Reflections: By General James H. “Jimmy” Doolittle

Jimmy Doolittle (1896-1993) is one of the most admired military men in U.S. history. He was already famous as an aviation pioneer by the time of his legendary raid on Japan on April 18, 1942, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. In his later years, he reflected on his career, life, and our country. In this issue, we share the general’s thoughts with our readers.

One of the privileges of age is the opportunity to sit back and think about what you’ve seen and done over the years. In my nine-plus decades, I’ve formed some views about life and living that I have freely imposed on trusting audiences, readers and listeners. The following thoughts have been extracted from my speeches, writings and interviews for whatever value may be derived.

My Philosophy of Life

I believe we were all put here on this earth with just one purpose: to serve our fellow man. It doesn’t matter what form this service takes. You can build a bridge or have a house by the side of the road for the weary traveler. The criterion is this: If a man leaves the earth a better place than he found it, then his life has been worthwhile.

I believe we were put on this earth for a purpose. That purpose is to make it, within our capabilities, a better place in which to live. We can do this by painting a picture, writing a poem, building a bridge, protecting the environment, combating prejudice and injustice, providing help to those in need, or in thousands of other ways. Just so we serve.

We should unselfishly serve our fellow man, our Nation and our Deity. If we do, then our time on earth will have been worthwhile And when our time comes to go, we can go happily and peacefully in the knowledge that we have accomplished God’s purpose.

I feel that a person should so comport himself as to do no one harm, afford others happiness, extract such personal happiness from life as he can, and make the world a little better place as a result of having lived in it.

One’s destiny – which in the final analysis is one’s ability to serve his fellow man – is determined to some degree by his immediate associates, subordinates, contemporaries, and superiors and, most of all, by himself.

About Pilots and Flying

Flying must be learned from the ground up. In no other vocation is ground work or preliminary training more important.

For a pilot, you look for a chap who has good eyesight, who has fast reactions, a good sense of balance, but most important, you look for someone who really loves to fly. It would be very difficult to make a good pilot out of someone who hates it. We always incline to do best those things that we enjoy doing.

Another thing you look for is a pilot who can learn his limitations. A poor pilot is not necessarily a dangerous pilot as long as he remains within his limitations. And you find your limits in the air by getting closer and closer and closer and sometimes going beyond them and still getting out of it. If you go beyond and don’t get out of it, you haven’t learned your limitations, because you are dead.

Aviators are a different breed. And among aviators there is the fighter pilot who is a rugged individualist, and the bomber pilot who is a team player. The fighter pilot is up there all alone, just him and his deity. I think he has a different outlook on life and perhaps a different code of ethics. The fighter pilot in time of war does an excellent job; the fighter pilot in time of peace doesn’t seem to fit in quite as well because he never really learns to compromise. The bomber pilot has to, and life is a series of compromises.

A fighter pilot is a chap who flies alone and must think very clearly and act very promptly. He is a chap who develops a lot of self-confidence and with that, a desire not to be disciplined. The fighter pilot does very well and is essential in time of war. It is a little harder for him to adapt to peacetime activity in the military. A bomber pilot is a team player and accepts responsibility for others in his plane. He usually does better in peacetime.