Honored at
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Arlington National Cemetery
Capt. James Cross of Warren, Ohio graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1962. A scrapbook full of letters he wrote to government officials and to newspapers testify to his keen interest in conservative politics and writing. There also is a photograph of him with future President Ronald Reagan and letters to him from Ohio Gov. James Rhodes, a Republican, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. There is a letter saying Cross worked for 17th District U.S. Rep. John Ashbrook after graduating from Ohio University in 1966. But along with the yellowing photographs and papers are the people who knew Cross and who knew that he had bold plans for a future in politics. In the spring of 1970, the U.S. military told his family that there was no way James and soldier fellow pilot Capt. Gomer Reese could have survived being shot down in their U17-B light aircraft. Other pilots flying by saw no movement in the wreckage, and the government declared the men killed in action a couple weeks later. He had been dead more than 38 years before his remains were identified, having been shot down over Laos while serving as a Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War. Cross left for a training mission with Reese at about 11:30 a.m. Reese was learning the terrain from Cross because Cross was flying his final mission and then coming home. Their plane went down just before 1 p.m. James had writing and speaking skills and was known as a guy with a bright future. The word on the street was hang on to this guy's coat tails, because he's going places. He was real focused, very mature. He had his whole life mapped out. No one would have been surprised if James would have been president someday. He was buried at Crown Hill Burial Park in Vienna, Ohio, and a memorial stone was placed at Arlington National Cemetery for Cross and Reese. Captain Cross is honored on Panel 11W, Line 44 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Arlington National Cemetery
Capt. James Cross of Warren, Ohio graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1962. A scrapbook full of letters he wrote to government officials and to newspapers testify to his keen interest in conservative politics and writing. There also is a photograph of him with future President Ronald Reagan and letters to him from Ohio Gov. James Rhodes, a Republican, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. There is a letter saying Cross worked for 17th District U.S. Rep. John Ashbrook after graduating from Ohio University in 1966. But along with the yellowing photographs and papers are the people who knew Cross and who knew that he had bold plans for a future in politics. In the spring of 1970, the U.S. military told his family that there was no way James and soldier fellow pilot Capt. Gomer Reese could have survived being shot down in their U17-B light aircraft. Other pilots flying by saw no movement in the wreckage, and the government declared the men killed in action a couple weeks later. He had been dead more than 38 years before his remains were identified, having been shot down over Laos while serving as a Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War. Cross left for a training mission with Reese at about 11:30 a.m. Reese was learning the terrain from Cross because Cross was flying his final mission and then coming home. Their plane went down just before 1 p.m. James had writing and speaking skills and was known as a guy with a bright future. The word on the street was hang on to this guy's coat tails, because he's going places. He was real focused, very mature. He had his whole life mapped out. No one would have been surprised if James would have been president someday. He was buried at Crown Hill Burial Park in Vienna, Ohio, and a memorial stone was placed at Arlington National Cemetery for Cross and Reese. Captain Cross is honored on Panel 11W, Line 44 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Honored at
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Arlington National Cemetery
Capt. James Cross of Warren, Ohio graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1962. A scrapbook full of letters he wrote to government officials and to newspapers testify to his keen interest in conservative politics and writing. There also is a photograph of him with future President Ronald Reagan and letters to him from Ohio Gov. James Rhodes, a Republican, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. There is a letter saying Cross worked for 17th District U.S. Rep. John Ashbrook after graduating from Ohio University in 1966. But along with the yellowing photographs and papers are the people who knew Cross and who knew that he had bold plans for a future in politics. In the spring of 1970, the U.S. military told his family that there was no way James and soldier fellow pilot Capt. Gomer Reese could have survived being shot down in their U17-B light aircraft. Other pilots flying by saw no movement in the wreckage, and the government declared the men killed in action a couple weeks later. He had been dead more than 38 years before his remains were identified, having been shot down over Laos while serving as a Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War. Cross left for a training mission with Reese at about 11:30 a.m. Reese was learning the terrain from Cross because Cross was flying his final mission and then coming home. Their plane went down just before 1 p.m. James had writing and speaking skills and was known as a guy with a bright future. The word on the street was hang on to this guy's coat tails, because he's going places. He was real focused, very mature. He had his whole life mapped out. No one would have been surprised if James would have been president someday. He was buried at Crown Hill Burial Park in Vienna, Ohio, and a memorial stone was placed at Arlington National Cemetery for Cross and Reese. Captain Cross is honored on Panel 11W, Line 44 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
National Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Arlington National Cemetery
Capt. James Cross of Warren, Ohio graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1962. A scrapbook full of letters he wrote to government officials and to newspapers testify to his keen interest in conservative politics and writing. There also is a photograph of him with future President Ronald Reagan and letters to him from Ohio Gov. James Rhodes, a Republican, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. There is a letter saying Cross worked for 17th District U.S. Rep. John Ashbrook after graduating from Ohio University in 1966. But along with the yellowing photographs and papers are the people who knew Cross and who knew that he had bold plans for a future in politics. In the spring of 1970, the U.S. military told his family that there was no way James and soldier fellow pilot Capt. Gomer Reese could have survived being shot down in their U17-B light aircraft. Other pilots flying by saw no movement in the wreckage, and the government declared the men killed in action a couple weeks later. He had been dead more than 38 years before his remains were identified, having been shot down over Laos while serving as a Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War. Cross left for a training mission with Reese at about 11:30 a.m. Reese was learning the terrain from Cross because Cross was flying his final mission and then coming home. Their plane went down just before 1 p.m. James had writing and speaking skills and was known as a guy with a bright future. The word on the street was hang on to this guy's coat tails, because he's going places. He was real focused, very mature. He had his whole life mapped out. No one would have been surprised if James would have been president someday. He was buried at Crown Hill Burial Park in Vienna, Ohio, and a memorial stone was placed at Arlington National Cemetery for Cross and Reese. Captain Cross is honored on Panel 11W, Line 44 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
