Lucky Bag Yearbook

From the 1948 Lucky Bag:

JAMES WILLIAM STROTHER

A Marine Corps junior . . . this fair haired lad hails from Naval stations all over the U.S. . . . and its possessions. Always ready to narrate some harrowing tale of his days at Pearl Harbor High . . . somewhat of a legendary figure in the eyes of the Executive Department … his eclat has brought down upon him many vicious and unwarranted attacks from the officers of the above department . . . has borne up splendidly under the strain . . . makes up for his loss in conduct numbers by doing very well in academics. … his ability as a boxer and a 150-pound football player place him high in the ranks of those athletically inclined. Habitually looking for a light for his skag … is nevertheless welcomed with glad cries because of his strange and eerie tales which have earned him several equally as strange nicknames. His scintillating personality … his comradely spirit and his elan with the female sex make him a welcome member of any party. As democratic as the Constitution … his genuine smile goes out to all . . . the impishness that lights up his face is truely confined to tow headed carefree youths . . . nothing ruffles his quiet composure . . . nothing his size pushes him around . . . you only live once .. . have fun.

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He graduated from the 1st Company with the class of 1948-B in June 1948. (The top half of the class academically, designated 1948-A, graduated in June 1947 as the last wartime-accelerated class.)

Loss

James was lost on May 2, 1953 when the T-28 he was piloting crashed into Four Peaks mountain near Phoenix, Arizona. The student aboard was also killed.

Other Information

From Abilene Reporter News (Abilene, Texas) May 8, 1953, pg 8:

Military Funeral Set at San Angelo For Abilenian’s Kin

The body of Air Force Capt. James W. Strother, nephew of an Abilene woman, has been taken to San Angelo for military funeral and burial…

Capt. James W. Strother, son of Brig. Gen. J.H. Strother (USMC) and Mrs. Strother of Dadeville, Ala., was killed May 3 when his jet trainer crashed 100 miles north-west of Phoenix, Ariz. Lt. Maurico H. Havercroft, a Royal Air Force student from Hull Yorkshire, England, also died in the crash.

He was the nephew of Mrs. Minerva Murphy of Abilene. …

A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Capt. Strother flew 100 F-80 missions during the year he spent in Korea with the Fifth US Air Force. He was serving as an instructor in air combat tactics at the time of his death.

From researcher Kathy Franz:

In 1935, his family lived in Prince William, Virginia. Mother Elizabeth, sisters Elizabeth and Ellen. In 1940, they lived in Alexandria City with his father.

Though the obituary above does not mention her, it appears James was married to Minerva Jane Glass Strother. Her headstone is next to his.

His father, James H. Strother ‘21, also survived him. James H. was a Marine General who spoke at his son’s winging in May 1951. (Information from April 1966 issue of Shipmate.)

Photographs

1st Company in the 1948-B Lucky Bag

Distinguished Flying Cross

Could not find the citation, but his gravestone claims a James was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross.

Related Articles

Charles Strahley ‘48 was also in 1st Company.