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Returning to the [[United States]] in August 1957, Plinton Jr. used personal connections to interview at [[Trans World Airlines]], becoming an executive assistant to the director of personnel and industrial relations.<ref> New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/ </ref> Plinton Jr. became the first African American to serve as an executive with a major U.S. commercial airline.<ref> Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967. </ref><ref> New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/ </ref>
Returning to the [[United States]] in August 1957, Plinton Jr. used personal connections to interview at [[Trans World Airlines]], becoming an executive assistant to the director of personnel and industrial relations.<ref> New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/ </ref> Plinton Jr. became the first African American to serve as an executive with a major U.S. commercial airline.<ref> Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967. </ref><ref> New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/ </ref>


In 1971, Mr. Plinton Jr. became a Vice President at [[Eastern Airlines]], making him the highest ranking African American for a U.S. commercial airline at the time. He retired from [[Eastern Airlines]] in 1980. A civic leader, Plinton Jr. served as the executive director of the Metropolitan Fellowship of Churches in Florida. he also served as chairman of the [[Tacolcy Economic Development Corp]].<ref> Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967. </ref>
In 1971, Mr. Plinton Jr. became a Vice President at [[Eastern Airlines]], making him the highest ranking African American for a U.S. commercial airline at the time. Though Plinton Jr. retired from [[Eastern Airlines]] in 1980, [[Eastern Airlines]]'s chairman and former astronaut [[Frank Borman]], asked Plinton Jr. to remain as a special assistant for additional year.<ref> New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/ </ref>

A civic leader, Plinton Jr. served as the executive director of the Metropolitan Fellowship of Churches in Florida. he also served as chairman of the [[Tacolcy Economic Development Corp]].<ref> Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967. </ref>


==Death==
==Death==

Revision as of 17:14, 23 July 2021

James O. Plinton Jr.
Born
James O. Plinton Jr.

July 22, 1914
Westfield, New Jersey, US
DiedJuly 4, 1996(1996-07-04) (aged 81)
Lake Wales, Florida, US
Resting placeFairview Cemetery, Westfield, New Jersey.
Alma materLincoln University
Occupations
  • Military officer
  • fighter pilot
  • airline executive
Years active1942–1946

James O. Plinton Jr. (July 22, 1914 – July 4, 1996) was a U.S. commercial airline executive, commercial airline entrepreneur, and former U.S. Army Air Corps flight officer, pilot and flight instructor with the 332nd Fighter Group's 99th Fighter Squadron (best known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

Plinton Jr. is notable for becoming one of the first African Americans to serve as an executive for a major U.S. commercial airline.[1][2]

Early Life

Plinton Jr. was born on July 22, 1914 in Westfield, New Jersey. He was the son of Mary Williams Plinton, a Virginia native, and James O Plinton Sr. (1881–1967), a Jamaican immigrant from Savanna-la-Mar,Jamaica who migrated to New York in 1904.[3] Plinton Sr. was one of a handful of individuals who survived the June 15, 1904 PS General Slocum passenger steamboat fire at Hell Gate in New York's East River that killed over 1,000 people.[4] Plinton escaped by swimming two miles to safety. Plinton Sr. studied Dentistry at the New York School of Prosthetic Dentistry. In 1908, Plinton Sr. established the Westfield Dental Laboratory. In 1918, Plinton Sr. was awarded New Jersey's Craftsmanship Award in Gold lingual Bar. He retired from the practice of Dentistry in 1952.[5] Plinton Sr. and wife Mary had four children: Plinton Jr., daughter Ursula E. Plinton, son W. Hollis Plinton Sr., and son Kermit W. Plinton.[6]

As a young child, Plinton Jr. was denied membership in the Westfield YMCA and entry into its swimming pool based on his race. Later in life, Plinton Jr. would become the President of the National YMCA.[7]

Following his father's insistence that he enter into the medical professional, Plinton Jr. attended Lincoln University in 1931, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Biology in 1935.[8] After graduation, Plinton Jr. worked for the U.S. Postal Service and the Merchant Marine.[9]

In 1941, Plinton Jr. enrolled at the University of Newark's Division of Aeronautics, earning a commercial pilot's license and flight instructor's rating in November 1941.[10] [11][12]

Plinton Jr. was married to Kathryn Hancock Plinton until her death in 1993. They had two children: daughter Kathryn Plinton Roman and son James O. Norman Plinton.[13]

Military Flight Career, Tuskegee Airmen

At the beginning of America's involvement in [[World War II}, Plinton Jr. volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Corps. The U.S. Army Air Corps stationed him at Tuskegee Institute where he became a civil flight instructor and later the manager of its civilian flying field where he was in charge of the training for all flight instructors.[14] He became one of the 99th Fighter Squadron's first African American flight instructors, training 150 pilots, many of them bound for combat in World War II's European Theater.

