Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Flanders devoted more than three decades of his life to serving his country — serving in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

And after leaving the Army, Chief Flanders — as he was affectionately known — devoted decades to fighting for his fellow veterans, volunteering for more than 20,000 hours at the Fayetteville VA Medical Center.

But Chief Flanders, who had been battling illnesses for several weeks, is fighting no more.

The longtime fixture in the local veteran community died Aug. 10 at the age of 102, according to family and friends.

Chief Flanders was the first in his family born on American soil. The son of Caribbean immigrants living in a poor Harlem neighborhood, he told The Fayetteville Observer in 2015 that the Army was his way out of a difficult situation.

He was drafted on his 28th birthday, June 5, 1943. He would go on to wear an Army uniform for 30 years, serving with the 264th Quartermaster Battalion in France in World War II, as a personnel officer in Korea and as a member of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam.

After retiring from the Army in 1973, Chief Flanders worked as a county senior services coordinator and director. He also began volunteering at the Fayetteville Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where he developed a reputation as a man who “got things done.”

Chief Flanders retired from his county job in 1989, but continued volunteering to help his fellow patients navigate the VA system until several years ago, when doctors asked him to slow down.

A wake will be held Friday from 6 to 7 p.m. at Wiseman Funeral Home Chapel, 431 Cumberland St. A funeral will be Saturday at Cape Fear Conference B Headquarters, 10225 Fayetteville Road in Raeford. He will be buried at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery on Monday at 10 a.m.

In 2015, Chief Flanders credited his long life to God and the military.

“Anything I’ve got, it’s because of the military,” he told the Observer at the time.

After his Army career, Chief Flanders earned degrees from Fayetteville State University and North Carolina State University.

In addition to the VFW, he was active in a number of other veterans organizations and county boards. He also volunteered for food banks and at one time bowled in three leagues.

Military editor Drew Brooks can be reached at dbrooks@fayobserver.com or 486-3567.