JAMES DANIELS III, a retired Navy captain and one of the three pilots who survived a barrage of friendly fire several hours after after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, died Sunday in Honolulu, family members said. He was 88.
In a 1995 speech at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, then-President Clinton noted that Daniels was the only U.S. pilot in the air when World War II was declared and also in the air off Tokyo Harbor in the days the war ended in 1945.
Daniels was one of six pilots directed to land at Ford Island after a search for a Japanese attack fleet in 1941. Although the arrival of the planes had repeatedly been broadcast to all ships at Pearl Harbor, sailors panicked when they heard the sounds of the aircraft overhead, and shot down all of the planes, except Daniels'.
He logged 4,500 hours, mostly as an attack carrier pilot, with 110 combat missions in World War II and Korea. He retired in 1970 with 33 years of service.
His awards include the Legion of Merit with Gold Star and Combat V, Distinguished Flying Cross and six Air Medals.
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