Doolittle Day 2027

Doolittle Day is a fly-in, and it is also a heritage project. We are collecting the news clippings, interviews, movies, stories, and pictures that make our airport special, and bringing them together in one place for future generations.

A small town airport in the Sacramento Valley turns out to hold a remarkable amount of aviation history. In 1920 Korean student pilots trained here. In March 1942 Doolittle’s Raiders practiced short takeoffs here before their raid on Japan. The Nolta family took to the air to seed rice and dust crops, and in 1955 a Stearman biplane flown from Willows made the first free-fall drop on a wildfire, the beginning of the air tanker program. Much of that story has never been brought together, and much of it lives only in the memories of the people and families who were here.

So we are gathering it while we still can: newspaper clippings, photographs, official records, and the recollections of pilots, farmers, firefighters, and their children and grandchildren. Everything is credited to its source, and we add to it as new material comes in. The Doolittle Day 2027 fly-in will be the celebration of our year-long work to bring the community together at the airport to see the airplanes, hear the stories, and pass them on.

This site is just getting started. Chapters will open as we collect, so check back soon.

Have something to add? Email AHSWillows@gmail.com.