James Johnson Kelly
Major James Johnson Kelly | |
---|---|
Major James Kelly Tuskegee Airman | |
Born | (1928-03-29)March 29, 1928 High Point, North Carolina |
Died | December 29, 2018(2018-12-29) (aged 90) San Antonio, Texas[1] |
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | |
Years of service | 1946–1971 |
Rank | Major |
Unit | 332nd Fighter Group |
Commands | Squadron Commander |
Battles/wars | Battle of Chosin Reservoir |
Awards |
|
Spouse(s) | Sally |
James Johnson Kelly (March 29, 1928 – December 29, 2018) was a United States Army Air Force/United States Air Force officer who served with the 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group. He served in the Korean War at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, and he retired in 1971 as a Major in the Air Force and a Squadron Commander.[2][1]
Early life and education
Kelly was born in High Point, North Carolina and at an early age his family moved to Lynchburg, Virginia.[1][3]
Military service
In 1946 Kelly entered the Army Air Forces and he was assigned to the 99th Fighter Squadron and 332nd Fighter Group. Kelly started as a Technical Sergeant and eventually earned a commission at Lackland AFB in 1955, in San Antonio as a First Lieutenant. By the time he retired after 28 years in the Air Force Kelly was a Major. He qualified as an instructor for the AT-6 and T-33. He also became a Squadron Commander.[2]
In the Korean War, Kelly earned medals for evacuating wounded Marines at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.[2]
Later life
In 1959, he married a single mother (Sally) and became a stepfather for her daughter and later had a son, Thomas Edward Kelly.[3][1] He held many positions in his chosen hometown, San Antonio, Texas: VC San Antonio Planning Commission, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Community Workers Council of San Antonio, and he was a trustee on the Our Lady of the Lake University Trustee Board.[3]
He was buried with honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery January 10, 2019.[2]
Awards
See also
- Executive Order 9981
- Military history of African Americans
- Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group)
References
- ^ a b c d Clarke, Devin (December 31, 2018). "Family honors memory of WWII Tuskegee airman who made SA home". KSAT News. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g Christensen, Sig (January 10, 2019). "James Kelly, among San Antonio's last Tuskegee Airmen, saluted at Fort Sam burial". Hearst Communications, Inc. San Antonio Express News. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
- ^ a b c "James J. Kelly". lewisfuneralhome.com. Lewis Funeral Home. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
External links
- Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University
- Tuskegee Airmen Archives at the University of California, Riverside Libraries.
- Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.
- Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
- Tuskegee Airmen National Museum
- James Johnson Kelly at Find a Grave
- v
- t
- e
- 99th Fighter Squadron
- 100th Fighter Squadron
- 301st Fighter Squadron
- 302nd Fighter Squadron
- 332d Fighter Group
- 477th Bomber Group
and crew
- Paul Adams
- Rutherford H. Adkins
- Halbert Alexander
- William N. Alsbrooka
- William Armstrong
- Lee Archer
- Robert Ashby
- Willie Ashley
- Charles P. Bailey
- William Bartley
- Howard Baugh
- Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler
- George R. Bolling
- Herbert V. Clark
- Granville C. Coggs
- Woodrow Crockett
- Harold Brown
- George L. Brown
- Roscoe Brown
- William A. Campbell
- Herbert Carter
- Eugene Calvin Cheatham Jr.
- Milton Crenchaw
- Lemuel R. Custis
- Clarence Dart
- Alfonza W. Davis
- Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (C/O)
- Charles DeBow
- Robert W. Deiz
- Gene Derricotte
- Lawrence Dickson
- Elwood T. Driver
- Charles W. Dryden
- Wilson V. Eagleson
- John Ellis Edwards
- Joseph Elsberry
- Raymond Cassagnol
- James Clayton Flowers
- Julius Freeman
- Robert Friend
- Willie H. Fuller
- Edward C. Gleed
- Joseph Gomer
- Alfred Gorham
- Oliver Goodall
- Charles B. Hall
- Vernon V. Haywood
- George Hardy
- Raymond V. Haysbert
- Percy Heath
- Mitchell Higginbotham
- Daniel "Chappie" James Jr.
- Clarence C. Jamison
- Alexander Jefferson
- Carl C. Johnson
- James H. Harvey
- William Lee Hill
- Lincoln Hudson
- William H. Holloman
- George J. Iles
- James Johnson Kelly
- James B. Knighten
- George L. Knox II
- Herman A. Lawson
- Walter I. Lawson
- Clarence D. Lester
- Wilmore B. Leonard
- John Lyle
- Hiram Mann
- Walter Manning
- Robert Martin
- Armour G. McDaniel
- Charles McGee
- Walter L. McCreary
- John Mosley
- Fitzroy Newsum
- James O. Plinton Jr.
- Wendell O. Pruitt
- Louis R. Purnell Sr.
- Price D. Rice
- Lawrence E. Roberts
- George S. Roberts
- Curtis C. Robinson
- Isaiah Edward Robinson Jr.
- John W. Rogers Sr.
- Mac Ross
- Robert Searcy
- David Showell
- Wilmeth Sidat-Singh
- Graham Smith (pilot)
- Eugene Smith
- Calvin J. Spann
- Vernon Sport
- Lowell Steward
- Harry Stewart, Jr.
- Charles "Chuck" Stone Jr.
- Percy Sutton
- Alva Temple
- Roger Terry
- Lucius Theus
- Edward L. Toppins
- Robert B. Tresville
- Andrew D. Turner
- James A. Walker
- Spann Watson
- Luke J. Weathers
- Sherman W. White
- James T. Wiley
- Malvin "Mal" Whitfield
- Oscar Lawton Wilkerson
- Yancey Williams
- Romeo M. Williams
- Henry Wise Jr.
- Coleman Young
Fictional films |
|
---|---|
Documentaries |
|
Other |
|
- Leslie Edwards Jr.
- Wilfred DeFour
- Maycie Herrington
- Buford A. Johnson
- Thomas Ellis
- Theodore Johnson
- Noel F. Parrish
- Wallace P. Reed
- Willie Rogers
- Thomas Franklin Vaughns
- African American military history
- Buffalo Soldier
- Golden Thirteen
- 366th Infantry Regiment
- U.S. Army Black Panthers
- United States Colored Troops
- Category
- aviation portal