Harvey is best known as the first African American USAF jet fighter pilot to fly combat operations in the Korean War.[1] Harvey and his 332nd Fighter Group Weapons pilot team won the USAF's inaugural "Top Gun" team competition in 1949.[3][4][5][6][7] Along with every member of the Tuskegee Airmen, he received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2006.[8] Harvey, along with George Hardy and fellow 1949 Top Gun winner Harry Stewart Jr., is among the last surviving members of the Tuskegee Airmen.[9]
Early life and education
James Henry Harvey III was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on July 13, 1923.[10] He was the son of James Harvey and Cornelia Harvey. Harvey had three younger siblings: brother Charles and sisters Dorothy and Cornelia.[5]
Harvey attempted to enlist with the United States Army Air Corps in January 1943; however, he was turned down because of his race.[3] He was instead drafted into the United States Army in April 1943, and 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, he was transferred to Tuskegee Army Air Field to begin pilot training.[7] 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, he completed combat training in Walterboro, South Carolina, at Walterboro Army Air Field, 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.[1][13]
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 United States 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).[3][4][5][6][7] 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.[3][4] His team led from start to finish.[3][14]
Harvey's 332nd Fighter Group team included the 100th Squadron's First Lieutenant Harry Stewart Jr., the 300th Squadron's Captain Alva Temple, 99th Squadron's First Lieutenant Halbert Alexander (who served as an alternate pilot), and Staff Sergeant Buford A. Johnson as aircraft crew chief.[7][15] Harvey and his team competed in P-47N Thunderbolts.[7][14]
The results and the three-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.[1][3] Flying F-47Ns, a variant of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Harvey and his team won against U.S. Air Force fighter group teams in far more advanced aircraft.[1] Harvey remarked: "They knew who won, but did not want to recognize us."[4]
Later career and retirement
In 1949, Harvey and fellow Tuskegee Airman Edward P. Drummond Jr. were transferred from Lockbourne AFB, Ohio to an F-80 squadron at the Misawa Air Base in 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 for leading four F-80s amidst bad weather conditions during a bomber support mission on October 16, 1950, near Yongsan, Korea (now the Yongsan District in Seoul, South Korea), inflicting heavy damage on an enemy encampment.[1] Harvey flew 140 missions in Korea, and was awarded several Air Medals.[4]
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 in Newfoundland. 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 Region, Truax Field, Wisconsin as a Weapons Director Staff Officer and later as Battle Staff Training Officer for the Commanding General and his staff.[1] Harvey retired as a lieutenant colonel on March 31, 1965. 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.[1] He retired from Oscar Mayer in 1980.[1] Harvey turned 100 on July 13, 2023.[16]
Military awards
Harvey earned the following awards during his 22-year career in the United States Army Air Corps/U.S. Air Force:[4]
^The Tuskegee Airmen became known for flying P-51 aircraft with red markings. These included red bands on the noses and red rudders; their P-51B and D Mustangs flew with similar color schemes, with red propeller spinners, yellow wing bands, and all-red tail surfaces.[12]
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