James Jabara was born October 10, 1923 in Muskogee, OK. He grew up in Wichita, KS working in his parents grocery store. Jabara graduated from Wichita North High School in 1942. He stood at 5' 5'' and enlisted as an aviation cadet with the US Army in Fort Riley. Jabara had corrective lenes but he still worked his way through the program, receiving his 2nd lieutenant wings at Moore Field, TX, October of 1943. Jabara flew a P-51 Mustang in the European Theater and was assigned to two tours of combat duty. His first tour lasted from January to October 1944 with the 363rd Fighter Group of the Ninth Air Force. On his first mission he was assigned to attack German railroad targets in Belgium. In March 1944 mission while Jabara was escorting bombers to Germany a German pilot shot off his canopy. Although he faced below freezing temperature at the high altitude, he was able to shoot down a German aircraft before returning to base. During one mission, while in formation, he and another P-51 collided in midair. They both safely bailed out. Yet in another incident while engaged with a German aircraft, Jabara and the German's aircraft collided in mid-air and when both pilots safely floated to the ground, they shook hands. Jabara returned to the United States after his first tour but returned to Europe for his second tour from February to December 1945 with the 355th Group of the Eighth Air Force. Jabara flew over 100 combat missions over Europe during World War II. He went on to fight in the Korean war and tallied 15 downed planes. The Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, KS is named in his honor. Courtesy of Famous Kansans and Wikipeka.com