James Callan Graham (October 2, 1914 – July 23, 2006), generally referred to as Callan Graham, was an attorney in the Texas Hill Country, a pilot in World War II and a member of the Texas House of Representatives. Biography Early life and education Born in Del Rio, Texas, on October 2, 1914, to John Coburn Graham and Margaret Callan Graham. His earliest years where spent in Del Rio. He also lived in Mexico, where his father ranched sheep, becoming fluent in Spanish at a very early age. This fluency served him well throughout his life. In 1923 he moved with his family to a Kimble County ranch. Graham graduated from Junction High School and attended the University of Texas at Austin for a short time. Career Coke Stevenson who was then the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives took an interest in Callan, loaned him books and the use of an office and moral support and in February 1935, Callan passed the State Bar Examination and opened a law practice in Junction, Texas. This began what was to be a lifelong career in public service. During the next few years, as Graham built his law practice, he began pursuing the hobby of flying. As a boy in Del Rio in the early 1920s, he had earned his first plane ride from a barnstormer by sweeping out hangars. After obtaining his pilot's license he bought his first plane, a canvas-covered Taylorcraft, and was the first person to land a private plane on a dirt strip now known as Kimble County's "Callan Graham Field." His father, then Kimble County Sheriff, didn't think too highly of his son's hobby, remarking that he should spend more time on the ground, tending to business. In 1936, at the age of 22, Graham was appointed County Attorney for Kimble County and was later appointed District Attorney for the 112th Judicial District. When World War II broke out, Graham used his hobby to serve his country. Initially he served as a civilian flying instructor in Uvalde, teaching raw recruits the basics of flying and preparing them for the extreme pressures of combat. Eventually Callan was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He was assigned to the Air Transport Command and was first stationed in Dallas, ferrying planes to and from points across the United States. He later flew across the Atlantic Ocean