Lilley, James, “Lilley, James (Interview outline and video), 2009,” Digital Collections, accessed March 13, 2025, https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/document/29179.
James Lilley was born in Ferndale, Michigan in 1922. He graduated from high school in 1940 and then spent two years in an apprenticeship with his father at Pontiac Motors. James enlisted in the Army Air Forces and went through basic training in St. Petersburg in the summer of 1942. James later went through flight school in California and trained to be a fighter pilot. After training James was stationed in Saipan where he escorted B-29s on their missions over the Pacific. James helped secure Iwo Jima and shortly after was injured on his last mission. He was discharged in 1946 and began his career in engineering.