James H. York entered the military service in Oklahoma. He resided in Greer County, Oklahoma prior to the war. James served as a Lieutenant Colonel and Pilot on B-24D #42-41178, Headquarter's Squadron, Headquarter's Group, XX Bomber Command, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

B-24D #42-41178 took off, with a crew of 7 and 1 passenger, from Tezpur Airfield, Assam State, India on a reconnaissance mission bound for Cheng Tu Airfield, Szechuan Province, China. They never arrived at their destination. All on this B-24 were lost on March 15, 1944. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until January 25, 1946. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

Lieutenant Colonel York was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is also commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov