Facts:   - battles: vietnam war korea war    - allegiance: united states of america    - commands: commandant of the coast guard      - birth date: 24 august 1927    - serviceyears: 1945-1986    - name: james s. gracey    - branch: united states coast guard    - image: james s gracey.jpg    - birth place: newton , massachusetts    - rank: 25px admiral   Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of james s. gracey .
A:
james steele gracey is a retired united states coast guard admiral who served as the 17th commandant of the united states coast guard from 1982 to 1986 .gracey was born in newton , massachusetts and is the son of ernest j. gracey and edna s. gracey .following graduation from needham high school in needham , massachusetts , he accepted an appointment to the united states coast guard academy in new london , connecticut .while a cadet at the academy , he served as battalion commander and captain of the baseball team .he was also a member of the soccer and rifle teams .following graduation in june 1949 , he agreed to remain at the academy until the following september as a tactical instructor .from 1951 to 1953 , he was stationed at the port office in boston , massachusetts .he entered harvard university in 1954 , receiving a master of business administration in 1956 .gracey served in a number of flag officer assignments prior to becoming commandant , including commander of the cleveland-based ninth coast guard district , with responsibility for the great lakes area ; commander of san francisco-based 12th coast guard district and pacific area , with responsibility for the pacific ocean area ; and commander of the governors island , new york-based 3rd coast guard district and atlantic area , with responsibility for the u.s. eastern seaboard and gulf coast .