The things you find on the internet. A 1962 look at the career of General Billy Mitchell hosted by Mike Wallace. Billy Mitchell sacrificed his career in his fight for a strong air force for the US.
Billy Mitchell
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
The American military establishment pretty much ignored him and alternately despised him. His findings on the vulnerability of Pearl Harbor were certainly not ignored by the Japanese.
I have always greatly admired how he upset the Navy’s dog and pony show regarding the bombing of the German ship.
My dad was an officer in the Army Air Corps and Air Force. He viewed Billy Michell as a hero. As a family we went to the base theater to see The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell. I never liked Rod Steiger because of prosecutor role in the movie. Actually he was a talented actor. Reading the movie review this morning I learned that the movie was somewhat historically incorrect and Gary Cooper was playing himself in the movie. Thanks for posting the Mike Wallace segment.
He viewed Billy Michell as a hero.
So did my Dad who was an airman first class back in the fifties. His one enlistment made him a believer in air power and the Air Force.