James E. Music was born July 8, 1918 in Honaker, Virginia to Evert and Dora Music. James was the third son and forth child born to the Music family. By the time of James's entry into the armed forces the family had settled in Earling, Logan County, West Virginia.
James, who had previously served as a coal loader for the West Virginia Coal and Coke Corporation, was inducted into the United States Army at Huntington, West Virginia on November 28, 1942. He was sent overseas to the European Theater on September 20, 1943 to serve with the 557th Quartermaster Railhead Company of the 306th Quartermaster Battalion.
James was killed in action while participating in Exercise Tiger. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and his body was buried at sea. In recognition of his honorable service in World War II, and for his ultimate sacrifice, James E. Music's name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in Cambridge, England, and James's was one of the original names inscribed on the West Virginia Veteran's Memorial.
West Virginians in Exercise Tiger
West Virginia Veterans Memorial Archives Database
West Virginia Archives and History