JIMMY DOOLITTLE’S GENERAL’S UNIFORM JACKET WORN IN WW2, AN AMERICAN ICONIC HERO.

JIMMY DOOLITTLE’S GENERAL’S UNIFORM JACKET WORN IN WW2, AN AMERICAN ICONIC HERO. Most of Lieutenant General James H. “Jimmy” Doolitle’s memorabilia was donated to the Smithsonian and is on display in the Air & Space museum there along with University of Dallas’ History of Aviation where Doolittle’s MOH and personal papers are archived. This ETO jacket has ironclad provenance being donated to the Brooklyn Museum in 1945 for bond drive. There is a folio accompanying this coat with provenance. This coat is mentioned and photographed in several 1945 New York newspapers. In the November 28, 1945” Brooklyn Eagle” a Boy Scout is shown wearing this coat at the Victory Bond event. The young Boy Scout who still lives in Brooklyn when contacted by phone vividly recalls the event and retains a cherished copy of this newspaper for 67 years. The Brooklyn museum, one of America’s great art museums deaccesed many historic textiles late last year from their storage that were no longer displayed. Doolittle is shown wearing this exact coat in photographs in England in 1944 and 1945. The ETO (European Theatre of Operation) jacket displays all his service ribbons including “medal of honor”. Doolittle most famous for the “Doolittle Raid” where he became a national hero, letting Japan know America could answer back for Pearl Harbor. Doolittle is only man in history to win the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (given by Ronald Reagan). Doolittle lived a long life with numerous awards and achievements before and after WW2. In addition to being a top-drawer leader in combat, Jimmy Doolittle was the visionary behind instrument-only aviation, the historic effect of which cannot be overstated. His stunning technical acumen—he was one of the first men in the county to earn a doctorate in aeronautics—combined with his prophetic insight made it so that “flying blind” wasn’t. The wartime exploit with which his name is now synonymous—the daring retaliatory bombing raid on Japan in 1942—arguably did negligible damage to property but inflicted great damage on Japan’s collective psyche and greatly improved American esprit de corps. More, his orders for aggressive “ultimate pursuit” rather than the established “close support,” in which fighters had to stick with the bombers, ultimately led to the Allied Forces’ air superiority in the European Theater in the latter part of WW II. As Doolittle himself recalled, “Adolf Galland said that the day we took our fighters off the bombers and put them against the German fighters, that is, went from defensive to offensive, Germany lost the air war. I made that decision and it was my most important decision during World War II. As you can imagine, the bomber crews were upset. The fighter pilots were ecstatic.” It is not hyperbole to state that Doolittle utterly changed the face of aviation in both the commercial and combat arenas. As recalled at Doolittle’s funeral by one of his fellow flyers in the Doolittle Raid, “He was an uncommon man whose foresight, integrity, courage, and intellect are unmatched in the annals of aviation. He was a man of wisdom and wit, compassion and concern. His extraordinary feats in an airplane were matched by his ability to command men from the smallest units, such as the 79 of us who participated with him in our raid on Japan, to the 8th Air Force, the largest aerial fighting force in history. He was a patriot in the fullest sense of the word.” There will probably never be another opportunity to obtain a wartime uniform worn by the iconic Jimmy Doolittle. There is a 12 page synopsis of provenance and history available upon request. CONDITION: Overall fine and complete, good color, stitching tight with few loose threads, light wear to bullion general stars, maker’s label has loose stitching but sound and intact. 4-46984 JS112 (60,000-90,000)

Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	2603A	$0.00	JIMMY DOOLITTLE’S GENERAL’S UNIFORM JACKET WORN IN WW2, AN AMERICAN ICONIC HERO. Most of Lieutenant General James H. “Jimmy” Doolitle’s memorabilia was donated to the Smithsonian and is on display in the Air & Space museum there along with University of Dallas’ History of Aviation where Doolittle’s MOH and personal papers are archived. This ETO jacket has ironclad provenance being donated to the Brooklyn Museum in 1945 for bond drive. There is a folio accompanying this coat with provenance. This coat is mentioned and photographed in several 1945 New York newspapers. In the November 28, 1945” Brooklyn Eagle” a Boy Scout is shown wearing this coat at the Victory Bond event. The young Boy Scout who still lives in Brooklyn when contacted by phone vividly recalls the event and retains a cherished copy of this newspaper for 67 years. The Brooklyn museum, one of America’s great art museums deaccesed many historic textiles late last year from their storage that were no longer displayed. Doolittle is shown wearing this exact coat in photographs in England in 1944 and 1945. The ETO (European Theatre of Operation) jacket displays all his service ribbons including “medal of honor”. Doolittle most famous for the “Doolittle Raid” where he became a national hero, letting Japan know America could answer back for Pearl Harbor. Doolittle is only man in history to win the Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (given by Ronald Reagan). Doolittle lived a long life with numerous awards and achievements before and after WW2. In addition to being a top-drawer leader in combat, Jimmy Doolittle was the visionary behind instrument-only aviation, the historic effect of which cannot be overstated. His stunning technical acumen—he was one of the first men in the county to earn a doctorate in aeronautics—combined with his prophetic insight made it so that “flying blind” wasn’t. The wartime exploit with which his name is now synonymous—the daring retaliatory bombing raid on Japan in 1942—arguably did negligible damage to property but inflicted great damage on Japan’s collective psyche and greatly improved American esprit de corps. More, his orders for aggressive “ultimate pursuit” rather than the established “close support,” in which fighters had to stick with the bombers, ultimately led to the Allied Forces’ air superiority in the European Theater in the latter part of WW II. As Doolittle himself recalled, “Adolf Galland said that the day we took our fighters off the bombers and put them against the German fighters, that is, went from defensive to offensive, Germany lost the air war. I made that decision and it was my most important decision during World War II. As you can imagine, the bomber crews were upset. The fighter pilots were ecstatic.” It is not hyperbole to state that Doolittle utterly changed the face of aviation in both the commercial and combat arenas. As recalled at Doolittle’s funeral by one of his fellow flyers in the Doolittle Raid, “He was an uncommon man whose foresight, integrity, courage, and intellect are unmatched in the annals of aviation. He was a man of wisdom and wit, compassion and concern. His extraordinary feats in an airplane were matched by his ability to command men from the smallest units, such as the 79 of us who participated with him in our raid on Japan, to the 8th Air Force, the largest aerial fighting force in history. He was a patriot in the fullest sense of the word.” There will probably never be another opportunity to obtain a wartime uniform worn by the iconic Jimmy Doolittle. There is a 12 page synopsis of provenance and history available upon request. CONDITION: Overall fine and complete, good color, stitching tight with few loose threads, light wear to bullion general stars, maker’s label has loose stitching but sound and intact. 4-46984 JS112 (60,000-90,000) Auction: Firearms - Fall 2012 Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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