James T. Hall was born in Wooster, Ohio on 24 June 1920. He grew up in the city of Oberlin where his father, James Husst Hall, was a music professor. The younger James was also musically inclined; he was active in the band at Oberlin High, and graduated from Oberlin College with the class of 1942. During his college years he played varsity soccer, was a prominent member of the Dramatic Association, and majored in French.

James was an only child. His mother was Florence Belle (Jenney) Hall.

James enlisted in the Navy Reserve while still a student at Oberlin. After earning his degree in 1942, he went on to active duty and entered flight training hoping to become a pilot. He earned his wings as a scout bomber pilot at NATC Corpus Christi, and accepted a commission as a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve on 26 May 1943.

After a few months of stateside duty, Lieutenant Hall deployed overseas to American Samoa. He joined VMSB-241 at Tutuila on 16 October 1943.

On 20 October 1943 – his fourth day with VMSB-241 – Lieutenant Hall took off from Tutuila on a training flight. At 1330 hours, his bomber (SBD-4 10620) was seen to crash at sea three miles due south of Steps Point. The wreckage sank quickly, and Hall was not seen to come to the surface.

James Hall was declared dead the day of the accident. (His radioman/gunner, if he had one, survived the crash.)

CENOTAPHS

National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific