Daniel James III (September 7, 1945 – August 1, 2017) was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

who served as the director of the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

from June 3, 2002, to May 20, 2006.

Biography

James was born in

Tuskegee, Alabama Tuskegee ( ) is a city in Macon County, Alabama, Macon County, Alabama, United States. General Thomas Simpson Woodward, a Creek War veteran under Andrew Jackson, laid out the city and founded it in 1833. It became the county seat in the same y ...

, in 1945., his father was Air Force General Daniel "Chappie" James Jr. He held a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, Tucson, and graduated from the

Air Command and Staff College The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Un ...

in 1981 and the National Security Management Course in 1992. James flew 500 combat hours in Southeast Asia and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses. He was the first African American to become the director of the Air National Guard. He retired from the United States Air Force in June 2006. He died on August 1, 2017, of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF typically pr ...

. He received both Baptist and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

funeral services and was interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Major awards and decorations

Other awards * Order of the Sword (United States) # 221 * Texas Military Hall of Honor

Assignments

* June 1968 – June 1969, student, undergraduate pilot training, Williams Air Force Base, Arizona * June 1969 – August 1970, forward air controller, Cam Ranh Bay Air Base,

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

* August 1970 – July 1972, squadron instructor pilot, Williams AFB, Arizona * July 1972 – February 1973, squadron flight training class commander, Williams AFB, Arizona * February 1973 – December 1973, air operations staff officer, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. * December 1973 – June 1974, U.S. Air Force conversion training course,

George AFB George Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base located within the city limits, 8 miles northwest, of central Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, California. Established by the United States Army Air Co ...

, California * June 1974 – May 1975, 421st TFS squadron instructor pilot and assistant flight commander, Udorn Royal Thai AFB,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

* May 1975 – August 1976, 64th FWS Aggressor instructor pilot,

Nellis AFB Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...

, Nevada * August 1976 – September 1978, 65th FWS Aggressor instructor pilot and squadron flight commander, Nellis AFB, Nevada * September 1978 – September 1979, weapons tactics officer, 149th Tactical Fighter Group,

Texas Air National Guard The Texas Air National Guard (TX ANG) is the aerial militia of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force and part of the Texas National Guard, alongside the Texas Army National Guard. No element of the Texas Air Nati ...

Kelly AFB Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. I ...

, Texas * September 1979 – March 1982, group pilot, later, unit pilot, 182nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas * March 1982 – December 1983, unit commander, 182nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas * December 1983 – October 1988, Commander, A flight, 182nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas * October 1988 – October 1989, pilot, C flight, 182nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, Kelly AFB, Texas * October 1989 – December 1992, command post assistant officer-in-charge, later, command post officer-in-charge, 149th Tactical Fighter Group, Kelly AFB, Texas * December 1992 – December 1994, Vice Commander, 149th Tactical Fighter Wing, Kelly AFB, Texas * December 1994 – November 1995, Commander, 149th Operations Group,

, Texas * November 1995 – June 2002, Adjutant General, Headquarters

Texas National Guard The Texas Military Forces (TXMF) are the principal instrument through which the Texas Military Department (TMD) executes security policy for Texas, which has the second-largest population and border in the United States. The Texas Military Forc ...

, Austin * June 2002 – 2006, Director,

, Arlington, Virginia

References

External links

Maj. Lt. Gen. Daniel James III United States Air Force Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Daniel 03 1945 births 2017 deaths United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Order of the Sword (United States) University of Arizona alumni African-American United States Air Force personnel Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 21st-century African-American military personnel African Americans in the Vietnam War African-American Catholics People from Tuskegee, Alabama

Biography

Major awards and decorations

Assignments

References

Further reading

External links