James Albert Fuller Full Narrative

James Albert Fuller was born on May 14, 1923, in Seattle, Washington. He was an only child, and his father worked as a machinist at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard while his mother worked as a salesperson at a dry goods store. He graduated from Bremerton High School in 1941 and began his post-secondary education at Washington State College (WSC) that fall. Fuller was a mining major, and he joined the Associated Muckers Club, an organization for those majoring in mining. During his two years at WSC, he excelled academically and was on the all-college high scholarship roll. In March of 1943, he was honored by Phi Kappa Phi, a national scholastic honorary fraternity. During the summer, Fuller worked at Sullivan Mining Company in Burke, Idaho. He registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, before joining the United States Army Air Corps in 1943. Commissioned a First Lieutenant in the Army Air Force's 11th Bombardment Group, he took part in the Gilbert, Marshall, and Marianas Islands campaigns. the 11th moved to Guam in October 1944, and in July 1945 they moved to Okinawa to participate in the final air offensive against Japan. Fuller was part of a reconnaissance squadron at the time of his death on August 12, 1945, three days before the surrender of Japan was announced by Emperor Hirohito.