James H. Doolittle - The American Air Museum - Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire, UK - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

'James Doolittle was one of America's most famous aviators and commanders. He learned to fly in 1917, becoming a distinguished pilot with many record achievements and in 1925 received one of the first PhDs in aeronautical engineering. He won the premier aviation speed event, the Schneider Trophy in 1925. After ten years in civil aviation Doolittle returned to active duty with the Army Air Corps when the US entered the Second World War. He organised and led the spectacular raid on Tokyo in April 1942 for which he earned the Medal of Honor. Doolittle came to the United Kingdom in September 1942 and moved to North Africa in November to command XII Bomber Command. He returned to the UK at the end of 1943 to become the Commanding General of the 8th Air Force. At this time the key decision was taken to redirect US fighters from a defensive to an offensive role against the Luftwaffe, which proved to be a turning point in the war. Doolittle moved to the Pacific theatre in May 1945 and retired from the USAAF in 1946. He went on to be a director of Shell.

From 1989 until his death in 1993 General Doolittle played a vitally important role in launching the American Air Museum campaign and in securing the wide support the American Air Museum enjoys in the United States.'

This Wikipedia article describes his life in more detail: visit link