Captain James C. Stopulos was born in Davenport, Iowa, on May 22, 1917, the son of Greek immigrants. His father, Gus Stopulos, was born in Tripoli on March 28, 1871, and in 1902 he emigrated to the United States seeking a better life. His mother Eleni Dimitrakopoulou (Helen Dimitrak) was born in the village of Alonistena on May 21, 1887 and was a descendant of Zambia Kotsaki, mother of Theodoros Kolokotronis. James C. Stopulos, always referred with great pride to the fact that his roots intersected with those of the greatest warlord of the Greek Revolution of 1821. In the first correspondence we had with him, many years ago, the veteran aviator enthusiastically referred to his family relationship with the legendary hero of '21, even though he was not his direct descendant. In January 2007, he wrote to Georgios Chalkiadopoulos the following: 

"Thank you for your interest in the story about the 'Athenian Avenger'. The name came  about when a Jewish friend of mine suggested that I name my plane that in honor of the Greek patriots and for the Jews in the concentration camps, My mission was to seek  revenge for those atrocities. I was born in America, graduated from college and then entered the Aír Force. I was the pilot of a B-17 Flying Fortress. I flew 30 missions over France and Germany, about 20 of them as a lead pilot. I did not have any exciting experiences during my tour, luck was with me. My father was born in Tripoli and ny mother was born in Alonistena. By the way, on my mother 's side of the family I can trace my roots to Theodore Kolokotronis, who I understand was a Greek hero in the revolt against the Turks. I visited Greece back in 1973 and have not returned since then. That in a few, short sentences is what I can tell you of myself without going into a long  dissertation. I am in the real estate business, was also a motion picture exhibitor,  married an Irish young lady, have four children, 13 grandchidren and a great grandchild on the way." 

His mother Eleni left Greece in 1915, as a prospective bride, and had to cross the Mediterranean and the Atlantic to meet in New York her future husband, whom she had seen only once, in a photo. So Gus and Helen Stopulos were married to a cohabitation in 1916 and settled in Davenport, where they opened their own grocery store. Their first child, James, was born on May 22, 1917. Two years later, on August 17, 1919, the couple also had a daughter, Eva Stopulos Kalikatsos. Family members lived in the city center, on the first floor above their store, which was located on the corner of 305 1/2 East Mond Street and Pershing Avenue. Many times James would go down to the ground floor as soon as he finished his classes to help his father with their grocery business. As a teenager, he was extremely active, actively participating in various celebrations and events of his school, but also of the Greek-American community, while he loved sports, especially involved in basketball and American football. In 1935 he graduated from Davenport High School and during his studies at St Ambrose University, he dreamed of becoming a journalist. Unfortunately, in 1940, the Second World War had already spread to almost all of Europe. James understood that very soon the United States would be forced to engage in the war and he would be called upon to join. 

ENTER USAAF & 94th BOMBARDMENT GROUP

On October 1, 1943, he graduated as pilot of the U.S. Army Air Force, promoted to Second Lieutenant and proudly received his Silver Wings. Having been selected as a multi-engine bomber pilot, he was assigned his own crew and sent for training at Roswell Air Base in New Mexico. Over the next 6 months the ten aviators were trained in B-17 Flying Fortress and in early May 1944 arrived at Roughan Air Base in Bury St Edmunds, east of England, having been posted to the 94th Bombardment Group. The crew was assigned to the 332nd Bombardment Squadron and after a short period of adjustment they began to participate in the operations. Initially Jim flew two missions on May 20 and 22, 1944, attached to another crew as co-pilot in order to gain experience. The baptism of fire for Stopulos and his crew came on the 23rd, flying on a mission against targets in Chaumont, France with his personal bomber, the B-17G, #42-102694, XM-K, 'Athenian Avenger'. The Greek American pilot, knowing about the hunger and torture experienced by his compatriots in occupied Greece, as well as the atrocities committed by the Nazis in the concentration camps, felt that he had an obligation. He had to take revenge for all that was happening and at the instigation of a Jewish friend of his, as he mentioned above, he decided to name his bomber "Athenian Avenger". The next mission was particularly difficult. On May 24, 1944, their target was Berlin. The capital of the Third Reich was one of the most protected cities in Germany, and its heavy anti-aircraft guns, combined with the continues attacks of the German fighters, was a real nightmare for every Allied aviator. However, the crew returned unharmed to its Base, and flew two more bombing missions, on 25 and 27 May, against targets in Brussels and Karlsruhe. The missions for the young pilot and his crew continued uninterrupted. On the 28th they flew against the city of Königsborn in Germany and on 29 May 1944 the target was the oil refineries in Leipzig. Unfortunately, the mission to Leipzig did not develop well. As the B-17G, #8007 they manned that day, was flying at 20,000 feet, in formation with another fifteen B-17G, it was badly hit by the fragments of anti-aircraft fire, resulting in the catastrophic failure of the oxygen system. To face the danger of hypoxia, Stopulos was forced to abandon the formation and rush down to 10,000 feet, for the situation to be more bearable. But now the lone aircraft was easy prey for the Luftwaffe fighters and if an Fw-190 or Me-109 attack them, that would mean certain death. Someone shouted at the intercom that it would be better to head to neutral Sweden and land there, but Stopulos disagreed. The voices of protest thickened and then someone suggested that they vote on how they should act. The 9 men of the crew voted in favor of the proposal, saying they preferred to go through the war as prisoners of the neutral Swedes, rather than end up dead. However, the captain strongly disagreed with them and had not yet said his last word. Stopulos' conscience did not allow him to remain in the security of captivity, while his colleagues in the Squadron, faithful to their duty, would continue to participate in missions and be killed over the skies of Europe. Angry, he interrupted his men in the intercom and called them out in a loudly voice: 

"The hell we will. I’m boss, I’m not giving up a $300,000 plane and allow you guys to sit out the war."

In the intercom the voices fell silent, but James felt the atmosphere electrifying. It was very bad for a pilot to feel that he was not liked by his crew because his decisions were not liked, but his sense of duty was above all of them. Eventually Stopulos, following a course as far away as possible from the enemy fighter bases and going in and out of the clouds, managed to reach the North Sea with the hit aircraft. After an agonizing flight, he landed safely at Roughan Air Base in Bury St Edmunds, east of England. They were the first crew of the 332nd Bombardment Squadron to do so. By that time, any aircraft that had been forced to abandon the formation had not survived. The veteran aviator remembered: 
 
"My crew didn’t speak to me for two weeks, but we made up."