Daniel “Chappie” James Jr. was an American fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force, who in 1975 became the first African American to reach the rank of four-star General in the armed forces.
Daniel James attended the famous Tuskegee Institute and instructed African American pilots during World War II. He flew combat missions during the Korean War and Vietnam War, and received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, two Legion of Merits, three Distinguished Flying Crosses, Meritorious Service Medal and fourteen Air Medals.
Daniel James Jr. was born Feb. 11, 1920, to Daniel and Lillie Anna James. Daniel James Sr. worked for the Pensacola city gas company, while his mother, Lillie Anna James, was a high school teacher who established a private school for her own and other black children in Pensacola, Fla.
His mother would continue to run the “Lillie A. James School” until her death at the age of 82.
James graduated from Tuskegee University in 1942, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education.
James continued civilian pilot training under the government-sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program. He then enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Forces on Jan. 18, 1943, receiving his commission as a second lieutenant, along with his pilot wings, at Tuskegee Army Airfield, Ala., on July 28, 1943. He remained at Tuskegee as a civilian instructor pilot in the Army Air Corps. Throughout the remainder of the war James trained pilots for the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron.