78-05-B7

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General James

Transcript Several weeks ago the salutes were fired, the bugles sounded taps and a four star General of the United States Air Force was laid to rest in Arlington cemetary. He lies in that place we've set aside for heros and it is fitting that he should be there for none has deserved it more. General Daniel "Chappie" James, Jr. is younger than many of his rank who rest in those Virginia hills; 58 years old when his heart gave out. Columnist Pat Buchanan wrote in a tribute to General James;--QUOTE--"There is the bravery of the soldier in battle, and the man against the mob. There is the moral courage of the individual swimming against the tide of contemporary dogma."--UNQUOTE-- I'm sorry to say I never had an opportunity to meet the General face to face, though we talked on the phone several times. He was in charge of the homecoming arrangements five years ago for those other heros--our returning P.O.W.'s. It was during that period that, when I was Governor of California, that we talked to each other by phone as those men returned from Vietnam by way of California. It was in one of those calls that for some reason he felt it was necessary to tell me he was black. I was surprised--not that he was black--I was well aware of that and told him so, trying hard not to add--"so what." My surprise was that he felt he had to interject that in the discussion we were having which was about the flood of requests we were both getting for appearanes by the P.O.W.'s. I wondered if he felt that he had to tell me because he thought it might make a difference to me. Now, thanks to Pat Buchanan, I know better. Chappie James, the 17th child in his family, grew up near Pensacola, Florida in an America that had not awakened to the fact it had a racial problem--a problem he would do something about in his own way. As a boy military pilots at a nearby base would give him airplane rides in return for chores he did for them. At Tuskegee Institute in Alabama he signed up with the all-black cadet unit that became the famed 99th pursuit squadron in World War II. He became an officer, but stayed a first lieutenant for seven years. It was unfair, but he didn't complain . He flew more than 100 missions in Korea earning almost that many decorations. In Vietnam he was teamed with Colonel Robin Olds. They become famous as "Blackman & Robin"--a take-off on the then-current "Batman" TV show. He came home a general and took on campus radicals and protestors in defense of his nation. He became a four-star general, joining that exclusive club, though he had known times when he was not even allowed to enter an officers club. He was able to see past that to the real greatness of the land. His photo as a fighter pilot hangs in the Pentagon and on it he has written; "I fought in three wars and three more would not be too many to defend my country. I love America and as she has weaknesses or ills I'll hold her hand." This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 78-05-B7 Production Date 04/03/1978 Book/Page RPtV-287, SihoH-38 Audio Youtube? No
		Added Notes