During a warmer-than-average afternoon on the lawn of City Hall, U.S. Senator John Kerry presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Newton resident Jean Calhoun Royster on behalf of her father.

October 28 is officially Second Lt. James A. Calhoun Day in the city of Newton.

“As an African American and a veteran I am really proud to be involved with the naming of that day,” said Mayor Setti Warren.

During a warmer-than-average afternoon on the lawn of City Hall, Warren proclaimed the day as such, before introducing U.S. Senator John Kerry to present the Congressional Gold Medal to Newton resident Jean Calhoun Royster on behalf of her father.

Second Lt. James A. Calhoun was killed on Sept. 8, 1944 in the Mediterranean while serving with the Tuskegee Airmen, America’s first black military airmen at a time when racial segregation plagued the nation.

Jean Calhoun Royster was five-years-old at the time.

In 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal at the nation’s capital.

When Calhoun’s daughter, Jean Calhoun Royster, was excluded from the ceremony due to lack of information about her father’s role in the war, she reached out to Senator Kerry to secure the medal in remembrance of her father.

On Thursday, after years of phone calls, hard work and determination, Royster said she could finally rest her head at night, knowing she achieved her goal.

“It’s sort of closure, I’m peaceful now,” she said following the ceremony. “I can just enjoy thinking about everything that has happened now. I can put my head down at night and not worry about it. It’s been all taken care of.”

Jean said the last thing she remembers about her father, who Warren deemed “a real American hero,” was seeing him while he was on furlough when she was just a young girl.

“He came home, and I remember he was in his room in bed,” she said. “I went in to see him and he gave me a big hug.”

Well-liked and known for his sense of humor and intelligence, Calhoun worked hard for his family as a janitor before pursuing his hopes of becoming a pilot.

Just years later, Calhoun was sent into battle during World War II, to fight in Italy.

After graduating from flight school, the lieutenant flew 11 missions during his service to the country and scored two kills, said Kerry.

During a mission in Yugoslavia, where Calhoun played an instrumental role in destroying 18 enemy aircrafts, his plane was struck by enemy flak and tumbled to the ground before it burst into flames.

Lt. Calhoun was buried in the Sicily Rome American Cemetery in Italy. He received a Purple Heart for his services as well as the Air Medal. The Purple Heart, which was given to Royster and her husband, was on display during the ceremony Thursday.

Kerry paid his highest respects to Calhoun and to the WWII generation and veterans who “made the world safe for our generation,” as he presented Royster with the Congressional Gold Medal.

“This is highest civilian award our country can give and it goes to those who have performed outstanding deeds for security, prosperity and the national interest of the US,” said Kerry. “And the airmen certainly did that and a lot more—they helped defeat Hitler and helped convince fellow Americans it was time to desegregate.”

Warren and Kerry, who are both veterans of war, stood together with Royster and saluted her father’s heroic deeds.

“The Tuskeegee Airmen helped win peoples’ hearts overseas and open hearts and minds here at home. The story is beyond extraordinary,” said Kerry.

Royster was also presented with citations from State Representative Kay Khan, Sen. Cynthia Creem and Coleman Nee, Massachusetts undersecretary for the Department of Veterans’ Services.

“It is such an honor to be joined by the family of Second Lieutenant Calhoun, and to be a part of this very special ceremony,” said Warren. “All of us in Newton owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mr. Calhoun for his dedicated service to our country, and I am so pleased that he is finally receiving this well-deserved and long overdue recognition.”

James A Calhoun