James T. Lindsey was born in Marshall, Missouri in August 1924. He grew up with one sister. His parents owned a restaurant where he spent most of his childhood. He attended public school and after he graduated high school, he decided to join the Merchant Marines. In March 1943, Lindsey and his friends hitchhiked to Kansas City, Missouri planning on enlisting in the Marine Corps, but the line was around the block, so they decided to get in the shorter line at the Merchant Marines recruitment office. Lindsey was sitting at his parents’ restaurant counter when his mother came to tell him about the attack on Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. After he heard the news, he went and found his friends who then all decided to join the fight. After Lindsey and his friends were sworn in to the Merchant Marines, they returned home to finish their senior year, and then reported for boot camp in June 1943. His boot camp training took place at Sheepshead Bay, New York and lasted three months. He wore a naval-like uniform with the Merchant Marine emblem, and he chose to train in the engine room. When he graduated, he wore civilian clothes. The Merchant Marines put him up in a hotel in New York City [Annotator’s Note: New York City, New York] while he waited for his first assignment. Lindsey was assigned as a wiper in the engine room aboard the SS John W. Davis. He described his job as the janitor for the engine room. He was aboard the Davis for three months and sailed to England and back. He later transferred to the SS Percy E. Foxworth, an oiler vessel, where he again worked in the engine room. The daily life on ship was to work four hours on and then eight hours off. He did not have any other additional duties while at sea. While in port, he was required to work eight-hour shifts. He maintained the different pumps, kept steam in the boilers, and did other cleaning up work to keep everything in operating order. There were three engineers, oilers, a fireman, and then wipers. The living conditions on the ship were very good. While he was off shift, he often read books and did various chores. He had his own room, and the food was delicious. They had sit-down dinners and a steward would bring the crew dinner.

James T. Lindsey served with the Merchant Marines [Annotator’s Note: on the SS Percy E. Foxworth] during World War 2. His ship traveled in a convoy to avoid being attacked by enemy units. His ship was not allowed to stop and help other ships because his vessel would become a sitting duck. Later, the Navy installed weapons on his ship which were manned by Navy gun crews. Lindsey and the rest of the Merchant Marine crew got along well with the Navy crew. His ship transferred goods that consisted of anything and everything. Lindsey and his crew were aware of the German U-boats [Annotator’s Note: German submarines], and when the alarm went off, the Navy crew went to their stations until the danger was over. The importance of the Merchant Marines during the war was to supply the troops with everything they needed. Lindsey and his vessel travelled all along the English coast and Belgium to supply General Patton’s [Annotator's Note: US Army Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr.] Army for about nine months. His ship was also given orders to transfer goods to the Pacific. They stopped in New Guinea and Australia. When they pulled into ports, they were given the opportunity to go ashore. While he was in the South Pacific, his ship had to wait to go into port because of two typhoons. [Annotator’s Note: Video break at 0:22:07.000.] In June or July 1945, Lindsey was accepted into the Merchant Marine OCS [Annotator’s Note: officer candidate school] and was sent to training [Annotator’s Note: at Fort Trumbull, Connecticut]. He was halfway through school when the war ended. Upon completion of OCS, he returned to sea and worked for another year as an engineering officer. He left the Merchant Marine in September 1946, then in September 1947 enlisted in the US Army Air Forces to become a pilot. He served in the Air Force for 24 years.

In September 1947, James T. Lindsey enlisted in the US Army Air Forces to become a pilot. Because of his background in the Merchant Marines, he was given the rank of technical sergeant. After going through basic training, he received six stripes while the rest of the recruits only received one stripe. He was then assigned as a crash boat engineer, and later enlisted in the Air Force OCS [Annotator’s Note: officer candidate school]. He went to Lubbock, Texas for training. After completing flight training, Lindsey was assigned to a B-29 Superfortress [Annotator's Note: Boeing B-29 Superfortress very heavy bomber] unit as a copilot. He flew 27 missions over North Korea out of Okinawa [Annotator’s Note: Okinawa, Japan]. After the Korean War [Annotator's Note: Korean War, 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953], Lindsey transferred to an air refueling unit and spent most of the remainder of his career in that field. Lindsey retired from the US Air Force in March 1970 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Lindsey felt mad when Truman did not recognize the Merchant Marines as part of the service. He is glad that today the Merchant Marines are included.

James T. Lindsey’s most memorable experience of World War 2 was the end of the war while he was in OCS [Annotator’s Note: officer candidate school] and decided to stay in the Merchant Marines. He is proud of his service and would do it all over again. Lindsey believes there should be institutions like the National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana], and that we should continue to teach World War 2 to future generations because there needs to be an impression on the younger generations. Receiving the Congressional Gold Medal as a Merchant Marine [Annotator’s Note: In March 2020, the Congressional Gold Medal was awarded to American Merchant Mariners for contributions to the war effort.] means so much to him and it feels wonderful to finally be recognized for his part in World War 2 [Annotator’s Note: Interviewer pauses interview to adjust a mic on interviewee at 0:38.000]. He is proud to be a Merchant Marine and Air Force retiree.