to ships you developed new instruments to enable pilots to fly blind if those instruments succeeded they'd open a new era in aviation if they failed it would mean death you made the test yourself in september of 1929 you'd thought of your wife and kids and decided that the future of aviation came first in the air you'd cover the cockpit with canvas then your life would depend on your skill and those new instruments flying by instrument the first time it had ever been done but could you land by instrument you succeeded the name of jimmy doolittle was famous but you were still an army lieutenant and no advancement was possible were at a financial dead end when an offer came from a major oil refining company the offer was too good to turn down farewell to the army but you didn't stop flying instead of army crates you now piloted sleek new commercial planes applying gasoline salesmen your territory was the entire nation it seemed that you had left thrills and risks behind but for you the future held greater thrills and worse dangers than you'd ever faced before as a civilian jimmy doolittle's job was to sell aviation gasoline as usual the doolittle approach was unorthodox he developed a new improved aviation gas then in speed races he demonstrated the superiority of his product 1932 for national speed races at cleveland the fastest pilots in the world were there and among them was jimmy doolittle he was at a handicap flying a borrowed plane his own ship had crashed a few days earlier others raced for the prize money jimmy flew for a bigger stake his future in the oil business he caught the leader before the end of the first lap from that point to the finish it was too little's race unwilling to stop with that victory jimmy announced the paragraphs have been installed and uh in the next few minutes we expect to make an attempt on the world speedway could the plane absorb the strain of another high-speed flight the spectators watched tensely doolittle gunned the plane through the air throttle opened wide he roared over the course like a blurred streak of lightning 296 miles an hour a new world record it was a great moment for jimmy one that was repeated often as he went on to break most of the aviation records of the 1930s then came the second world war the pentagon building back in active service doolittle went there one day in january of 1942 he met with general arnold who outlined a daring project a carrier-based bombing raid on tokyo capital of japan no attempt was made to minimize the danger every man who took part in the raid might die would jimmy assume command of the mission he would off to tokyo the carrier hornet carried 16 land bombers could they take off from a carrier deck that was a big gamble you'd hand pick your crewmen and train them in every detail but what about accidents that could not be foreseen and might prove fatal the hornet and her screen of protective warships were 800 miles from japan when it happened the thing all hands feared a japanese ship was psyched the vessel was sunk in three minutes but that was time enough to flash a radio warning to tokyo had one of those captured crewmen sent the warning they refused to speak a worried meeting with admiral halsey you had hoped to sail closer to japan before the takeoff now the timetable must be advanced increasing the risk you set the bombs with your own hands those japanese medals would be returned explosively you'd fly the first plane to take off with starters flag you roared down the short deck with a prayer in your heart your wife and your two kids would you ever see them again for a moment it seemed that you would fall into the ocean then you were airborne and circled to watch the others take off one by one the planes rose from the carrier the first perils safely passed but the greater perils lay before you those planes were short of gasoline how many of them would reach tokyo and how many later on would reach the doubtful security of the chinese mainland how many of your comrades would be doomed to death five hours later the japanese air raid wardens saw you coming in they hadn't been warned the alarm sounded too late bombs away tokyo in flames for the first time japan tasted the terror of war bombs fell earthward until all the bombays were empty revenge for pearl harbor a flaming revenge that blasted japan out of her dreams of easy victory then while tokyo burned you flew off across the sea you flew until the fuel tanks were empty then you hit the silk days later jimmy doolittle and his men reached the sanctuary of chum king eleven were lost the survivors were decorated by madame chung kai sheikh but doolittle felt no elation he felt only grief for his lost comrades home to washington went too little thinking his losses had been too high expecting a reprimand he was called to the white house by president roosevelt instead of a reprimand the congressional medal of honor jimmy argued that he didn't deserve it but for a lucky fate he might not be dead or in an enemy prison accepting the medal he swore he'd spend the rest of his life making himself worthy of the honor too little kept that promise later in tunisia his planes blasted open the way for the north african victory his bombers provided air cover on d-day when the allies stormed the beaches of normandy commanding the eighth air force doolittle helped to break the back of german resistance when the end came with joyous celebrations jimmy was in japan with general macarthur in war and peace as a lieutenant and as a famous general jimmy dolittle has proved himself a hero of american aviation be with us again next week at this time when the greatest drama true film biographies of the great among us again comes your way you