James was born on January 12, 1986, in Evansville.  From age 9 until he left for the Marines, he lived with his mom, Joanne ("Jody"), his sister, Carma, now 17, and his brother, Dillen, now 15, in rural Gibson County southwest of Owensville, Indiana.   

When James was in grade school, his mom married Edward Van Antwerp.  Eddie bonded tightly with James, teaching him to hunt and fish and encouraging him in his many sports. 

James played basketball and baseball throughout his youth.  He became an athlete of exceptional talent and strength and one known for ferocious intensity.  He played basketball for Owensville Middle School for three years and made the South Gibson AAU basketball team.

When James was only 11, however, Eddie was killed in a tragic auto accident.  Eddie's death was a hugely traumatic event in James' life.  James had to shoulder a lot more responsibility for his family and became very protective of them.

At Gibson Southern High School, James became an accomplished iron-man football player and played three years of varsity ball.  On offense, he played offensive tackle and later tight end and, on defense, he played defensive end until his senior year when he moved to middle linebacker. When he played defensive end against Pike Central in 2003, the Pike Central team did not run a play to James' side of the field the entire game (a 50-0 Gibson Southern win called at halftime due to lighting failure).  No one likes getting hit by a freight train.

After his senior season, James was named to the All-Pocket Athletic Conference Team and to the All-Gibson County Team. He was also named to the Indiana All-State honorable mention team.  He won his team’s Iron Man Award and his teammates voted him Most Valuable Player. 

James met his responsibilities on the football field the same way he met them at home and in the marines.  Quarterback, Justin Brewer, recalls the ferocity and loyalty with which James protected him on the field and recalls James being the first to speak to a lineman who let someone reach him.  In the same way, James was fiercely protective of his mom, his family, his friends, his fellow marines, anyone being picked on by someone bigger and, ultimately, each of us.

Two years later, James returned to boxing and signed up for the 178 pound division at the 2005 Golden Gloves, but no one in his division would fight him.  They withdrew.  So, he won the 178 pound title by walkover.  But officials at the Gloves permitted  a matched bout in which he fought the 201 pound champion on May 5, 2005.  James got eight-counted in the first round and his trainer told him to move his head more because he was getting hit too much, to which James cooly responded, "why? ... he can't hurt me."  James was right.  He came back furiously over the next two rounds and won the fight by judges' 4-1 decision.  James never lost an amateur fight in his life, sanctioned or otherwise (wink).

James graduated from Gibson Southern High School in 2005, but long before graduation, he had decided to pursue a career in the Marine Corps.  He wanted badly to serve his country after the events of 9-11 and he commited to serve during a time of war.

On June 19, 2005, James left for boot camp at Parris Island and achieved amazing physical conditioning, even running a mile in under five-minutes.  He graduated on September 16, 2005, already promoted to Private First Class.  Normal promotion to Private First Class occurs between 6 to 8 months after entering basic; James was promoted in less than 3 months.   

James graduated from the two-month long School of Infantry (SOI) at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, on December 19, 2005 and later attended Desert Combat Operations Training ("CAX") near Twenty-Nine Palms, California. 

He was permanently assigned to the Third Battalion, Second Marines, II Expeditionary Force, known as the Betio Bastards or "3/2", based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

James was impressive and successful as a young Marine and, when he returned home on leave in September 2005, his leave was extended so he could help with marine recruiting in southern Indiana.  In April 2006, James was promoted to Lance Corporal, a second promotion in less than 10 months' service.  

Just before leaving for Iraq in July 2006, James proposed to his girlfriend, Jamie Coleman, whom he had met in third grade.  They planned to get married when James returned from his seven month tour in Iraq in February, 2007. 

Marines always find themselves in harm's way.  A University of Buffalo study revealed that Marines suffer a fatality rate nearly three times higher than all American forces combined.  And the Marine rank suffering the highest mortality rate is that of lance corporal - James' rank.  Eight American soldiers were killed in Iraq on November 2, four of them Marines and three of them lance corporals.

Knowing James as we do, it should not surprise us to learn that James placed himself in the heart of the fight, wearing a vulnerable rank in a vulnerable service and serving in Iraq's most dangerous zone.  It was always his nature to accept the greatest challenge ... to back up the middle of the line in football ... to take on the boxing champion in the weight class above him.  Such was his courage. 

He wanted to be a combat soldier and he wanted to go Iraq.  He made that decision knowing that Americans were dying there and after talking to several purple-heart veterans about the realities of war.  And in the same way he led his football team and boxing team, he wanted to be exactly where he was - leading men into the belly of the beast.  

He returned home a hero – a hero to his family, his friends and to patriotic Americans everywhere.  He was buried with full military honors.  More people attended his funeral at Gibson Southern High School than live in his entire home town.  He will be remembered with everlasting respect by those who loved him and by many who did not even know him.  The people of Indiana will certainly never forget him.  Hoosiers never forget their fallen soldiers.  Any visit to Indianapolis will attest to that.

Someday, even people who oppose the Iraq war will appreciate the great importance of the battle being waged there. They will appreciate soldiers like James who give everything they have to protect innocent people and who try to turn back sixth-century barbarism in favor of freedom for a people they don't even know. 

For the lack of heroic people like James, where would our country be?  Where would any of us be?  When you finish reading this, go back to the top of this page and look at James and the eagle above him.  That says it all.

God bless James Brown who gave all of his tomorrows for the rest of us.