James Roy Colquitt was born in September 1926 in Needmore, Alabama. He was one of nine children. His family lived on a farm raising cattle, hay, corn, cotton, and other crops. His family struggled during the Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States] after his father lost his job at the lumber sawmill. Colquitt started school in 1932. The family moved to Seale, Alabama when Colquitt was in the seventh grade. He was there when Pearl Harbor was bombed [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. When the announcement was made over the family radio, Colquitt realized that the country would go to war with the Japanese. He did not understand that he would be involved in the conflict. Two of his brothers served in the US Army during the war and took part in the D-Day invasion in France [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Both had their ship hit by enemy fire, but they were never wounded. Colquitt volunteered for the service in 1944 while he was in the tenth grade. He had lost a couple years of education because of the ongoing Depression. When Colquitt was 17 years of age, his father signed for him to enlist in the United States Navy. He enlisted in the Navy to avoid trench warfare in the Army. He was initially turned down for enlistment because of his colorblindness. His persistence in applying resulted in his success as he was eventually accepted for entry into the Navy.

James Roy Colquitt had his Navy boot camp training at San Diego [Annotator’s Note: San Diego, California]. He was checked out by a physician which made him anxious [Annotator’s Note: he had initially been refused enlistment in the Navy because of his colorblindness]. His testing prevented him from being in the Signal Corps, but did not result in him being disqualified for Navy service for his colorblindness. Boot camp was not difficult because he was used to hard work. Training lasted about seven or eight weeks. After leave to spend time at home, he returned to San Diego and took advanced training for amphibious landings. He learned about LCVPs [Annotator's Note: Landing Craft Vehicle, Personnel or LCVP; also known as the Higgins boat] which carried jeeps and troops, plus LCMs [Annotator’s Note: Landing Craft Mechanized] which carried tanks during that period. He was, however, assigned to an LST [Annotator’s Note: Landing Ship, Tank] which carried troops and vehicles. He was instructed that he would have to join the Marines or troops he had landed if his craft was damaged or marooned advancing to the beach. He would have to await a subsequent rescue. Colquitt’s duty during training involved operating the small landing craft. The Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] has a Higgins boat. During training, Colquitt tried to dodge an obstacle course while he was sick. He was caught doing so and given extra duty. He never attempted to dodge his assignment again. After training, he embarked on a troopship to Pearl Harbor where he saw some of the destruction [Annotator's Note: residual destruction from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] while billeted on the base. From there, he sailed to meet his assigned ship, the USS LST-1103 in April [Annotator’s Note: of 1945]. The ship watches were manned 24-hours a day rotating at twelve or sixteen hundred [Annotator’s Note: non or four o’clock in the afternoon] each day. The food was good. Chow was limited one time to just coffee and bologna sandwiches. The crew was about 100 men with three-tier bunks for them to sleep in. Traveling to various islands, the ship picked up troops and tanks to sail for Okinawa [Annotator’s Note: the Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, 1 April to 22 June 1945; Okinawa, Japan]. Most of the troops slept on top of the deck with their equipment and supplies below. They were reinforcements for securing the island after they arrived in July [Annotator’s Note: of 1945].

James Roy Colquitt unloaded troops on the beach as the tide went out stranding his ship [Annotator’s Note: Colquitt was a crewman aboard LST-1103 when it landed reinforcing troops on Okinawa in July 1945]. A Japanese intruder had tried to dynamite the ship by swimming out to it and attaching a charge to the rudder. He was killed while doing so. Kamikaze suicide planes attacked the convoy with most of them being intercepted by aircraft off the islands. Those that flew nearby were trying to hit an ammunition dump on the island. None came after that unsuccessful attack. Many ships were off the island when a large typhoon hit the area. After Okinawa, the LST voyaged to different islands transporting troops. The atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The announcement pleased Colquitt. Others may dispute his feelings, but they should have been in his boots. When his ship returned to Pearl Harbor [Annotator’s Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] for repairs, Colquitt rendezvoused with his brother who was on the Texas [Annotator’s Note: USS Texas (BB-35)]. The LST moved troops to Japan for occupation duty. His commander saw where the bombs were dropped. Colquitt visited the mainland in Japan. Inhabitants were down and looked like they were not treated too well by their dictator. Colquitt worked with his skipper, J.D. O’Kane [Annotator’s Note: Lieutenant (jg)John Draney O'Kane] and the point system [Annotator's Note: a point system was devised based on a number of factors that determined when American servicemen serving overseas could return home] to expedite his return to the United States from Guam. The redheaded Irishman kept Colquitt from being delayed in returning home. Japanese were transported aboard LST-1103 from various islands for return to Japan. The prisoners were very cooperative and humble. That surprised Colquitt knowing the history of how they had treated our boys. Colquitt had a friend who was in the Bataan Death March [Annotator's Note: the forced march of 60,000 to 80,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war carried out by the Imperial Japanese Army in April 1942] who suffered throughout his remaining life. Colquitt returned to the United States in April 1946 via the west coast, then through the Panama Canal to the east coast. He was discharged in New Orleans [Annotator’s Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] in June 1946.

James Roy Colquitt returned to his home in Alabama after his discharge. He did not have a problem adjusting to civilian life. After several jobs, he went to work for the State Conservation Department as a Refuge Manager. He used the G.I. Bill [Annotator's Note: the G.I. Bill, or Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was enacted by the United States Congress to aid United States veterans of World War 2 in transitioning back to civilian life and included financial aid for education, mortgages, business starts and unemployment] to attend classes. That did not work out very well as he soon fell out of attendance. When he worked on the ship [Annotator’s Note: he was a crewman on USS LST-1103] in the ammunition hold, he knew he would be doomed if the ship was hit. He subsequently was reassigned to the twin 40mm [Annotator's Note: Bofors 40mm antiaircraft automatic cannon] on the bow, and he was happy. When the weapon experienced a misfired round, he had to assist a crewman who should have dumped it overboard. The man froze, and Colquitt got off the mount and threw the shell over the side. A submarine tried to hit the convoy but was sunk before it could. Kamikazes never tried to strike his LST despite it doing all the damage it did. A torpedo wake was once reported on the starboard stern, but it was never confirmed. The ship was high in the water, so if it was a torpedo, it ran under the keel. The LST was amid a storm while Colquitt was on watch. The vessel took water. One of Colquitt’s friends came topside worrying that the ship was taking water. Colquitt had to settle the man down and let him know the situation was under control. The waves were coming over the top of the ship. Men could be washed overboard during those events. Colquitt visited the Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana] before the Road to Tokyo exhibit was opened. He wants to visit again to see the conflict he was involved in. Veterans do not receive the appropriate treatment for their injuries or disabilities. Meanwhile, Colquitt has always maintained his own insurance so as not to be dependent on government support.