James Clayton Flowers (born December 25, 1915) is an American retired military pilot and supercentenarian who served with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
Life and military service James Clayton Flowers was born on December 25, 1915 in Surry County, Virginia.Ancestry.com. Virginia, U.S., Birth Records, 1912-2015, Delayed Birth Records, 1721-1920 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
He was a pilot with the 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group for five years.
Flowers married his wife Evelyn in 1951 and the couple had two children. He worked as a mathematics schoolteacher in Manhattan and after retirement, he and his wife relocated to New Mexico. New Mexico held a ceremony to honour the Tuskegee Airmen in March 2014. Flowers was present for the dedication at the New Mexico Veterans' Memorial. He turned 100 on December 25, 2015, and 110 on December 25, 2025. He is currently the oldest known living man in the United States, since the death of 110-year-old Major Jewel McDonald of Mississippi.
Flowers was a member of the Community Church of New York before moving to New Mexico. He has been a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Las Cruces, New Mexico for over forty years.
Awards The Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen in 2006
See also Executive Order 9981 List of Tuskegee Airmen Military history of African Americans The Tuskegee Airmen (movie)
Further reading The Tuskegee Airmen: An Illustrated History, 1939-1949 "Born to Fly the Skies." Weirton Daily Times (Weirton, W.Va.) 23 February 2013. Web. 17 January 2014. "Tuskegee Airmen Pilot Listing." Tuskegee University, 2014, Web. 17 January 2014.
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External links
Tuskegee Airmen at Tuskegee University Tuskegee Airmen Archives at the University of California, Riverside Libraries. Tuskegee Airmen, Inc. Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) Tuskegee Airmen National Museum Fly (2009 play about the 332d Fighter Group) James Clayton Flowers Interview