death_place death_date children birth_place other_names ethnicity birth_date known_for spouse article_title name occupation
las vegas , nevada 09 november 2000 4 tulsa , oklahoma jay bernard african-american december 11 , 1919 tuskegee airmen luana knighten , barbara knighten james b. knighten
 james b. knighten fighter pilot , comedian
james b. knighten

lt. col. james bernard knighten -lrb- december 11 , 1919 -- november 9 , 2000 -rrb- was one of the first twelve african-americans to become a pilot in the united states army air corps after graduating from flight school at the tuskegee army air field .
he became a member of the famed 99th fighter squadron , part of the world war ii-era group of highly decorated african-american aviators known as the tuskegee airmen .
knighten flew in the first combat mission by african american pilots on june 9 , 1943 .
knighten 's military career continued through the korean and vietnam wars .
after retiring from the military in 1968 , he had a 20-year career with the federal aviation administration as an operations inspector in new york and later in los angeles .
known as a jokester through his military career , knighten began performing as a stand-up comedian in las vegas under the name of jay bernard during his years at the faa , finally moving to las vegas to perform full-time after retiring from his position with the faa .
