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World War II: Interview with Doolittle Raider James Macia
Major James H. Doolittle was already a legend before 1st Lt. James H. Macia was assigned to serve under him. "One thing was clear," Macia decided. "This mission was very important if he was involved in it."
Interview by Cindy Hayostek Aboard a North American B-25 droning in formation across southern Arizona during the last week of March 1942, the navigator asked the pilot, "Can you see that little spot of a town over there?" The navigator, 1st Lt. James H. Macia, explained, "That is where I was raised."
"What in the hell is the name of that place?" the pilot, Major John A. Hilger, wanted to know.
"Tombstone," Lieutenant Macia replied, and Hilger laughed.
It was gallows humor, because Macia, Hilger and the men in the other bombers knew they were preparing for a mission from which they were unlikely to return. The mission would make history as "Doolittle's Raid." Its target was the seemingly inaccessible Japanese capital of Tokyo.
"Chappie" Macia (pronounced MAY-cee) was born in Tombstone in 1916. His mother's family moved to the silver-mining camp in 1879--two years before the Earp brothers and Doc Holliday killed two McLaury brothers and Billy Clanton near the O.K. Corral.
Macia's father arrived in Tombstone 20 years after the famous gunfight and worked for the Tombstone Consolidated Mines Co. as a mining engineer. That was the course of study his son decided to pursue at the University of Arizona, following his graduation from Tombstone High School as class valedictorian. Cindy Hayostek asked him to trace his activities from there.
Military History: When did you begin college?
Macia: I started at the U of A in 1934. I was on a football scholarship and played on the varsity team my sophomore year but wasn't a star by any means. In the middle of my sophomore year, I decided to drop out of school and earn some money because things were pretty tight for my family. Always in the back of my mind was the opportunity to go and mine. My father was working a little mine at the time, and there was a place for me. I dropped out for a year and worked on that and got a few dollars ahead. I went back to the U of A in 1937. I actually ended up going a full four years. Each summer I would work in the mines.
MH: How, then, did you come to join the U.S. Army?
Macia: In the spring of 1939, Army recruiters visited the university, and many of my Kappa Sigma fraternity brothers became enthused about joining the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAC). As they headed for the dispensary to take the physical, I walked with them. Almost on a whim, I decided to take the physical, too--and, to my surprise, I passed. Slated to be called up in June 1939, I asked for a delay so I could work a mine I'd obtained a lease on. My family always felt that this mine was the one where our fortune would be found. It turned out that the mine, although we did make some money, didn't work out as we had all dreamed. One of the worst mistakes I ever made was destroying that dream, because once you find that it is not going to be, then that dream is gone.
MH: What was your flight training like?
Macia: In June, 1940, I became part of Class 41-A and went to San Diego for primary training at the Ryan School of Aeronautics. I soloed in about 11 hours, but then, the same as several others, had difficulty getting more time in because of poor weather. The word was, there hadn't been enough washouts, so there must be something wrong. The commander, Captain John Horton, said, "I'm going to see that everybody gets a ride within the next few days and determine what has to be done."
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