James Cockrell was born in Alabama in December 1924. He grew up where his parents had grown up. When he was young, they moved to Florida. He lived with his grandfather who was a farmer. He had one brother. During the Depression [Annotator's Note: Great Depression; a global economic depression that lasted through the 1930s] they had plenty to eat. His brother had joined the Navy. Cockrell was drafted into the Army. After basic training, he was shipped overseas. The journey across was not good. They landed in Africa. They traveled from there on a train. Everyone was put into boxcars. Then they went by ship into Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy] to the receiving station. Cockrell went into the 3rd Division with the 10th Engineers [Annotator's Note: 10th Engineer Combat Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division]. He was working as a private on the roads. The company commander was killed, and his driver was hurt badly. Then Cockrell was asked if he could drive the jeep. He took over driving the jeep for the platoon lieutenant. Their main job was to clear mines [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive devices triggered by physical contact] from the roads.

James Cockrell [Annotator's Note: with the 10th Engineer Combat Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division] landed in Anzio [Annotator's Note: Battle of Anzio, 22 January 1944 to 5 June 1944, Anzio, Italy]. Their main objective was to put in tank mines [Annotator's Note: stationary explosive devices triggered by physical contact] in preparation for the Germans moving in. Cockrell did not put the mines in. He was driving the jeep. One day he got hit by an artillery shell. It went under the jeep and flipped it over. Cockrell did not get hurt too badly. He went to the hospital in Naples [Annotator's Note: Naples, Italy]. He stayed there for a while. When he came back to the unit they were in Rome [Annotator's Note: Rome, Italy]. He was put into another jeep. From there they went to Southern France [Annotator's Note: Operation Dragoon in Provence, Southern France, 15 August 1944]. They were ready for a battle, but there was practically no resistance. From there they went north. The mountains were terrible. In the jeep, he was off the road half the time. The 3rd Division moved all the way to the Rhine [Annotator's Note: Rhine River in Germany]. He got to take a lieutenant to Paris [Annotator's Note: Paris, France]. Then he went back to the mountains. Before they got to the Rhine the war ended. The jeep did not have any problems. They had their own mechanics. They had to clear the mines from the roads. They were still in France when the war ended.

James Cockrell [Annotator's Note: with the 10th Engineer Combat Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division] was in France when the war ended. They were looking forward to returning home. He was discharged and went back to Florida. When he got out of the Army, he joined the Navy. He requested duty on a submarine. He stayed in the submarine until he retired. He served seven years on the submarine and then he was on an aircraft carrier. After 20 years, he decided not to stay in the Navy.