Foil: 6 Panel: Distinguished Flying Cross Society Column: 1 Line: 5

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

James M. (Jim) Kraft was born in Berea, Ohio on February 1, 1935. He grew up in Strongsville, Ohio where he excelled in sports and was inducted into the Strongsville High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He furthered his education at Ohio University (BSED 1957) where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and Varsity “O” Club. Jim entered the USAF as a 2nd Lt., earning his wings at Greenville Air Base, Mississippi in 1959. His early assignments were in B-47s and B-52. Jim graduated from the USAF Education-With-Industry Program and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Jim was sent to Vietnam in 1968 as a Forward Air Controller flying an O-1 Birddog at Can Tho in the Mekong Delta. It was during this tour that Jim was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for controlling a night air strike near the City of Can Tho. In addition, Jim’s other awards include the Air Medal with 13 OLC, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Air Force Commendation and Meritorious Service Medal.
Jim retired from the USAF in 1978, as a Lt. Colonel, and completed his second career after 14 years as a Contracts Manager for the Harris Corporation. He received his M.S. Degree from George Washington University. Jim is married to the former Jane Brough of Greenville, Mississippi.