Early life and education Daniel James Jr. was born on February 11, 1920, to Daniel and Lillie Anna (Brown) 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, Florida. His mother would continue to run the "Lillie A James School" until her death at the age of 82. James graduated from the Tuskegee Institute, a precursor to
Tuskegee University, in 1942, receiving a
Bachelor of Science degree in
physical education.
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 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.
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. His wife Dorothy died in 2000 and is buried with him in Arlington. ==Personal life==