Lieutenant James Andrew Healy was born at Fort Leavenworth on March 20, 1895.  That suggests a military family, and indeed, his father, Colonel Daniel Healy, was with Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders when he was killed at San Juan Hill.

James joined the Army Air Service in July 1917, and when deployed he was assigned to the 147th Aero Squadron.  With five victories he qualified as an ace, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross.  He remained in the service after the war and retired at the rank of Major in 1936.  He returned to service in World War II and attained the rank of Colonel.

He also served as a technical advisor to director William Wellman on the 1927 movie, Wings.

Healy passed away at fort Worth, Texas, on May 8, 1983.

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Blair Tarr is the Museum Curator of the Kansas State Historical Society. He oversees the three-dimensional collections of the Society, but has special interests in the Civil War, Wichita-made Valentine diners, and Leavenworth's Abernathy Furniture. In the last few years he has also done a lot of cramming on The Great War. He is a past president of the Kansas Museums Association and the Civil War Round Tables of both Kansas City and Eastern Kansas. He is currently a board member of the Heritage League of Greater Kansas City.