Though the date is not documented, Plinton Jr. graduated from Tuskegee's Service Pilot Cadet Training as a Flight Officer.[15][16] He rose to the rank of Captain.[17]

Post-Tuskegee Airmen Career, Commercial Airline Career

In the late 1940s and 1950s, Plinton Jr. unsuccessfully acquired a commercial airline job as a pilot, turned down by major U.S. commercial airlines based on his race. Instead of pursuing lawsuits against U.S. airlines, Plinton Jr. focused outside of the United States, working with former Tuskegee Airmen Pilot and St. Croix, Virgin Islands native Henry E. Rohlsen to organize Ecuador's national airline, Andesa, Latin American Airlines, and Haiti's Haitian International Airlines headquartered in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.[18] [19] On April 3, 1947, Plinton Jr. visited Los Angeles to buy two Grumman amphibious planes to be used by Haitian International Airlines to carry mail, passengers and cargo in the Caribbean.[20] Plinton Jr. believed that Wall Street executive railroaded/sabotaged he and Rohlsen's fledgling airline businesses.[21] Henry E. Rohlsen Airport, a public airport located six miles (10 km) southwest of Christiansted on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands, is named after Rohlsen.[22]

Plinton Jr. received a citation from the Governor of the Grand Turk Island for landing the first aircraft there.[23]

Returning to the United States in August 1957, Plinton Jr. used personal connections to interview at Trans World Airlines, becoming an executive assistant to the director of personnel and industrial relations.[24] Plinton Jr. became the first African American to serve as an executive with a major U.S. commercial airline.[25][26]

In 1971, Mr. Plinton Jr. became a Vice President at Eastern Airlines, making him the highest ranking African American for a U.S. commercial airline at the time. Though Plinton Jr. retired from Eastern Airlines in 1980, Eastern Airlines's chairman and former astronaut Frank Borman, asked Plinton Jr. to remain as a special assistant for additional year.[27]

A civic leader, Plinton Jr. served as the executive director of the Metropolitan Fellowship of Churches in Florida. he also served as chairman of the Tacolcy Economic Development Corp.[28]

Death

On July 4, 1996, Plinton Jr., aged 81, died of cancer at the Lake Wales Medical Center Extended Care Facility in Lake Wales, Florida. He was interred at Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey.

Legacy

In 2006,the New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame posthumously inducted Plinton Jr. into its Hall of Fame.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ The New York Times & SUN-SENTINEL. "J. PLINTON JR., EX-AIRLINE EXECUTIVE." July 14, 1996. https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1996-07-14-9607130157-story.html
  2. ^ Oxford African American Studies Center. "Plinton, James O., Jr." https://oxfordaasc.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.001.0001/acref-9780195301731-e-37660
  3. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  4. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  5. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  6. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  7. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  8. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  9. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  10. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  11. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  12. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  13. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  14. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  15. ^ CAF Rise Above. "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Roster." https://cafriseabove.org/the-tuskegee-airmen/tuskegee-airmen-pilot-roster/ . This data derives from CAF Rise Above's research project compiling data from Tuskegee Airmen historians including the Air Force Historical Research Agency.
  16. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  17. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  18. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  19. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  20. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  21. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  22. ^ "Virgin Islands Port Authority". The United States Virgin Islands' Airports and Seaports. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  23. ^ The Daily Mirror. "Black L.A., 1947: Famous Flier James O. Plinton Jr. Visits L.A.." https://ladailymirror.com/2018/04/06/black-l-a-1947-famous-flier-james-o-plinton-jr-visits-l-a/ The LA Sentinel.
  24. ^ New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/
  25. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  26. ^ New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/
  27. ^ New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/
  28. ^ Westfield Leader. Obituary: James O Plinton, May 11, 1967.
  29. ^ New Jersey Aviation Hall Of Fame Inducts Four Pioneers." AJ STAFF WRITER. JULY 1, 2006. http://airportjournals.com/new-jersey-aviation-hall-of-fame-inducts-four-pioneers/
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