Date of birth:

May 23rd, 1921

Date of death:

December 10th, 2014

Nationality:

American

After graduating, James van Pelt attended Columbia Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of '44. He joined the war against Japan as a Naval Officer and served on the USS Purdy and the USS Perkins, having survived the sinking of that ship by a kamikaze attack in November 1943.
He served in the occupation of Japan, the Korean War, and in a variety of other assignments in the Naval Supply Corps including the Pentagon and as Chief Logistics Officer of the U.S. Navy's 6th Fleet in Europe. He then taught at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and the Naval War College and retired with the rank of Captain. His name is inscribed at the United States Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C. Having earned a master's degree from Stanford University and a doctorate at George Washington University, both in business administration, he served as a professor in that field at Old Dominion University and Christopher Newport College in Norfolk, Virginia.

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