The McDermott Library at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), home to the personal papers and mementos of American aviation legend Gen. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, will mark the 60th anniversary of the daring “Doolittle Raid” on Tokyo with two lectures by aviation and military history experts. The talks will also help kick off UTD’s celebration of National Library Week, April 15-19.
On Monday, April 15, from 10 to 11 a.m., Col. C.V. Glines, USAF (Ret.), known as the “official biographer of the Doolittle Raiders” and curator of the Doolittle Library at UTD, will give a lecture entitled “The Doolittle Raiders” in the McDermott Library Auditorium. Later that day, from 6 to 7 p.m., Dr. Erik D. Carlson, head of special collections at UTD, will speak about “Jimmy Doolittle: Hollywood vs. Reality” in the same venue.
Both presentations are free and open to the public.
Doolittle led the bold B-25 bombing raid on Tokyo from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet on April 18, 1942, only four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It was the first Allied strike at the Japanese homeland following the devastating attack on America’s Pacific Fleet.
In 1984, Doolittle agreed to place his name on the Military Aviation Library at UTD. He died in 1993 at age 96 and left the university his personal correspondence, photographs, log books, papers, medals and trophies.
Glines is a pilot and award-winning author on aviation. He has held several national and international aviation speed records. He served in the Army Air Forces as a pilot during World War II. He later served as chief of the U.S. Defense Department’s magazine and book division. He retired from the military with the rank of colonel in 1968.
Glines has written many books about aviation and the Raiders. With Doolittle, he wrote I Could Never Be So Lucky Again: Autobiography of General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle. Copies of the book will be available.
Other titles by Glines include The Doolittle Raid and his newest book being released in April, Master of the Calculated Risk: A Pictorial Biography of Gen. James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle, published by Pictorial Histories Publishing Co. of Missoula, Montana.
In his talk, Carlson, a military historian, will analyze the treatment of Doolittle and the Doolittle Raid by the movie industry. Among the films he will discuss will be Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), The Purple Heart (1944) and Pearl Harbor (2001).
For additional information about the lectures, please call Tom Koch of the McDermott Library, 972-883-4951.