James Shoemaker was born on 25 August 1932 in La Jolla, California. His father was a career naval aviator, so his family lived in a lot of places as he grew up. From 1936 to 1939, they lived in Paris, France because his father was assigned to the embassy as the Naval Attaché for air. The French had given Shoemaker's father a plane, which his father painted blue and put "U.S. Navy" on it. His father had visited Germany a couple of times and learned how more advanced that country was in their aircraft development than the United States. Shoemaker enjoyed living in Paris. He went to a French school and learned the French language. His father would also take him and his older brother up in the airplane, to his mother's dismay. When they returned to the United States, Shoemaker and his family lived in Coronado, California for a short time and then moved to Hawaii. His father was assigned as commander of the USS Wright (AV-1), then promoted to captain and assigned as the commanding officer of Ford Island, an islet at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. Shoemaker had fond memories of living in Hawaii. He attended Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii, and he and his older brother would paddle around Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor, collecting matchbook covers from the different battleships. They would also sneak over to Admiral Bellinger's [Annotator's Note: US Navy Vice Admiral Patrick N.L. Bellinger] home and played in an old concrete gun emplacement under the house.

On 7 December 1941, James Shoemaker was reading the Sunday comics, when he heard explosions. He went outside to see what was going on. His older brother spotted the airplanes in the sky and immediately recognized that they were Japanese. Their father, who was the commanding officer of Ford Island, an islet at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, received a call in which he learned that Pearl Harbor was being attacked by Japanese airplanes. Shoemaker's father left, and his mother told him and his brother to go to the bomb shelter under Admiral Bellinger's [Annotator's Note: US Navy Vice Admiral Patrick N.L. Bellinger] house and she would meet them as soon as she could. Shoemaker and his brother ran to the bomb shelter, ducking by each house they passed to ensure their safety. They reached the bomb shelter and waited for their mom and the rest of the naval families on Ford Island. When their mother made her way to the bomb shelter, she was carrying her six-month-old daughter, and she was strafed by one of the Japanese planes. Fortunately, she was not hit and made it there safely. None of the dependents were hurt. Shoemaker's mother never forgave the Japanese for attempting to harm her and her baby. Shoemaker remembers hearing a huge explosion soon after he reached the bomb shelter, and later learned that it was the USS Arizona (BB-39). The funnel of the explosion blew through the roof of Shoemaker's house. He and his brother kept trying to sneak out of the bomb shelter to see what was going on. He saw a Japanese pilot parachuting down, and the Americans attempting to shoot at him. During the attack, he kept wondering why there were no American planes in the sky. During the second wave of the attack, he recalled burned soldiers reaching the bomb shelter. The families took them in and did everything they could to keep them comfortable. Shoemaker remarks the horrible sight of their burnt skin and the agony of pain they were in.

Around noon on 7 December 1941, James Shoemaker, his family, and friends were still hiding in the bomb shelter [Annotator's Note: beneath US Navy Vice Admiral Patrick N.L. Bellinger's home]. His father arrived to check on everyone. Shoemaker recalled his father wearing a steel helmet, carrying a .45 pistol, and a sub-machine gun under his arm. His father planned for his family to stay with friends. Shoemaker's house was designated as an auxiliary dispensary. Shoemaker recalls the scene of Ford Island and seeing Battleship row decimated. The USS Oklahoma (BB-37) was capsized, the USS West Virginia (BB-48) was on the bottom of the harbor and the USS Arizona (BB-39) was blown to bits. Ships were burning, and the water was on fire because of all the oil that had spilled into the harbor. Even the ferry they took to get ashore was shot up, but fortunately was still in working condition. For the next few weeks, everything was uncertain. Shoemaker's school closed because the Army took over the building. The government also issued gas masks. Shoemaker recalled that he never did go back to his home on Ford Island after the attack. The Shoemakers left Hawaii in March 1942 taking a convoy to San Francisco, California, and from there lived in Palo Alto, California for a short time.

James Shoemaker and his family moved to Norfolk, Virginia because his father became the commander of the Naval Station for a year, until he was given command of the newly built USS Franklin (CV-13) carrier. Shoemaker's father left for the Pacific, leaving his family in Norfolk. Shoemaker was sent to a boarding school, but he stayed for only one year. He would often communicate with his dad through letters and received responses from him as well. He never knew the exact location of his father. He followed the Pacific Theater closely, even though he never heard of any of the places; they were foreign to him. He received most of his information from the movie newsreels and the radio. Shoemaker did everything he could for the war effort, including rationing and collecting cans and metal. His mother was active with the Red Cross at a hospital in Norfolk. Shoemaker recalls driving from Norfolk to Virginia Beach, Virginia and saw German POWs [Annotator's Notes: prisoners of war] cleaning the roadsides.

James Shoemaker's father returned home about nine months before the end of World War 2. He brought home McCampbell [Annotator's Note: US Navy Captain David McCampbell], who was the leading flying ace that shot down over 40 Japanese planes. Shoemaker recalls the lead up to the D-Day invasion [Annotator's Note: the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. Everyone was just waiting for something to happen. All the equipment, ships, troops, and planes were leaving Norfolk for England. He remembered how exciting it was to watch the newsreels of D-Day in the theater. He also remembered the passing of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The whole country was in mourning. Although he and his family were relieved to here about VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], they did not celebrate it. They still had the Pacific on their minds. When the Americans dropped the atomic bombs, Shoemaker remembered that he was happy about this. He wanted the Japanese to quit fighting. On VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945], his family and friends had a great celebration. It was a huge relief and they were glad that the men would be coming home. His father was stationed at Norfolk when he returned home. Shoemaker found out after the war that his father’s ship, the USS Franklin (CV-13), was hit by a kamikaze. It damaged the flight deck and killed 120 men. For the most part, Shoemaker's father talked little of the war and only spoke of it in generalities.

James Shoemaker went into the Naval ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] at the University of Virginia and then joined the Marine Corps. He served with several Marines that fought in World War 2 and he enjoyed learning from them. He was stationed near Mount Fuji [Annotator's notes: Honshu], Japan during the last year of occupation. Shoemaker and the veteran Marines had no ill feelings towards the Japanese civilians. He enjoyed his time in Japan and observed that the Japanese civilians were friendly or impassive towards the Americans. Shoemaker feels that people are not well informed about World War 2 today. There is also a lack of interest going into the military. He believes that The National WWII Museum is vital for our country because if we do not learn our history, we will repeat it.