Jim served in the U. S. Army Air Corps in the Fifth Air Force's 405^th "Green Dragon" Bomb Squadron. He was assigned to both the North American B-25 and the Douglas A-26. He has had a life-long love of flying and aviation. At one time, he held a commercial pilot's license as well as a flight instructor's certificate and other FAA aviation ratings.

He lived near Galveston, Texas for a number of years and spent untold hours watching the city grow, walking its beaches, and studying its rich history. He and his wife, Millie, retired to their farm in the Ozarks where they still fly from their private farm airstrip.