23/07/2026
Happy 103rd Birthday to retired Air Force Lt. Col. and original Tuskegee Airman James Harvey III of Lakewood, Colorado.
James Harvey III was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on July 13, 1923, and moved to Nuangola Station, Pennsylvania as a teen with his family. He was drafted into the Army in 1943 as an Army Air Corps engineer and was then admitted to the Tuskegee Flight School's Aviation Cadet Training Program. After attending Basic Training in Biloxi, Mississippi, Harvey was transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field to begin pilot training. On October 16, 1944, Harvey graduated from the Tuskegee Flight Program Army Air as a member of Class 44-4, receiving both his wings and a commission as Second Lieutenant Flying Officer. In April 1945, Harvey completed combat training at Walterboro Army Air Field in South Carolina, where over 500 Tuskegee Airmen trained as replacement pilots for the 332nd Fighter Group and the entire 447th Bombardment Group until the base closed in October 1945.
The United States Army Air Corps assigned Harvey to the 99th Fighter Squadron in Godman Field, Kentucky. The war ended before Harvey’s unit could deploy to Europe or fly support in Okinawa. Harvey's squadron disbanded after the U.S. military officially ended segregation in 1949. Harvey joined the 332nd Fighter Group and was one of three pilots in the first U.S. Air Force Weapons Meet at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. His unit placed first in the competition, and Harvey earned the nickname “Top Gun.” However, the Air Force did not recognize the victory until 1995.
Harvey went on to fight in the Korean War, becoming the first Black jet pilot in combat, flying 126 combat missions. He retired in 1965.