James graduated from Sharpsville Pennsylvania High School where he was an honor student, class officer his junior and senior years and managed the varsity basketball team his last two years. Having had always wanted to fly, he attended the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1941 studying aeronautical engineering. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on February 15, 1941. James was assigned to the 70th Pursuit Squadron. On December 5, 1941, they boarded ships to sail to the Philippines. On December 7, they were ordered back to California because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. They were deployed to the Fiji Islands on January 12, 1942. He and another pilot had departed Nausori Airdrome, Viti Levu Island, Fiji, in their Airacobra P-39Ds on an airborne alert mission on April 22, 1942. Soon after takeoff, bad weather forced the pilots to fly below the level of several mountain tops in the area. The other pilot successfully landed his plane at Nandi Airdrome in the area, but James was not seen nor heard from again. In 2004 a Fiji citizen reported to a United States official in Fiji that he'd found possible aircraft wreckage on Viti Levu Island. The site was investigated in 2005, and in 2006 a team excavated the site and recovered human remains and other items — including a pilot's microphone electrical plug with Blose's initials on it. Scientists also used dental comparisons to identify his remains. He was returned home and buried with full military honors in September 2007. He was buried near the graves of his parents, Edison Clyde Blose (1893-1972) and Twila Loretta (Robinson) Blose (1891-1972). James's brother and only sibling, Paul, died in 1992. A niece, Susan Blose Crowley, survives him. Bio by: Sue
James name also appears at Honolulu ABMC Memorial.
James name also appears at Honolulu ABMC Memorial.
James graduated from Sharpsville Pennsylvania High School where he was an honor student, class officer his junior and senior years and managed the varsity basketball team his last two years. Having had always wanted to fly, he attended the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1941 studying aeronautical engineering. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on February 15, 1941. James was assigned to the 70th Pursuit Squadron. On December 5, 1941, they boarded ships to sail to the Philippines. On December 7, they were ordered back to California because of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. They were deployed to the Fiji Islands on January 12, 1942. He and another pilot had departed Nausori Airdrome, Viti Levu Island, Fiji, in their Airacobra P-39Ds on an airborne alert mission on April 22, 1942. Soon after takeoff, bad weather forced the pilots to fly below the level of several mountain tops in the area. The other pilot successfully landed his plane at Nandi Airdrome in the area, but James was not seen nor heard from again. In 2004 a Fiji citizen reported to a United States official in Fiji that he'd found possible aircraft wreckage on Viti Levu Island. The site was investigated in 2005, and in 2006 a team excavated the site and recovered human remains and other items — including a pilot's microphone electrical plug with Blose's initials on it. Scientists also used dental comparisons to identify his remains. He was returned home and buried with full military honors in September 2007. He was buried near the graves of his parents, Edison Clyde Blose (1893-1972) and Twila Loretta (Robinson) Blose (1891-1972). James's brother and only sibling, Paul, died in 1992. A niece, Susan Blose Crowley, survives him. Bio by: Sue
James name also appears at Honolulu ABMC Memorial.
James name also appears at Honolulu ABMC Memorial.
Inscription
1ST LT
US ARMY AIR FORCES
WORLD WAR II
