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James Macia was one of the 80 airmen who, under the leadership of Jimmy Doolittle, disembarked from the U.S.S. Hornet in the first bombing raid over Tokyo in World War II. Following that raid, he served two combat tours flying 80 missions in B-26 aircraft with the 320th Bombardment Group in the European Theater of Operations.
Pilot
Maj.
John A. Jack Hilger
Sherman, TX
Feb 03, 1982
Co-Pilot
Lt.
Jack A. Sims
Kalamazoo, MI
June 9, 2007
Nav/Bomb.
Lt.
James Herbert Herb Macia, Jr.
Tombstone, AZ
Dec 20, 2009
Engineer
Sgt
Jacob Eirman
Baltimore, MD
Jan 16, 1994
Gunner
Sgt
Edwin V. Bain
Greensboro, NC
KIA*
Jul 19, 1943
Other Comments:
Silver Star
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: First Lieutenant (Air Corps) James Herbert Macia, Jr. (ASN: 0-419330), United States Army Air Forces, was awarded the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy during World War II.
General Orders: Headquarters, 1st Air Force, General Orders No. 54 (1945)
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Flying Cross to First Lieutenant (Air Corps) James Herbert Macia, Jr. (ASN: 0-419330), United States Army Air Forces, for extraordinary achievement as Navigator of a B-25 Bomber of the 1st Special Aviation Project (Doolittle Raider Force), while participating in a highly destructive raid on the Japanese mainland on 18 April 1942. Lieutenant Macia with 79 other officers and enlisted men volunteered for this mission knowing full well that the chances of survival were extremely remote, and executed his part in it with great skill and daring. This achievement reflects high credit on himself and the military service.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Sicily Campaign (1943)
From Month/Year
July / 1943
To Month/Year
August / 1943
Description (Sicily Campaign 9 July to 17 August 1943) In preparation for the invasion of Sicily the Allies captured the islands in the Sicilian strait, with aerial bombardment forcing the capitulation of Pantelleria on 11 June 1943. By that time Allied air power had begun the attack on Sicily by bombing defenses and airfields. The invasion itself got under way on the night of 9/10 July with airborne landings that were followed the next day by an amphibious assault. The enemy offered strong resistance, but the Allies had superiority in the air and soon had planes operating from Sicilian bases to support Montgomery’s Eighth Army and Patton’s Seventh.
Interdictory operations against communications in Italy and between Italy and Sicily convinced the enemy that it would be impossible to move strong reinforcements. By 17 August 1943 the Allies were in possession of the island, but they had not been able to prevent a German evacuation across the Strait of Messina.
