James Willis Downing was born in August 1913 in Missouri. He grew up in a small town where things were somewhat primitive. His father had a general store. When the winter weather set in, the family had to stay at home. Downing had three siblings in his family. He attended school briefly in Baton Rouge in 1927 and 1928. He decided to go into the military because of economic conditions during the Great Depression. He entered the Navy in September 1932 after going through a recruiting station in Hannibal, Missouri. Many high powered people were going into the military because of the Depression. There was a waiting list to enter the Navy, but Downing was expedited through the process because of his high scores on the entry examinations.

James Downing began his Navy training outside of Chicago. He had a 30 day leave before beginning the instructions. He was induced to join the Navy because of the lucrative pay in the service compared to that of civilians. The training was rugged. He trained with a rifle and bayonet and learned discipline quickly. Orders were to be obeyed instantly. He was somewhat lonesome during training. He missed having a brother to share his experience. His fellow trainees learned to help each other out. A circle of comrades formed in his company. They forced out the individuals who were not close to them and signed up to go to the same ship. Downing's training lasted four months.

James Downing and a group of boot camp comrades signed up together for the USS West Virginia (BB-48). At six years old, she was the newest battleship in the fleet. Serving on a large, new battleship was a real attraction for Downing. His group of friends fought to become part of her crew. When he first boarded her, he was impressed with the crowded conditions on the ship. Living conditions were very tight. He stood in line quite a bit. He had never been in that big a crowd so it was a big adjustment. Sleeping in a hammock was different but in rough seas it made sleeping easier. He rotated through the six major divisions in the ship. He was initially assigned to one of the topside divisions. His battle station was one of the two 16 inch guns. There were housekeeping assignments also. He learned to polish the teakwood deck with a "holy stone." From 1933 until 1941, Downing advanced in rating quickly. He became one of 120 men required to fire a 16 inch gun. He was the "trigger puller." His turret did well during annual target practices. He traveled extensively on the West Virginia. The ship traversed the Panama Canal multiple times. He found hospitable ports that offered sailors special discounted prices on entertainment. He particularly liked watching Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. [Annotator's Note: George Herman Ruth and Henry Louis Gehrig were New York Yankee sluggers.] As 1941 progressed, the West Virginia's crew felt that war was coming. Downing and his shipmates were confident of being able to handle the Japanese easily. They projected a short war. Time would prove them mistaken.

For the year prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the attack was on Sunday, 7 December 1941], James Downing witnessed that one third of the fleet was rotated out to sea at all times. The Japanese had fooled them into believing that war there was not immediately imminent. A special peace ambassador from Japan had passed through Pearl Harbor on his way to Washington on the Friday before the attack. As it turned out, the enemy fleet was right over the horizon awaiting the assault. The morning of the attack, Downing was not yet aboard his ship when a Japanese airplane strafed him and narrowly missed. The enemy used various types of bombers and torpedo aircraft to attack the naval installation at Pearl Harbor. All eight of the battleships suffered some degree of damage from total to lesser extents of destruction. Of the various emotions Downing felt, he first felt surprise, then fear, anger and resolve. He determined if he reached a level of proper authority, he would never allow that type of unexpected attack to happen. His overarching feeling was of pride that despite the severe losses, the American response was correct and meaningful. The attack was less than three hours. The West Virginia [Annotator's Note: USS West Virginia (BB-48)] was sunk by nine torpedoes. Fires were everywhere. Downing was not on his ship at the time but boarded her by sliding down a gun barrel to reach her. Downing was concerned that ready ammunition topside might explode so he grabbed a fire hose from the adjacent ship and hosed down the ordnance. Casualties were everywhere. Downing attempted to identify the dead so he could contact parents later. One of his friends was burned badly. Downing visited him in the hospital. While in the hospital, he collected names so he could write to the parents. The men were optimistic but many died that night. Downing had been ashore because he had just gotten married and shore liberty was allowed for married sailors. He missed the first 20 minutes of the raid but heard the explosions and saw the smoke. He initially thought it might be the British chasing the Graf Spee and that was the battle going on. When he reached the harbor, he could tell what was happening and immediately got to his ship. Although paint is the main agent to keep fires going on a battleship, the Arizona [Annotator's Note: USS Arizona (BB-39)] had flames reach its fuel and that ignited the heavy fires. The saddest thing that Downing saw was men blown off ships and surfacing through the oil, on fire. The Japanese fighters were like swarms of bees shooting at anything and anybody that moved. Downing could see dive bombers and high altitude bombers dropping their ordnance. Some of the Japanese aircraft were shot down and some were pushed over the side of their carrier after returning because their severe damage. The American battleships had only four feet of water under their keel so the West Virginia settled with much of it above water. There were 109 killed on the ship that morning. Though abandoned ship had been called, Downing stayed aboard to fight fires. Within two hours, the fires were extinguished. The last three planes Downing spotted were at about 100 feet. The Japanese low flying reconnaissance aircraft were taking pictures. Many injured sailors were transported to the hospital as a result of the action that morning.

