Daniel James, Jr.

Military career World War II James continued civilian pilot training under the government-sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program. He then enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the United States Army Air Forces on January 18, 1943, receiving his commission as a second lieutenant and pilot wings at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Alabama, on July 28, 1943. He remained at Tuskegee as a civilian instructor pilot in the Army Air Corps later that July. Throughout the remainder of the war, James trained pilots for the all-Black 99th Pursuit Squadron.

After completing P-40 Warhawk training and then B-25 Mitchell training, James served as a B-25 pilot with the 617th Bomb Squadron of the 477th Bomb Group at Godman Army Airfield and then at Lockbourne Army Airfield from January 1944 until the end of the war.

While arrested for participating in the Freeman Field mutiny, James smuggled out press releases written by Coleman Young. James did not see combat himself until the Korean War.

While serving in Lockbourne, James next served as a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot with the 301st Fighter Squadron from July 1947 to October 1948, and then served on the staff of the 332nd Air Base Group at Lockbourne from November 1948 to September 1949.

Korean War

In September 1949, James went to the Philippines as flight leader for the 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron, 18th Fighter Wing at Clark Field. In July 1950 he left for Korea, where he flew 101 combat missions in F-51 Mustang and F-80 Shooting Star aircraft. His combat missions were with the 67th Fighter Bomber Squadron, 12th Fighter Bomber Squadron, and 44th Fighter Bomber Squadron.

After Korea James returned to the United States, and in July 1951 went to Otis Air Force Base, Massachusetts, as an all-weather jet fighter pilot with the 58th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, later becoming operations officer. In April 1953, he became commander of the 437th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, and assumed command of the 60th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in August 1955. While stationed at Otis, he received the Massachusetts Junior Chamber of Commerce 1954 award of "Young Man of the Year" for his outstanding community relations efforts. On August 15, 1954, he appeared as a contestant on the game show What's My Line? He graduated from the Air Command and Staff College in June 1957.

James next was assigned to Headquarters U.S. Air Force as a staff officer in the Air Defense Division of the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations. In July 1960 he was transferred to RAF Bentwaters in England, where he served successively as assistant director of operations and then director of operations, 81st Tactical Fighter Wing; commander, 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron; and deputy commander for operations for the 81st Wing. In September 1964, James was transferred to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, where he was director of operations training and later deputy commander for operations for the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Wing.

Vietnam War Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. (standing) in August 1967, addressing a conference at Ubon Air Base, Thailand. Robin Olds is sitting to his right.

James went to Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, in December 1966, as deputy commander for operations, 8th TFW. In June 1967, under Colonel Robin Olds, he was named wing vice commander when Col. Vermont Garrison completed his tour. Both in their mid-40s, they formed a legendary team nicknamed "Blackman and Robin". James flew 78 combat missions into North Vietnam, many in the Hanoi/Haiphong area, and led a flight of F-4 Phantom II fighters in the "Operation Bolo" MiG sweep in which seven Communist MiG-21s were destroyed, the highest total kill of any mission during the Vietnam War.

Colonel (at the time) Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. in front of his McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom in Thailand during the Vietnam War

After Vietnam He was named vice commander of the 33rd TFW at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, in December 1967. While stationed at Eglin, the Florida State Jaycees named James as Florida's "Outstanding American of the Year" for 1969, and he received the Jaycee Distinguished Service Award. He was transferred to Wheelus Air Base in the Libyan Arab Republic in August 1969 as Commander of the 7272nd Fighter Training Wing.

Following the coup engineered by radical Libyan officers, including Mohammar Qaddafi, James had a tense standoff with the militants in the late stages of turning Wheelus over to the Libyans. James was determined not to be pushed off the base early, but Qaddafi and his followers began pushing the Americans to see how far they could go and at one point "ran a column of half-tracks through the base housing area at full speed". Following this escalation, James closed the gates of the base. Qaddafi arrived at the gate and while talking to James, moved his hand over to his pistol holster to which James replied: "I told him to move his hand away. If he had pulled that gun, his hand would have never cleared the holster."

In March 1970 James was promoted to brigadier general and became Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs).

He was designated principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) in April 1973. On September 1, 1974, he assumed duty as vice commander of the Military Airlift Command (MAC), headquartered at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, as a Lieutenant General.

James retired from the Air Force on February 1, 1978.

Death

James died of a heart attack on February 25, 1978, just two weeks after his 58th birthday and three weeks following his retirement from the Air Force. An earlier heart attack had forced his retirement.

He was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery, following a Funeral Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC.

He was survived by his wife, Dorothy Watkins James, their daughter, Danice Berry, and two sons, Daniel James III and Claude James. They had two sons and one daughter. General James's son, Lieutenant General Daniel James III, also served in the United States Air Force as a fighter pilot and in the Texas Air National Guard. He served from 1995 to 2002 as the Adjutant General of the Texas National Guard (the first Black general to hold the post), and as Director of the Air National Guard from 2002 to 2006. In the summer of 2006, he retired from the Air Force at the rank of Lieutenant General after 38 years of total commissioned service, on active duty and as an Air Guardsman.

James appeared as a guest on the August 15, 1954 episode of the panel game show What's My Line?.

Political positions James was widely known for his speeches on Americanism and patriotism, for which he was editorialized in numerous national and international publications.

Excerpts critical of the growing civil rights movement were read into the Congressional Record. United Negro College Fund's Distinguished Service Award, Horatio Alger Award, VFW Americanism Medal, Bishop Wright Air Industry Award, and the Kitty Hawk Award (Military).

He was awarded honorary doctor of laws degrees from the University of West Florida in 1971; the University of Akron in 1973; Virginia State College in 1974; Delaware State College in 1975; and St. Louis University in 1976. He was named honorary national commander of the Arnold Air Society in 1971.

In 1993, James Jr. was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio.

In 2019, he was chosen as the Class Exemplar for the U.S. Air Force Academy Class of 2022.

In 2020, the Pensacola Bay Bridge was renamed the General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. Bridge, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signing the bill designating the bridge's name on June 2, 2020. Representative Alex Andrade and Senator Doug Broxson sponsored the successful initiatives in the Florida Legislature. The bridge connects larger Pensacola with Gulf Breeze and the beachfront community of Pensacola Beach.

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