Daniel “Chappie†James, Jr. was a fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He was the first African American to reach the rank of four-star general. James graduated from the Tuskegee Institute and trained soliders during World War II. He served during both the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Read more about Daniel James, Jr below.
James graduated from the Tuskegee Institute in 1942 where he received a bachelor of science degree in physical education. He continued civilian pilot training under the government-sponsored Civilian Pilot Training Program. He remained at Tuskegee as a civilian instructor pilot in the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program until January 1943, when he entered the program as a cadet and received his commission as a second lieutenant later that July. Throughout the remainder of the war James trained pilots for the all-black 99th Pursuit Squadron. He did not see combat until the Korean War
