Emmett O ' Donnell , Jr . General Emmett E . " Rosie " O ' Donnell , Jr . ( September 15 , 1906 – December 26 , 1971 ) was a United States Air Force four - star general who served as Commander in Chief , Pacific Air Forces ( CINCPACAF ) from 1959 to 1963 . He also led the first B - 29 Superfortress attack against Tokyo during World War II . Biography . Early career . O ' Donnell was born in Brooklyn , New York , in 1906 . He graduated from Manual Training High School in 1924 where he was a member of Omega Gamma Delta fraternity and from the United States Military Academy four years later . Excelling in football , he played substitute halfback for All - Americans Harry Wilson and Chris " Red " Cagle at West Point . Appointed a second lieutenant of Infantry , he received flying training at Brooks Field and Kelly Field , Texas , earning his wings by March 1930 . His initial flying assignment in the Air Corps was a six and one half year tour with the 1st Pursuit Group at Selfridge Field , Michigan . During this time O ' Donnell also served as an airmail pilot with the Army Air Corps mail operations at Cleveland , Ohio , in the spring of 1934 . O ' Donnell became a captain April 20 , 1935 . In December 1936 Captain O ' Donnell was assigned to the 18th Reconnaissance Group at Mitchel Field , New York , until 1940 . While with this organization , he attended the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field , Alabama , graduating in August 1939 . He was also assistant football coach at West Point from 1934 to 1938 . Transferred to Hawaii in February 1940 , he was assigned as a squadron commander of the 11th Bombardment Group . O ' Donnell became a major in January 1941 . As Japanese designs in Southeast Asia became apparent in the fall of 1941 , the Army Air Force sent air reinforcements to General Douglas MacArthur . Major O ' Donnell and his 14th Bombardment Squadron set out from Hickam Field to the Philippines via Midway , Wake , New Guinea and Australia September 5 . A week later all nine of the B - 17s landed at Clark Field , Manila . This was the first mass flight of land planes to cross the western Pacific from Hawaii to the Philippines . World War II . After Pearl Harbor , O ' Donnell ' s group fought in the air and later with the Infantry until they were forced to withdraw to Bataan and then to Mindanao . Major O ' Donnell and some of his group later moved to Java . Before the war in the Pacific was two days old , O ' Donnell had earned the Distinguished Flying Cross . He left Clark Field during an enemy attack and flew to Vigan where he attacked a heavy cruiser and its destroyer escort . Due to faulty bomb releases he made five runs over the target , evading anti - aircraft fire and enemy fighters . From January 1942 when he arrived in Java until the beginning of March , when the Japanese conquered the island , he served as operations officer of the Far East Air Force . He then evacuated to India , where he became assistant chief of staff for operations of the newly organized Tenth Air Force . O ' Donnell became a lieutenant colonel in January 1942 and a colonel the following March . He returned home in 1943 as chief of General Arnold ' s Advisory Council , a post he retained until he was appointed commanding general of the 73d Bomb Wing at Smoky Hill Army Airfield in Salina , Kansas a year later . O ' Donnell became a brigadier general in February 1944 . He trained the B - 29 Superfortress Wing for six months at Smoky Hill and then led it to Saipan . The B - 29s began the campaign against the Japanese homeland on November 24 , 1944 when O ' Donnell led 111 B - 29s against industrial targets in Tokyo . Only 88 of the planes were able to bomb , and results were poor , partly because of bad weather . This was the first attack on Tokyo since the Doolittle Raid in April 1942 . Post - war . O ' Donnell piloted one of three specially modified B - 29s flying from Japan to the U . S . in September 1945 , in the process breaking several aviation records at that date , including the greatest USAAF takeoff weight , the longest USAAF nonstop flight , and the first ever nonstop Japan – U . S . flight . The aircraft , all piloted by generals , used up too much fuel fighting unexpected headwinds , and they could not fly to Washington , D . C . , the original goal . They decided to land at Chicago and refuel , then continue to Washington , where they all received Distinguished Flying Crosses . After the war O ' Donnell was assigned to the Air Technical Service Command ( later Air Materiel Command ) Headquarters at Wright Field where he served as deputy chief of the Engineering Division . He remained there until August 1946 when he was made director of information of the Army Air Force . O ' Donnell was promoted to major general in February 1947 . In September 1947 , after the U . S . Air Force headquarters was established , he was designated deputy director of public relations . In January 1948 he was appointed steering and coordinating member of the military representation on the Permanent Joint Board on Defense , Canada - United States ; the Canada - United States Military Cooperation Committee ; the Joint Mexico - United States Defense Commission ; and the Joint Brazil - United States Defense Commission . Korean War . O ' Donnell became commanding general of the 15th Air Force at Colorado Springs , Colorado , in October 1948 , and in November 1949 moved with that headquarters to March Air Force Base , California . Early in 1950 , as a result of United Nations action against communist forces in Korea , General O ' Donnell took a nucleus of his 15th Air Force staff for the Far East to Japan . Here he would organize and command the Far East Bomber Command with headquarters in Japan . His first B - 29 units to arrive in Japan carried out a maximum bombing effort in Korea 36 hours after the first B - 29 had arrived in Japan . As North Korean troops moved steadily down Korea , outnumbered American troops retreated south . General Walton Walker decided to build a perimeter defense to shelter Pusan , the key port . As the Eighth United States Army built up its defenses , Communist troops massed across the Naktong River for a thrust at Taegu , less than 100 miles north of Pusan . To lessen this threat , O ' Donnell led 98 B - 29s on a bombing mission near Waegwan . During this period of temporary duty he retained command of the 15th Air Force with its headquarters at March Air Force Base . Retirement and death . O ' Donnell returned to the United States in January 1951 . Two years later he was appointed deputy chief of personnel at Air Force headquarters in Washington and promoted to lieutenant general , remaining in this position until August 1959 . That month he was appointed commander in chief , Pacific Air Forces , Hickam Air Force Base , Hawaii and promoted to full general . He retired from the Air Force on July 31 , 1963 . Two months later , President Kennedy awarded O ' Donnell the Distinguished Service Cross for long and distinguished service to his country . O ' Donnell died on December 26 , 1971 and was buried in the United States Air Force Academy Cemetery . Awards . His other awards include the Distinguished Service Cross , Silver Star , Legion of Merit , Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters , Air Medal with oak leaf cluster , Presidential Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster , Korean Presidential Unit Citation , National Defense Service Medal , World War II Victory Medal , American Defense Ribbon with bronze star , Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Ribbon with six stars , American Campaign Medal , Philippine Defense Ribbon with star , Philippine Independence Ribbon , Korean Military Service Medal with silver star ( Taeguk ) , Inter - American Defense Board Medal , United Nations Service Medal , Honorary Companion of the Military Division of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath .