11 Jun Jimmy Doolittle’s Granddaughter
Janna Doolittle Hoppes on Memorial Day 2014, Roswell, GA. Photo by Bobbie Daniels
Janna Doolittle Hoppes just happens to be the granddaughter of General James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle. She has forged an impressive career as an author, educator and speaker. This past month Janna was the featured speaker at the Roswell, GA “Roswell Remembers” Memorial Day Ceremony.
Her message resonated with me: If we don’t record our stories, they will be lost. We must teach our young people about the sacrifices made on their behalf.
Janna told us a lot about her grandfather, a “daredevil pilot” best known for the daring raid on Tokyo shortly after the beginning of the war. He didn’t consider it to be a suicide mission but a calculated risk, she explained. When it was over, Doolittle thought that he had failed. What he didn’t realize that day was that “The Doolittle Raid” would be a major morale builder for the United States, and just the opposite for the Japanese.
General Doolittle (he was promoted the day after the Raid) went on to be commander of the 12th Air Force, then the 15th Air Force, then in January of 1944, commander of the 8th Air Force. It was then that he changed the focus of the fighters from defense to offense, a major factor in achieving air supremacy over Europe. The 8th Air Force was never turned back by the enemy, but the cost was high.
Janna’s book, Calculated Risk: The Extraordinary Life of Jimmy Doolittle, Aviation Pioneer and World War II Hero, tells the story of both her grandparents, drawing from the stories she heard while growing up. This is the first book that tells the story of her “Granny.” She married Jimmy in 1917 despite the fact that he boxed for spending money and was such a risk-taker.
Her Gramps became the master of the calculated risk, but her Granny Joe took enough risks of her own. She followed Jimmy all over the country with the patience of a saint. She was the glue of the Doolittle family and obviously the idol of her granddaughter.
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