March 25, 2025 Story by: Editor
Col. James H. Harvey III is a distinguished military veteran who played a crucial role in shaping fighter aircraft training. He graduated from Tuskegee Army Air Field on October 16, 1944, as a Second Lieutenant and went on to become a Command Pilot with a Green Card Instrument Rating. During the Korean War, he flew the F-80 Shooting Star on 126 missions.
Throughout his military career, Harvey earned numerous awards and decorations, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters, Distinguished Unit Citation with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, Army Occupation Medal (Japan), National Defense Service Medal, and Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Stars. He also received the Air Force Longevity Service Award ribbon with four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, the Air Force Reserve Medal, the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, and the United Nations Service Medal.
After serving for 22 years in the Army Air Corps and the United States Air Force, Harvey retired as a Lieutenant Colonel on May 31, 1965. Over the course of his service, he piloted several aircraft, including the P-40, P-47, P-51, F-80, F-86A-E-F & D, F-89, F-94, T-33, and the F-102. However, one of the defining moments of his career was his participation in the Fighter Gunnery Meet of 1949.
In May 1949, the United States Air Force organized its first-ever Weapons Meet at Las Vegas Air Force Base in Nevada, inviting the 332nd Fighter Group to compete. While other teams flew P-51 and P-82 aircraft, Harvey and his team flew the P-47 Thunderbolt. The competition included various events such as Aerial Gunnery, Dive Bombing, Skip Bombing, Rocket Firing, and Panel Strafing.
When they arrived at Las Vegas Air Force Base, other competitors laughed at them—not only because they were flying the P-47 but also because they were Black. As Harvey recalled, they were the only active unit in the U.S. Air Force flying P-47 aircraft at the time.
For two weeks, Temple, Stewart, and Harvey flew every mission in the same three aircraft, a testament to the exceptional maintenance team supporting them. Thanks to the collective effort of the entire team, the 332nd Fighter Group e
Representing the 332nd Fighter Group were Captain Alva Temple, 1st Lieutenant Harry Stewart, 1st Lieutenant James H. Harvey III, and an alternate pilot, 1st Lieutenant Halbert L. Alexander. At the time, they were stationed at Lockbourne Air Force Base in Columbus, Ohio, under the command of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. Before their departure, Davis jokingly remarked, “If you don’t win, don’t come home.”merged victorious in the competition.
However, despite their achievement, the victory went unrecognized for decades. The Air Force Association annually publishes an Almanac listing the winners of the Weapons Meet—now known as “William Tell”—but each year, the winner of the 1949 competition was simply listed as “Unknown.” It wasn’t until April 1993 that Colonel William A. “Wild Bill” Campbell, the commander of the 332nd Fighter Group, conducted thorough research and compiled the necessary data to present to the U.S. Air Force. Finally, in April 1995—46 years later—the Almanac officially acknowledged the 332nd Fighter Group as the winners of the 1949 Weapons Meet. As Harvey put it, “They knew who won, but did not want to recognize us.”
Source: National Air and Space Museum
