Pensacola FL (PNJ) The effort to build a monument to honor Pensacola aviator Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James, Jr., the first African American to become a four-star general in the U.S. military, got a big financial boost from Escambia’s Board of County Commissioners. They voted unanimously to give $875,000 to the Memorial Foundation that has been working for several years to get the project off the ground, despite debate among some board members that the project may not legally qualify for some of the money the county allocated to the foundation. The decision is contingent upon the city of Pensacola taking ownership of the monument, which will be located at Wayside Park, as well as an independent economic analysis of the monument that shows it would promote tourism.
