Haldane King (1921-2013), born in Brooklyn, earned an athletic scholarship to Long Island University where he played on championship teams under Coach Clair Bee. In early 1942, he volunteered for military service in World War II, entering pilot training in Tuskegee, Alabama as a member of the first class 43J of African-American bomber pilots in the Army Air Corps. After military service, he returned to New York and became one of the first African-Americans to join the New York Fire Department. He was recalled into the newly integrated Air Force in 1950 and went to Germany as part of the Army of Occupation after WWII. He later moved to Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and often spoke at local schools and community events about his experiences in the military.