James Downing thought time was compressed during the attack. [Annotator's Note: During the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941]. Within two hours, the fires on his ship [Annotator's Note: USS West Virginia (BB-48)] were extinguished. The last three enemy planes Downing spotted were at about 200 feet. The Japanese low flying reconnaissance aircraft were taking pictures. Downing went over to the Tennessee [Annotator's Note: USS Tennessee (BB-43)] which was adjacent to his ship. He grabbed a sandwich, rested, and then went to the hospital. Emergency gun emplacements were set up in case enemy aircraft returned. The Navy had to situate the thousands of men displaced from damaged ships. Downing got word to his wife, and she came to see him in the Navy Yard and was delighted that he survived. Since Downing was postmaster on the ship, he knew the addresses of the men and sent letters out to those missing. The reorganization of the ship skeleton crew happened quickly even though West Virginia was sunk. Of the 164 ships at Pearl, 22 ships were damaged so there were many ships still running normal operations. The city of Honolulu did not suffer much damage. There were normal operations there also. Many men were transferred to new ships. Downing had to forward their mail as a result. Censorship was imposed. Specifics of men killed and status of ships had to be protected. The hardest part was dealing with the 109 men killed on the West Virginia. Downing knew 20 of them. Notification of parents was expedited by the IBM cards that the Navy had introduced. Some mistakes were made. Salvaging of the ship began immediately. Downing's immediate concern was setting up the ship's post office onshore. He would stay with the 300 man salvage crew as postmaster until 1943 when West Virginia was back operational. Downing lived aboard the ship for three months before she returned to Bremerton for repairs and refit. It was discovered that some sailors trapped below deck had lived until near 23 December [Annotator's Note: 23 December 1941]. Downing knew the men from his post office connection. Downing knew "Dorie" Miller [Annotator's Note: US Navy Messman 3rd Class Doris "Dorie" Miller] but cannot confirm his actions during the attack. He does know he was found to be a hero. Miller's transfer from the ship came quickly and he was killed in a subsequent battle.

James Downing did not return to the USS West Virginia (BB-48) after it was repaired. He served on the USS South Dakota (BB-57) for a time but was soon transferred to a naval training school in Washington, D.C. There were 1,200 students but classes could hold only 400 at a time. Instruction was performed in three shifts. Downing would advance from being an instructor to the department head responsible for coordinating the shifts. The main training was on the five inch, 38 caliber gun. He made the announcement of the death of Franklin Roosevelt [Annotator's Note: President Franklin D. Roosevelt] over the public address system. It was a sober time in Washington. Downing would also announce the end of the war at which time all the classes disintegrated in celebration. Following the war, he worked with the Brazilian military in transitioning US Navy ships to them. Funds ran out for that program and he found himself sailing on multiple ships. During the Korean War, he was made Captain of the Patapsco [Annotator's Note: USS Patapsco (AOG-1)]. He was in that position when the ship nearly found itself in the midst of the first hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll. Downing explains the near miss, the contamination of the ship's crew and their treatment. He goes on to explain the force of that bomb, those available today, and his commitment after retirement to end nuclear proliferation and eliminate all such weapons held by belligerent nations. Downing retired from the Navy after 24 years in 1956. He went on to work for a Christian organization in Colorado Springs. He made his home there.

James Downing has not suffered from recurring memories of the attack on Pearl Harbor. He has, however, spent years speaking to audiences and relaying several key tenets that he learned from that horrible experience. He has told millions of people that they should "Remember Pearl Harbor" and that America needs to be kept strong. He has come to understand that weakness invites aggression. The Japanese took advantage of the weakness of the United States. Downing knows that "freedom is priceless."