James Douglass didn't fly with the Tuskegee Airmen, but he's still part of their legacy.

In March 1944, the South Carolina native enlisted in the U.S. Army and enrolled in the flight training program at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. Back then, competition was high for the chance to be a black World War II pilot. So was the "wash-out" rate, which averaged 60 percent to 70 percent. Numerous online articles attribute the high rate to the military's systemic prejudice more than anything else.

For whatever reason, Mr. Douglass didn't make the cut. Instead, he became a bombardier, though the war ended before he saw combat.

"He was disappointed he washed out, but I think he was proud of the fact he had been accepted into the training program," said his daughter, Alexandrina Douglass Robinson of Atlanta. "He would rather do that than serve in a mess hall."

Through the years, he seldom talked about his experience in the Army, but he always took a special interest in any stories or documentaries about the Tuskegee Airmen. Then one day a representative from the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site contacted Mr. Douglass for an interview.

"This was only six or seven years ago," his daughter said. "It was as if he needed to be invited into the Tuskegee family because he didn't become a pilot or see any action."

On Tuesday, James Thomas Douglass Sr. of Marietta died at his home from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 89. A funeral is scheduled for noon Monday at Transfiguration Catholic Church in Marietta. That same day, a burial with military honors is set for 2 p.m. in the Georgia National Cemetery. H.M. Patterson & Son, Canton Hill Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Douglass was born in Whitmire, S.C., the eldest of five children. His grandparents raised him on a farm.

After graduating from high school in Union, S.C., he went to work in a machinist shop. The company needed workers for a plant in Connecticut. He jumped at the opportunity.

After his military service, Mr. Douglass attended Hillyer College, now the University of Hartford. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Hillyer and a master's degree in human relations from New York University. He taught elementary school for a year in Groton, Conn., and served briefly as a counselor for a school that taught abused children.

In the mid-1950s, he became executive director of the Willoughby Housing Settlement in Brooklyn. Relatives say he became the first black executive director of the New Rochelle Youth Bureau, which works to prevent juvenile delinquency. His next job was as an executive director with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services serving New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. He held that post 25 years.

In 1991, Mr. Douglas and Alejandrina Douglass, his wife of 51 years, moved to Marietta from New York. The retiree volunteered at the Cobb County jail and as an advocate for juveniles in court. He enjoyed chess and poker.

In 2008, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Alabama. Mr. Douglass, who had broken both hips within a six-month time frame, was unable to attend. His son, James T. Douglass Jr.of Marietta, went instead.

"I wanted to represent him and the family," his son said. "It meant a lot to him because he broke a barrier just by being chosen for the cadet program. Throughout his career, he was the ‘first black' to do whatever, so he was proud of the Tuskegee Airmen."

Source: AJC.com, 2/18/10