Fred was at home in Dallas Texas on December 7, 1941. His wife had just returned from church when they heard the news that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Just over a month later, James joined the Army on January 22, 1942 at the age of 22.
After basic training, James was sent overseas to the Pacific theater of operations. There he joined the 43rd Infantry Division, the “Winged Victory Division.” This division was activated on February 24, 1941. It went overseas on October 1, 1942 and was in combat a total of 370 days.
James was a part of the Tank Section, 743rd Ordinance Company. He was the ranking non-commissioned officer and directed all phases of the tank sections operations.
He participated in five island invasions. These included Russell, Rendova and New Georgia of the Solomon island chain, which included Guadalcanal. He also is a veteran of the landings at Atapi, New Guinea and Luzon, Philippines.
His most memorable wartime experience is when he went on a Navy rescue mission on November 11, 1943. He went up in a PBY Catalina flying boat as a gunner. He was present when the rescue plane set down in the Pacific to rescue a B-24 Liberator crew that had went down. He was also present, this time on land when his unit helped liberate the P.O.W. camps at Santo Tomas, and Camp O’Donnell in the Philippines. There James helped liberate some of the emaciated survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March.
James said that he really matured during his time in the military. He received the Asiatic-Pacific medal with four stars, the Good Conduct medal, and the Philippine Liberation medal.
He was discharged on August 28, 1945 with the rank of Staff-Sergeant.
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