How Doolittle Hall Got its Name - Heritage Minute

Season 2 of Heritage Minute with Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steve Simon ’77 is under way! In this episode, a walk-through of the Association of Graduates and Air Force Academy Foundation headquarters named for Gen. James "Jimmy" Doolittle.----more----

Located on 24 acres of land on the Air Force Academy, just southeast of the Cadet Area, is Doolittle Hall, the Association of Graduates’ headquarters building.  The facility is named for General James “Jimmie” Doolittle, who led the April 1942 raid on Tokyo that gave a huge morale boost to the United States and its allies. 

Groundbreaking for the alumni house took place on May 28, 1991, with one of General Doolittle’s sons and a Doolittle Raider among those in attendance.  Just over a year later, on August 21, 1992, the 35,000-square-foot facility was dedicated.  The building houses many historical displays and plays host to a variety of cadet-, graduate-, and Academy-related events throughout the year.  Doolittle Hall also houses two other Academy-supporting foundations, the USAFA Endowment and the Falcon Foundation.  On June 30, 1995, the first phase of the Class of 1999’s inprocessing took place at Doolittle Hall.  Every inprocessing between then and 2017 started at Doolittle Hall, with the exception of 2012, when it was moved to the Field House due to the Waldo Canyon Fire.  Doolittle Hall continues to be a focal point on in-processing day, as the building and grounds play host to the incoming basic cadets’ family members.  Basic cadets visit the facility late in Basic Cadet Training, a day devoted to learning about the Academy’s rich heritage and accepting the challenge of taking the first steps toward joining the Long Blue Line of Academy graduates.

 

 

 

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Airforce Academy Association and Foundation