{"id":7802,"date":"2025-11-10T16:37:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T16:37:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/fini-flight-honors-korean-war-era-veteran-2lt-jimmie-l-jim-hamilton\/"},"modified":"2025-11-10T16:37:57","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T16:37:57","slug":"fini-flight-honors-korean-war-era-veteran-2lt-jimmie-l-jim-hamilton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/10\/fini-flight-honors-korean-war-era-veteran-2lt-jimmie-l-jim-hamilton\/","title":{"rendered":"FINI FLIGHT HONORS KOREAN WAR ERA VETERAN 2LT JIMMIE L. \u201cJIM\u201d HAMILTON"},"content":{"rendered":"

Columbia, South Carolina<\/strong> – The Celebrate Freedom Foundation (CFF) will host the Fini Flight<\/strong> of 2LT Jimmie L. “Jim” Hamilton<\/strong> in a Cessna L-19 Birddog<\/strong> at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar, located at 2533 Airport Blvd., West Columbia, SC 29170<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Hamilton flew the Birddog as a U.S. Army pilot from 1949 to 1958<\/strong> while stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army of Occupation. His distinguished career includes service as an artillery officer, aviator, and paratrooper<\/strong>, followed by decades of leadership in South Carolina’s aviation community.<\/p>\n

Hamilton served three terms on the South Carolina Aeronautics Commission<\/strong>, including two as chairman, and also led both the South Carolina Aviation Trades Association<\/strong> and the Columbia Hangar of the Quiet Birdmen<\/strong>. As founder of Midlands Aviation Corporation<\/strong> and longtime operator of Columbia’s Owens Downtown Airport<\/strong>, Hamilton has been a cornerstone of aviation in the state.<\/p>\n

In 1974, he founded the Jamil Flying Fezzes<\/strong>, a Shrine flying group that continues to transport children to Shrine Hospitals. Hamilton also co-founded the Celebrate Freedom Foundation<\/strong>, reflecting his lifelong commitment to aviation, veterans, and community service.<\/p>\n

His many honors include the Order of the Palmetto<\/strong>, the Shrine Bowl Walt Disney Award<\/strong>, and recognition as South Carolina Aviator of the Year<\/strong>. Jim Hamilton Boulevard<\/strong> in Columbia stands as a lasting tribute to his service and legacy.<\/p>\n

About Celebrate Freedom Foundation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Celebrate Freedom Foundation (CFF)<\/strong> is a nonprofit, veteran-led organization based in Columbia, South Carolina. CFF is dedicated to honoring military service, promoting aviation, and inspiring future generations<\/strong> through STEM education and outreach. The Foundation preserves military aviation history and connects veterans, students, and the community in celebration of freedom and service.<\/p>\n

Cessna L-19 Birddog Print<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Columbia, South Carolina – The Celebrate Freedom Foundation (CFF) will host the Fini Flight of 2LT Jimmie L. “Jim” Hamilton in a Cessna L-19 Birddog at the Celebrate Freedom Foundation Hangar, located at 2533 Airport Blvd., West Columbia, SC 29170. Hamilton flew the Birddog as a U.S. Army pilot fromContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[32,40],"tags":[287,1177],"class_list":["entry","author-john-griggs","post-7802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-events","category-military","tag-celebrate-freedom-foundation","tag-hoors-and-awards"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/gpstrianglenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Cessna-L-19-Birddog-print_2025_630x350.jpg?fit=630%2C350","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gpstrianglenews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}