HEROES OF THE AIR; LANCASTER UNVEILS FIRST OF A SERIES OF MURALS.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer A 16-foot portrait of the late Air Force pilot and war hero Jimmy Doolittle now gazes down on Lancaster Boulevard shoppers and motorists, the first of what will be a series of murals honoring famous airmen. Retired test pilots, civic leaders and other dignitaries joined Doolittle's grandson, himself a decorated former Air Force pilot, and artist Val Benavidez were on hand Friday to unveil the mural covering an exterior wall of a dental office that adjoins Doolittle's Aerospace Walk of Honor The Aerospace Walk of Honor in Lancaster, California, USA, is a continually-growing venue for honoring test pilots who have significantly contributed to aviation and space research and development. monument. ``I had the pleasure of knowing him a little bit,'' said W.J. ``Pete'' Knight, a retired test pilot and now Antelope Valley's representative in the state Senate. ``I was well aware of his exploits, well aware of his contributions to aviation and his country.'' Sponsored by Lancaster Old Town Site, downtown's business association, the mural depicts the general in his tan World War II dress uniform, an American flag unfurling behind him. On the figure's left are two B-25 bombers in flight, similar to aircraft he led off the carrier Hornet hornet: see wasp. in the 1942 raid immortalized in a book, and later the movie, ``Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.'' ``The family certainly appreciates this great honor,'' said James H. Doolittle III, the general's grandson and a former vice commander of Edwards Air Force Base's Flight Test Center. ``It's an outstanding likeness of my grandfather and really well done.'' The second mural will represent Chuck Yeager  This page is currently protected from editing until disputes have been resolved. , who at Edwards in 1947 became the first pilot to fly faster than the speed of sound. Yeager's portrait will be painted on the side wall of CPK CPK creatine kinase. CPK creatine phosphokinase. Furniture on Lancaster Boulevard at Date Avenue. Though Doolittle is best known among the general public for that raid - America's first retaliation RETALIATION. The act by which a nation or individual treats another in the same manner that the latter has treated them. For example, if a nation should lay a very heavy tariff on American goods, the United States would be justified in return in laying heavy duties on the manufactures and against the Japanese mainland following the Pearl Harbor attack Pearl Harbor attack (Dec. 7, 1941) Surprise aerial attack by the Japanese on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu island, Hawaii, that precipitated U.S. entry into World War II. In the decade preceding the attack, U.S. - he was also a pioneer test pilot. ``The Tokyo raid was probably the single accomplishment that made the general a household name,'' said Col. Steve Cameron Steven Andre Cameron (Miami 1956) is an American and Danish singer He Came to Denmark in 1979 and studied at a private conservatory in Copenhagen the first 3 years. He has been a band leader in various groups and worked with different artists including his mother and sister , commander of the Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards. ``Probably the most significant act, and acts, were (during) his research flying.'' Besides setting cross-country and speed records in the 1920s and 1930s, Doolittle developed instrument flying, becoming the first pilot ever to take off, fly a set course and land ``blind'' - without ever seeing the ground. He also instructed the first course for test pilots and test engineers, instruction that eventually grew into the Test Pilot School. Doolittle, who died in 1993 at 96, was one of the first five test pilots honored at the Walk of Honor's inception in 1990. The five 1999 honorees will be recognized at a ceremony at noon today at Lancaster Boulevard and Fig Avenue. Doolittle's portrait was created over the past three weeks by longtime muralist and Vietnam veteran This article is about veterans of the Vietnam War. For the French psychedelic musical group, see Vietnam Veterans. Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War. Val Benavidez, with help from another veteran and painter, working weekends and evenings. Benavidez has been painting murals in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. for more than 10 years - the most recent a ``Jurassic Park'' mural beside the 101 Freeway for the Universal Studios theme park, where he is a scenic artist. Helping Benavidez, a former Marine, was Tim Byrnes, an Army veteran of Vietnam, who also works for Universal Studios. Benavidez did his work off a photographic portrait of Doolittle, plus photos of B-25 bombers. ``I kind of put it all in a composition together,'' Benavidez said. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--2-- Color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour AV only -- photo 2, left, ran in AV only) Above, artist Val Benavidez created Lancaster's new mural of Gen. James ``Jimmy'' Doolittle, based on a photograph. Left, Benavidez, in the sport shirt, smiles as James H. Doolittle III holds aloft an oil painting of his grandfather given him by the artist. Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News |
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