Uncle James was a talkative friendly man. But like most of the men from that WWII period in history, he did not talk much about what he did during the war. My mother, sisters, and I went to visit him for his 95th Birthday where he showed us many certificates and photos. He had many autographed photos of various Admirals that he was a driver for during the war. He repeatedly was quick to state that he never actually served in combat areas during the war. “I was just a driver.” I needed to remind him that to me he was part of vital support personnel. “Uncle James, you took care of the people who were making some of the most important decisions during that terrible time. I think you were very important.” He would always switch the conversation back to cattle and tales of where he had driven to transport those animals across the nation. He spent many years as a U.S. Mail clerk, small farmer, and cattle transport driver. James had no children. His last wife Joyce, was a sweet, quite woman. Uncle James was still driving at 95. He lived to be 100 and was written up in the Waco Harold Tribune. Much to my surprise, like my father, he had several articles written about him over the years. Unfortunately, I do not have those articles. I believe he left all of his WWII memorabilia to a library in Temple, TX.

-Lynda Haston Britain (niece)