Lt Col James Paul Council Jr., June 9, 1940 – January 28, 2021
Lt Col James Paul Council (Jimmy) was born on June 9, 1940 in Bradenton, FL and passed away on January 28, 2021. He died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Patti, son James P Council III and his wife Sarah, grandson Nicholas Robert Council, granddaughter Alyssa Morgan, and sister Karen Mathiesen.
Jim served his country in the United States Air Force as an enlisted technician and later as a commissioned officer. He served in the Aerospace Audiovisual Service (AAVS) in the field of Combat Photography. He deployed world-wide documenting the significant events of his time for Intelligence, the historical record, training, and public information uses. Throughout his career, he worked as a principal project officer on major events including the Evacuation of Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War; Operation Baby Lift, the rescue of orphans during the fall of Saigon; the return of American POWs from Hanoi Vietnam; and countless natural disasters, training operations, and combat operations around the globe. He was a natural leader, highly respected by his superiors, his peers and his subordinates. As a result, he was selected to serve as a Unit Commander, a Major Command Staff Officer, and retired as the Commander 1365 AV Squadron.
After his retirement from the Air force Jim went on to become the operations manager of the USAF Photo Contract at Cape Canaveral where he was responsible for planning and scheduling all photographic coverage of both the Air Force and the NASA space programs at Cape Canaveral and The Kennedy Space Center. The number of unmanned launches and manned Space Shuttle launches he documented are too numerous to mention. The motion picture, television and still photo imagery that he and his people recorded are now part of American History. To quote one of his fellow officers, “Jim was a natural leader, a highly organized manager, a loyal friend, and a good man.” He will be greatly missed.