Everett W. Holstrom

Doolittle Tokyo Raiders, Crew No. 4, 95th Bomb Squadron. From left to right: Lt. Harry C. McCool, navigator; Cpl. Bert M. Jordan, flight engineer/gunner; Lt. Everett W. Holstrom, pilot; Sgt. Robert J. Stephens, bombardier; Lt. Lucian N. Youngblood, copilot. On the deck of USS Hornet, April 18, 1942

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the 17th BG immediately began anti-submarine patrols off the coast of Oregon and Washington. According to the United States Department of War, Holstrom was credited in destroying the first Japanese submarine off the mouth of Columbia River on December 25, 1941.[5][3]

Holstrom volunteered for the first American aerial attack on Japan. The air raid, which came to be called the Doolittle Raid, after Lieutenant Colonel James "Jimmy" Doolittle, took place on April 18, 1942. Holstrom piloted one of the sixteen B-25B Mitchell medium bombers that took off from the USS Hornet to attack Tokyo. Shortly after takeoff, engineer-gunner of Holstrom's bomber Cpl. Bert M. Jordan advised that the turret gun would not function, leaving the bomber protected only by a single .30-caliber nose-gun. This became critical as the bomber approached land just south of Tokyo and was attacked by four Japanese fighter planes. As a result, Holstrom ordered his bombs jettisoned into the Tokyo Bay before continuing to fly on to China. Running low on fuel due to the early launch of the raid, the B-25s failed to reach any of the designated safety zones in China. Holstrom and his crew bailed out over the city of Shangrao in Jiangxi Province, China. After evading Japanese patrols from three days, they were escorted by Chinese guerillas to Chungking, where Holstrom and other bomber crews were decorated by Madame Chiang Kai-shek on April 30.[6][7][8]

After the raid, Holstrom was assigned in the China-Burma-India Theater, where he flew missions as a B-25 pilot with the 11th Bomb Squadron of the 341st Bomb Group in India from April 1942 to January 1943. He was assigned as commander of the 11th BS from January to May 1943, before returning to the United States in June 1943. He took part in the war bond sales across the United States. Until the end of World War II, he was assigned to variety of stateside assignments.[4][8]

Convair B-58 Hustler

Following World War II, Holstrom was assigned to Strategic Air Command Headquarters at Offut Air Force Base in Nebraska as an operations staff officer. From 1950 to 1953, he was a member of the 91st Bomb Wing as director of operations and also as deputy wing commander and moved with the wing from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to Lockbourne Air Force Base in Ohio. From 1953 to 1955, he was assigned to Second Air Force headquarters as director of operations. For the next two years, he commanded the 301st Bomb Wing at Barksdale and then returned to SAC headquarters from 1957 to 1959 as chief of the Operation Plans Division.[1]

On September 4, 1959, he assumed duties as commander of Second Air Force's 4130th Strategic Wing at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Texas. In June 1961, he assumed command of the 43d Bomb Wing, SAC's first supersonic bombardment wing, which was equipped with the Convair B-58 Hustler. He has flown all the multi-engine jet bombers in the SAC inventory including the North American B-45 Tornado, Boeing B-47 Stratojet and Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. Holstrom was promoted to brigadier general on March 1, 1964. After holding commands of the 816th and 12th Strategic Aerospace Divisions, his final assignment was with NATO at Mons, Belgium, where he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff of the United States for the secret planning group LIVE OAK. He retired from the Air Force on July 1, 1969.[4][1][8] He was one of five Doolittle Raiders who later became general officers;[9] the others are Jimmy Doolittle, John A. Hilger, David M. Jones, and Richard A. Knobloch.