Dykes, James Walter, Jr., 2009 April 16

This is a Living History interview with James Dykes, class of 1945, 1947, and 1948, conducted by Marilyn Somers on April 16, 2009 at his home in Greer, South Carolina. The subject of the interview is the interviewee’s life and experiences at Georgia Tech.

Mr. Dykes was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey on August 21, 1924. His parents met while they were living in Maryland. Mr. Dykes does not remember New Jersey very well because his family moved to Charleston, West Virginia when he was very young. His paternal grandfather was a Maryland State Senator. Mr. Dykes’ father grew up on a farm, and later purchased one in Maryland that became the central place for his extended family to meet. Mr. Dykes attended elementary school until the sixth grade, then grammar school for the seventh and eighth grades, and then high school until twelfth grade. He was a good student and enjoyed playing in the orchestra. His family moved to Bound Brook, New Jersey after Mr. Dykes left grammar school. He remembers meeting the new girl, Virginia, in high school and thinking he did not have a chance with her. They began dating, and are now married. Mr. Dykes ran track in high school. His father wanted him to attend Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and he started in the fall of 1942, when World War II was gearing up. One day, He decided to take a Navy V-12 qualifying test and was enlisted in the Navy during his sophomore year of school. Mr. Dykes’ first assignment was to attend Georgia Tech to earn his degree. He became involved with the Track and Field team and the Glee Club. Mr. Dykes was never sure how long he would be able to stay at Tech before he was given another assignment. He was able to meet important people such as Tommy Plaxico, George Griffin, Fred Ajax, Freddie Lanoue, Dr. Brittain, Blake Van Leer, and Coach William Alexander. Mr. Dykes attended most Tech football games, with the most memorable one being versus Navy where Bob Hope was in attendance, and each time a point was scored, the leading team changed. Mr. Dykes earned his Basic Engineering degree, now known as General Engineering, in 1945. He was then shipped to New York City to get commissioned. He was commissioned in 1945, and sent to the Philippines as an Educational Services Officer. As an Educational Services Officer, Mr. Dykes worked in a building with many books, magazines, and movie reels. His task was to keep soldier morale high. His fiancé was born in the Philippines, and Mr. Dykes was able to retrieve a piece of the baptismal font that she was baptized in. He spent about five months in Manila before he was sent back to the U.S. He returned in July and married Virginia in August. They moved to Atlanta so that he could pursue his Mechanical Engineering degree at Tech. Virginia worked at Rich’s Department Store, while he attended Tech on the G.I. Bill. As he was going through his ME program, Mr. Dykes became acquainted with Professor Hubert Dennison, who was the head of the Industrial Management department, and decided to stay longer to earn his masters in Industrial Management. At graduation, Mr. Dykes was given two job offers, but decided to take one with Phillips Petroleum Company. He worked for Phillips for thirty-eight years. He worked on the Materials Testing Reactor as an operating engineer. During this project, Mr. Dykes lived and raised his family in Idaho Falls, Idaho. After fourteen years, he was not satisfied with the amount of government interaction with the Reactor project, and asked to be transferred to California as a Plant Manager. Mr. Dykes took various positions within Phillips and was transferred to New York, Oklahoma, and then settled in South Carolina. He started working for the Phillips Fiber Corporation on a fiber that protected asphalt. Mr. Dykes worked as a salesman, and traveled often. He has four children and six grandchildren. Mr. Dykes has run the Peachtree Road Race in the past and last year was the last time he plans to run it. He tries to run one mile twice a week.