Honored 2012
James Harvey was born in Montclair, New Jersey on July 13, 1923.
He attended high school in Mountain Top, Pennsylvania, where he was President of his senior class and valedictorian.
Harvey was drafted into the Army in 1943 and applied for the Aviation Cadet Training Program. He graduated from Cadet Flight Training at Tuskegee, Alabama in October, 1944 and was assigned to the 99th Pursuit Squadron of the 332nd “Red Tails” Fighter Group.
In 1949, Harvey was one of four pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group team to win the first U.S. Air Force “Top Gun” Fighter Weapons competition flying the P-47N aircraft.
In 1950, Harvey became the first African American jet fighter pilot to engage in combat during the Korean War. He flew 126 combat missions with the 49th Fighter/Bomber Group flying the F-80 aircraft and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Harvey later had assignments with fighter units in Japan, California, and Newfoundland. He became the Operations Officer for the 71st Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Selfridge Michigan. Lt Col. Harvey retired from the Air Force in 1965. He later became a prominent motivational speaker for schools and organizations throughout Colorado and the Rocky Mountain states.
In 2007 Lt Col. James Harvey was presented with the Congressional Gold Medal for his service with the Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group.
James Harvey III was inducted into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame in October 2012.
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