Daniel James, Jr.*

Born in 1920 in Pensacola, Florida, Daniel James Jr. was the youngest of 17 children, 10 of whom had died by the time he was born. His father was a lamplighter and a gas plant worker. Dissatisfied with segregated school education, James' mother started her own school and enrolled about 70 neighborhood children.

James' interest in aviation stemmed from watching flights overhead from the nearby U.S. Naval Air Station. At age 12, he took odd jobs at an airport in exchange for plane rides and flying lessons. He graduated from Tuskegee University in 1942, earning a bachelor of science in physical education. He remained at Tuskegee as a civilian instructor pilot in the U.S. Army Air Corps and then became a second lieutenant.

He was involved in protests to provide equality for blacks within the armed services. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman ordered the integration of the armed forces, and in 1950 and 1951, James flew more than 101 combat missions over Korea. He also served during the Vietnam War and continued to move steadily up the ranks.

In 1975, James became the nation's first black four-star general. He was eventually named commander-in-chief of the North American Air Defense Command and the U.S. Air Force Aerospace Defense Command.