Congressional Medal of Honor Society
Stories of Sacrifice
World War II - U.S. Army Air Corps
James Harold Doolittle
Details
- Rank: Lieutenant Colonel (Brigadier General at time of Presentation) (Highest Rank: General)
- Conflict/Era: World War II
- Unit/Command:
Army Air Force Headquarters, Washington, D.C. - Military Service Branch: U.S. Army Air Corps
- Medal of Honor Action Date: April 18, 1942
- Medal of Honor Action Place: over Tokyo, Japan
Citation
For conspicuous leadership above the call of duty, involving personal valor and intrepidity at an extreme hazard to life. With the apparent certainty of being forced to land in enemy territory or to perish at sea, Brigadier General (then Lieutenant Colonel) Doolittle personally led a squadron of Army bombers, manned by volunteer crews, in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland.
Additional Details
- Accredited to: Berkeley, Alameda County, California
- Awarded Posthumously: No
- Presentation Date & Details: May 19, 1942
The White House, presented by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Born: December 14, 1896, Alameda, Alameda County, CA, United States
- Died: September 27, 1993, Pebble Beach, CA, United States
- Buried: Arlington National Cemetery (MH) (7A-110), Arlington, VA
- Location of Medal: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC ; Tennessee Museum of Aviation, Sevierville, TN ; McDermott Library Special Collections, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX