James H. Harvey III (born July 13, 1923) is a retired United States Army Air Corps/ U.S. Air Force (USAF) officer and former African-American fighter pilot with the

332nd Fighter Group The 332d Expeditionary Operations Group is a provisional air expeditionary group of the United States Air Force's Air Combat Command, currently active. It was inactivated on 8 May 2012 and reactivated 16 November 2014. The group forms part of ...

's 99th Fighter Squadron, best known as the Tuskegee Airmen, "Red Tails," or among enemy German pilots, ("Black birdmen"). He is one of the 1007 documented Tuskegee Airmen Pilots. Harvey is best known as the first African American USAF jet fighter combat pilot to fight in the Korean War. Harvey and his 332nd Fighter Group Weapons pilot team won the USAF's inaugural "Top Gun" team competition in 1949. Harvey — along with every member of the Tuskegee Airmen — received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006. Harvey, along with Dr. Harold Brown,

George Hardy George Hardy may refer to: * George Hardy (actor) (born 1954), American dentist and star of cult film ''Troll 2'' * George Hardy (labor leader) (1911–1990), Canadian-American labor leader * George Hardy (artist) (1822–1909), British genre pain ...

, and fellow 1949 Top Gun winner

Harry Stewart, Jr. Harry Thaddeus Stewart Jr. (born July 4, 1924) is a retired United States Army Air Forces officer, a Distinguished Flying Cross recipient, and a fighter pilot who served in the 332nd Fighter Group, best known as the all-African American Tuskegee ...

, are among the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Early life and education

Harvey was born in Montclair, New Jersey on July 13, 1923. He was the son of James Harvey and Cornelia Harvey. The oldest of four children, Harvey had 3 siblings: brother Charles and sisters Dorothy and Cornelia. Harvey attended primary school in

Silver Lake, Essex County, New Jersey Silver Lake is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that is split between Belleville (with 3,769 of the CDP's residents) and Bloomfield (474 of the total).

and Montclair, New Jersey. In 1930, his family moved from Montclair to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. In 1936, the Harveys moved to Nuangola Station in Northeastern Pennsylvania where they were the sole African-American family in the area. Harvey attended high school in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, An excellent student, Harvey served as President of his senior class, anchor man on the tumbling team, captain of the basketball team, and class valedictorian.

World War II military career

Harvey attempted to enlist with the United States Army Air Corps in January 1943; however, he was turned down because of his race. Drafted into the U.S. Army in April 1943, Harvey was initially assigned to the United States Army Air Corps as an engineer. After applying for the Aviation Cadet Training Program, Harvey took the Cadet Training Exam at Bolling Field, and was admitted to the Tuskegee Flight School's Aviation Cadet Training Program. After attending Basic Training in Biloxi, Mississippi for thirty days, 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 in Walterboro, South Carolina at Walterboro Army Air Field where over 500 Tuskegee Airmen trained as replacement pilots for the

and the entire 447th Bombardment Group until the base closed in October 1945. The United States Army Air Corps assigned Harvey to 99th Fighter Squadron in Godman Field, Kentucky. However, Harvey and his squadron did not engage in combat during World War II.

Winner of the 1949 "Top Gun Competition"

In January 1949, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force sent out a directive to each Air Force group requesting their participation in an aerial weapons competition. Four months later in May 1949, Harvey joined the 332nd Fighter Group Weapons three-member pilot team to compete at the U.S. Air Force's inaugural "Top Gun" team competition held at the Las Vegas Air Force Base (now Nellis Air Force Base). A grueling 10-day event, the competition comprised six events: aerial gunnery at 20,000 feet, aerial gunnery at 12,000 feet, dive bombing, skip bombing, rocketing firing, and panel strafing. His team lead from start to finish. Harvey's 332nd Fighter Group team included the 100th Squadron's First Lieutenant

, the 300th Squadron's Captain

Alva Temple LTC Alva Newte Temple (September 5, 1917 – August 28, 2004) was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces and combat fighter pilot with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron and 300th Squadron, best known as the all-African American Tusk ...

, 99th Squadron's First Lieutenant

Halbert Alexander Halbert Leo Alexander (June 12, 1922 – March 25, 1953) was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Forces and U.S. Air Force and a fighter pilot with the all-African American 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron and 300st Fighter Squadron, colloq ...

(who served as an alternate pilot), and Staff Sergeant

Buford A. Johnson Master Sergeant Buford A. Johnson (August 30, 1927 – April 15, 2017) was a member of the famed group of African-American World War II pilots and support personnel known as the Tuskegee Airmen. During World War II, he served as the chief mechan ...

(August 30, 1927 – April 15, 2017) as aircraft crew chief. Harvey and his team competed in P-47N Thunderbolts. The results and the 3-foot high silver winning trophy (stashed in a Wright Patterson Air Force Base Museum storage area for 55 years) were absent from the Air Force archives until 1995. Flying F-47Ns, a variant of the

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

, Harvey and his team won against U.S. Air Force fighter group teams in far more advanced aircraft. Harvey remarked: "They knew who won, but did not want to recognize us."

Later career and retirement

In 1949, Harvey and fellow Tuskegee Airman Edward P. Drummond, Jr. (1926-2014) were transferred from Lockbourne AFB, Ohio to an F-80 squadron at the Misawa Air Base, Japan as a Fighter Pilot and Flight Commander. Harvey became the first African American jet fighter pilot to engage in combat during the Korean War. Harvey was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and several other Air Medals leading four F-80s amidst bad weather conditions during a bomber support mission October 16, 1950 near Yongsan, Korea (now the Yongsan District in Seoul, South Korea, inflicting heavy damage on an enemy encampment. Harvey flew 140 missions in Korea. After the Korean War, Harvey served in multiple roles. In 1951, Harvey served as the Assistant Operations Officer, Instrument Instructor Pilot and Aircraft Test Pilot in the 94th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at George Air Force Base in California. In 1955, Harvey served as the Flying Safety Officer of the 27th NORAD Region, Norton AFB in California, receiving the Flight Rating of "Command Pilot". In 1956, Harvey became the Fighter Training Officer of North Eastern Air Command Headquarters at

Pepperrell AFB Pepperrell Air Force Base, previously known as Fort Pepperrell, is a decommissioned United States military base located in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada which operated from 1941 to 1961. The base was named in honour of Sir William Pepperre ...

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. In 1959, Harvey served as the Assistant Group Operations Officer of the 1st Fighter Group and the Operations Officer of the 71st Fighter Interceptor Squadron flying F-102 aircraft at Selfridge AFB in Michigan. In 1961, Harvey was assigned to Headquarters 30th

NORAD North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

Region, Truax Field, Wisconsin as a Weapons Director Staff Officer and later as Battle Staff Training Officer for the Commanding General and his staff. On March 31, 1965, Harvey retired as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. He served a combined 22 years in the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Air Force. On June 7, 1965, American meat and cold cut production company Oscar Mayer hired Harvey as a corporate Salesman, relocating his family of four girls across the U.S. In April 1972, Oscar Mayer transferred Harvey to Denver, Colorado where he lives today. He retired from Oscar Mayer in 1980.

Military awards

Harvey earned the following awards during his 22 year career in the United States Army Air Corps/U.S. Air Force: * Distinguished Flying Cross * Air Medal with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters * * Congressional Gold Medal Awarded to Tuskegee Airmen in 2006. *

Distinguished Unit Citation The Presidential Unit Citation (PUC), originally called the Distinguished Unit Citation, is awarded to units of the uniformed services of the United States, and those of allied countries, for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enem ...

with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters * Good Conduct Medal * American Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal * Army of Occupation Medal * National Defense Service Medal * Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Stars *

Air Force Longevity Service Award The Air and Space Longevity Service Award (ASLSA) is a military award of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force established as the Air Force Longevity Service Award by Air Force General Order 60, on 25 November 1957 by General ...

ribbon with 4 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters * Air Force Reserve Medal * Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation *

United Nations Service Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by t ...

Honors

On March 29, 2007, Harvey — along with every member of the Tuskegee Airmen — was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Aircraft flown

During his 22 year career, Harvey flew the following aircraft: * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk *

* North American P-51 Mustang * Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star * North American F-86 Sabre *

North American F-86D Sabre The North American F-86D/K/L Sabre (initially known as the YF-95 and widely known informally as the "Sabre Dog",) was an American transonic jet fighter aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force in the late 1940s, it was an interceptor ...

* Northrop F-89 Scorpion * Lockheed F-94 Starfire * Lockheed T-33 *

Convair F-102 Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpos ...

References

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harvey III, James H. 1923 births Living people Tuskegee Airmen United States Army Air Forces officers Military personnel from Tuskegee, Alabama African-American aviators Military personnel from New Jersey People from Montclair, New Jersey People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Langston University alumni 21st-century African-American people Military personnel from Pennsylvania