AR1c James Justus Carrico USN

James Justus Carrico was born September 10, 1921 in Missouri to James and Grace Carrico. He was their only child. His father died when James was 14 years old and he and his mother moved to Tucumcari NM where he graduated from Tucumcari HS. In the fall of 1939 he enrolled at NMAMC. After one year he departed and enrolled at ENMU. After joining the US Navy he was trained as a radio operator and assigned to Patrol Bombing Squadron VPB 124 flying the PB4Y2 Privateer, a marine variant of the B-24 Liberator bomber. On June 27, 1945 while participating in a two ship search flight off the coast of Korea, his ship was hit by anti-aircraft fire from a Japanese ship and subsequently crashed in a fog bank. No survivors were found. Today he is remembered at the Tablet of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery. He was 24 years old at the time of his death.