Daniel “Chappie” James graduated from Tuskegee University in 1942, and was commissioned in the Army Air Forces in 1943. Although he saw no combat service in World War II, he did train many of the pilots who became Tuskegee airman. After the war, he transferred to the U.S. Air Force when it became a separate branch of service in 1947, and flew combat missions as a fighter pilot in the Korean War and later commanded an air wing in the Vietnam War. In 1975 he became the first African-American to achieve four star rank, and retired in 1978 as a U.S. Air Force 4-Star General.