First Name: James
Last Name: Mace
Middle Initial:
Date of Birth: N/A
Sex: Male
Martial Status: Never Married
Number of Children: 0
Home Town: Omaha, Texas
Education Completed: Not Sure
Other Occupations:
Branch of Service: Marines
Highest Rank: N/A
Serial Number: N/A
Platoon: N/A
Age at Start of Service: Not Sure
Years of Service: 2
Combat Veteran: Yes
Time in Combat: Not Sure
Place of Combat: N/A
Awards:
Date of Suicide: N/A
Suicide Method: Self inflicted gunshot wound
Veteran’s Story: From the time James returned from Vietnam, he was never the same. He was always preoccupied with guns and often, when he was drunk, (which was frequently) would play with his gun and say really strange things. I loved James like a brother, but he scared me to death when he did this. A few years after his return from Vietnam, he was injured in a swimming accident and was left a parapalegic. He was told that he would never walk again, but after many years was able to walk with the aide of a cane. He was very much into the drug scene and drank heavily, and over the years I lost track of him. Then one day, only a few months before his death, he wandered by my house and stopped to ask directions to a person’s house who was well know in the community for being a local drug dealer. I was so surprised to see him looking so good and also very surprised to see him walking without the aide of leg braces. He acted as if he could barely remember who I was.
Submitted By: Ludy Gibson
Relationship to Veteran: Friend
