A Veterans Day program will be held at 3 p.m. Nov. 11, at the Missouri Veterans Home, 1300 Veterans Road. The event is free and open to the public.

American Legion Post 131, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2513, West Central Missouri Veterans Assistance League and Whiteman Air Force Base are teaming up to host the event, according to a press release by the Missouri Veterans Home.

James Shipley, of Tipton, will be this year’s keynote speaker. He was a crew chief for the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II. He attended airplane mechanic school and learned how to rebuild airplanes from the wheels up. His job was to keep the airplanes going so they were successful in the sky. He worked on a variety of planes including the P-38, P-39, P-40 and P-51 Mustang. He was assigned to the 301st Fighter Squadron, an all African American unit and worked with the Tuskegee Airmen of the 332nd Fighter Group, according to the press release.

He arrived in Italy in February 1944. He would often support more than one pilot, but the final pilot whom he maintained aircraft for was Harry T. Stewart Jr. He was one of the most decorated Tuskegee Airmen who received the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Shipley returned to the States in October 1945 and went back to Tipton. He retired as a mechanic for Co-Mo Electric after 29 years of service. This year Jeremy Paul Amick released a book about Shipley’s service titled “Together as One: Legacy of James Shipley, World War II Tuskegee Airman.”

Refreshments will be served following the program. For more information, call Latisha Koetting, supervisor of volunteer services: 660-429-4661.