James J. Cassidy received a BA from Albany State in 1930 and an MA in 1933. A meteorologist in civilian life, Cassidy served with the Army Air Force for 3 years during World War II, where he organized the weather service at the Rome air depot and Syracuse bomber base. After the war, he joined the air force reserves and served as a weather briefing officer at the air bases in Rome and Syracuse. When he retired from the reserves after 20 years of service, he had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.