The Backbone of Combat
By Zoe Tarinelli
James Timothy Chase Jr.
1/4/1946-8/8/2001
James Timothy Chase Jr. was born in Blythe, Riverside County, California, on January 4th, 1946.[1] His hometown of Blythe is a small city located along the Colorado River near the Arizona border. It is known for its agriculture, warm desert climate, and outdoor recreation opportunities. Besides this, not much is known about his childhood, but there is information that he enlisted in the US Army on May 10th, 1963, at age 17.
Chase began his service in the Vietnam War on June 30th, 1968. In the Army, he served as a private, alongside other soldiers who were just beginning their military service, all fresh out of basic training. During the Vietnam War, he would have most likely performed entry-level duties and would have been under the supervision of higher-ranked soldiers. Despite this, as a private, he was the backbone of the combat unit and performed various front-line fighting tasks such as operating equipment and maintaining supplies. Being a private was a tough and often dangerous role, and it is possible that Chase, along with many other privates, saw extensive combat during their service.
Chase served in Vietnam until he was discharged on December 8th, 1969. There is not much known about his life during or after the war, however, it is known that he lived a life of 54 years before dying on August 8th, 2001, in Aurora, Arapahoe County, Colorado. After his passing, he was put to rest in Fort Logan National Cemetery, where he received his final roll call on June 25th, 2024, nearly 13 years after his death.
Footnotes ↓
[1] Information for this biography can be found at:
https://www.ancestry.com/search/?name=JAMES+TIMOTHY_CHASE&birth=1946&searchMode=simple&types=r https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/271706639/james-timothy-chase https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/JAMESTCHASE/a69c65
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