Col. James Wiley, MBA

James Wiley, 81, a retired Air Force officer who was one of the first 24 fliers in the Tuskegee Airmen, the highly decorated squadron of African American airmen during World War II. He was the grandson of a slave and an alleged descendant of Thomas Jefferson.

Raised in the Hill District of western Pennsylvania, Wiley earned a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a degree in physics. After graduation, he was rejected by several firms because of the color of his skin.

Working as a chauffeur to pay bills, Wiley heard about a government program to train pilots. He became one of the original 24 men to join the 99th squadron and was in the first contingent of U.S. fliers to land in North Africa. Under the protection of the Tuskegee Airmen, not one American bomber was lost to enemy action en route to a wartime mission. After the war, Wiley stayed in the Air Force, working at bases in Ohio and Massachusetts before retiring in 1965. After moving to Washington, he went to work for Boeing, where he remained until 1980.

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