The Wings of Eagles

The Wings of Eagles is a 1957 American Metrocolor film starring John Wayne, Dan Dailey and Maureen OHara, based on the life of Frank Spig Wead and the history of U.S. Naval aviation from its inception through World War II. The film is a tribute to Wead who died ten years earlier, in 1947, at the age of 52 from his friend, director John Ford, and was based on Weads We Plaster the Japs, published in a 1944 issue of American Magazine.

Soon after World War I is over, Spig Wead John Wayne, along with John Dale Price Ken Curtis, tries to prove to the Navy the value of aviation in combat. To do this, Wead pushes the Navy to compete in racing and endurance competitions. Several races are against the US Army aviation team led by Captain Herbert Allen Hazard based on Jimmy Doolittle played by Kenneth Tobey.Wead spends most of his time either flying or horsing around with his teammates, meaning that his wife Minnie, or Min Maureen OHara, and children are ignored. ........

Source: Wikipedia