Legendary Tuskegee Airman James Harvey III, the first 'Top Gun' Winner

Trained at Tuskegee, James Harvey III would graduate flight school in 1944 and become part of the famed 332nd Fighter Group’s 99th Fighter Squadron, better known as the “Tuskegee Airmen," the African American heroes who became the first combat pilots in American military history.

Following the surrender of Japan, Harvey would find himself stationed at Godman Field, Kentucky. It was there, in 1949, word came down that the USAF was planning on holding its first official weapons meet - a competition that would become famously known as “Top Gun”.

Harvey, along with fellow African-American pilots Capt. Alva Temple and 1st Lt. Harry Stewart, would represent the 332nd Fighter Group and dominate the event. Their victory would not come without controversy, as the results of the meet were not officially recognized until 1995.

James Harvey III would go on to be the first African-American jet fighter pilot to engage in combat during the Korean War. For his actions he would be awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

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