MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- History and tradition is taught from day one at the Marine Corps Recruit Depots, but it is an ongoing learning process that follows graduates throughout their time in the Corps. So, it only makes since there should be a place where every Marine can obtain this knowledge.
Recently the Kaneohe Bay Library received a donation of 85 books from the personal library of Lt.Col. John W. James Louise F. James, who passed away in December.
“He was always an avid reader. He loved books about war, and the military. Nothing in the world made him more proud than to be a United States Marine,” said Louise F. James, about her late husband.
The library staff turned the books into a small memorial in honor of the lieutenant colonel,
“We had discussed what he wanted done with the books,” recalled Louise, “and he decided that once his nephew had his choice from the stacks, the rest would be donated to the library.”
Each book is also marked with a sticker on the first page noting it comes from a private donation from the James Family.
The collection consists of a variety of military reading material, from World War II photography to Civil War tactics and strategy books.
“He loved World War II, it was his favorite time,” said Louise. “He considered World War II, the greatest generation.”
James, a Norfolk Conn. native, joined the military in 1974 as an enlisted infantryman. In 1976, James was selected for the Enlisted Commissioning Program.
Graduating from Officer Candidate School in 1977, and became a pilot.
His first visit to Kaneohe Bay was to Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 262 as the training officer as well as the airframes division officer for two Western Pacific deployments in 1980 and 1981. In 1982 and 1983 he served as the 1st Marine Brigade G-3 air officer. His final two years at K-Bay were spent as a search and rescue pilot.
James made his final trip back to Hawaii in 1997, where he served as the commanding officer of HMM-265. In 1999, he took control of Marine Forces Pacific G-8. He took his last command from 2001 to 2003 as the commanding officer of MCB Hawaii G3.
On Christmas Eve, 2003, James passed away, leaving behind his wife, and their four children: Rachel, Derek, Marc and Natalie.
Louise hopes someone will pick up one of the books and find the same enjoyment in it as he did.
“He loved reading about what he did, and what the military was about,” she explained. “He just thought he was the luckiest man in the world to be a Marine. He used to say he felt blessed to be able to serve his country.”