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Daniel (Chappie) James, Jr |
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Another of the great Tuskegee airmen was Daniel ("Chappie") James, Jr . Chappie won his wings and a commission in 1943 but did not see combat in World War II. After the war, James quickly earned a reputation as an outstanding fighter pilot. In Korea he flew 100 combat missions, and in Vietnam -by 1965 he was a full colonel-he flew over threescore more. Not only was that war unpopular, but racial unrest was exploding into violence all over the United States . James returned from Vietnam and was often called upon to defend not only America 's military policies, but also its racial policies. An articulate speaker who commanded great physical presence (he was six feet, four inches and weighed nearly 250 pounds), he was an especially effective spokesman for the Air Force. In 1967 he was named commander of Wheelus AFB in Libya just as Colonel Khadafy succeeded in his revolution there. Khadafy demanded that the air base-which he saw as a vestige of European colonialism-be closed and its facilities turned over to the Libyan people. This obviously was an extremely delicate position for James requiring restraint, tact, diplomacy, and grit. He displayed an abundance of all these qualities, and upon leaving Wheelus a year later, he received his first star. After four years in the Pentagon working in Public Affairs where he won two more stars, he was named vice commander of Military Airlift Command (MAC). After less than two years at MAC, he was given a fourth star-the first black in American history to attain that rank, and was named commander of the North American Air Defense (NORAD) Command. Surprisingly for a man of his size and appearance, James was in poor health. He suffered a heart attack in 1977 and soon after elected to retire. His health continued to decline and in February 1978, one month after retirement, he suffered another, fatal, heart attack.
General Daniel (Chappie) James Jr.
Memorial and Obituary
