Carroll C.V. Glines with General Jimmy H. Doolittle

C.V. Glines (left) worked with retired Gen. Jimmy Doolittle (right) on three books, including Doolittle's autobiography.

Carroll V. “C.V.” Glines — author, retired Air Force colonel and curator for the General James “Jimmy” H. Doolittle Archives at the Eugene McDermott Library at UT Dallas — has died. He was 95.

Glines also served as Doolittle’s biographer and the official historian of the Doolittle Raiders. Doolittle led the group of volunteer airmen during a daring World War II bombing mission over Japan just months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

After meeting one of the Raiders, Glines decided to tell their story. He worked with Doolittle on two books, “Four Came Home” and “The Doolittle Raid,” as well as co-authored Doolittle’s official autobiography, “I Could Never Be So Lucky Again.” In total, Glines wrote more than 35 books and 800 magazine articles on aviation and military subjects. He was long considered an honorary Raider for his work with the airmen and one of the nation’s leading aviation authorities.

“When I first came to the History of Aviation Collection in 2002, C.V. was one of the first volunteers I met. Over the years, as I got to know him, I realized what a wonderful person he was. He had great stories to share with us,” said Paul Oelkrug, coordinator of the Special Collections Department at UT Dallas.”

Aviation journalist and magazine publisher George Haddaway was responsible for bringing Glines to UT Dallas. Haddaway established the History of Aviation Collection (HAC) at UT Austin in 1963. The HAC outgrew the space in Austin and moved into the newly constructed McDermott Library at UT Dallas in 1978. After Doolittle’s death in 1993, his personal library, correspondence files, awards, plaques and medals were donated to UT Dallas. Haddaway tapped Glines to be the collection’s curator. Glines worked at the library for 22 years, coming in every week to curate the collection.

Services for C.V. Glines

Visitation will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Sparkman-Crane Funeral Home, 10501 Garland Road in Dallas, followed by a funeral service at 11:30 a.m.

Burial will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway in Dallas.

Born Dec. 2, 1920, in Baltimore, Glines was a former military pilot who participated in many historic flights, including an around-the-world trip by Pan American Clipper Liberty Bell as part of its introduction to the Pan American Airways fleet in May 1976. Glines also served as an Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and Air University instructor. While in military service, he earned a bachelor’s degree and MBA at the University of Oklahoma in 1952, and a master’s in journalism at American University in Washington, D.C., in 1969. He also taught journalism classes part time while stationed in areas near the University of Dayton, University of Alaska and American University.

Glines served as a flight instructor for foreign students during World War II and also spent more than six years working in the Pentagon. While there, his final assignment was chief of public affairs for the Alaskan Command. He retired with the rank of colonel in 1968 and served as editor of several military publications.

“C.V. was a very accomplished author and aviator. I am blessed and privileged to have had the chance to know him and work with him. He will be missed,” Oelkrug said.

Glines and his wife, Mary Ellen, were married 72 years before she preceded him in death in November 2015. The biographer died at C.C. Young Retirement Community in Dallas, where he lived. He is survived by a son, two daughters, five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.