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the article:
Posted by Chuck on Thu Feb 05, 2004 01:34:15 PM
In reply top another obit posted by Chuck on Wed Feb 04, 2004 08:55:34 PM
This is someone that I knew. I bought his book and read it, then got it autographed. He was a great guy who lived an amazing life.
Jim Moss Inks
Family-Placed Obituary
Jim Moss Inks, 82, passed away early Saturday morning January 31, 2004, after an extended illness. Jim was born in Llano, Texas, on November 9, 1921, to Myrtle Moss Inks and Roy B. Inks. He attended Llano schools, graduating from Llano High School in 1939. After graduating from New Mexico Military Institute in 1941, he attended the University of Texas and was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity. After Pearl Harbor, Jim volunteered for military service. He became a Second Lieutenant navigator and was assigned to a B-24 group which entered combat from a base in Italy. On a bombing mission, Jim's plane was damaged and the crew had to bail out over Yugoslavia. For 11 months, he and the crew evaded capture by the Germans. Jim kept a diary during his stay in Yugoslavia and later wrote a book about his experiences entitled ``Eight Bailed Out'. Upon his return to the U.S., Jim married Elsie Cloud Young and they had two children, Roy B. Inks, II, and Suzanne Inks. After WWII, Jim earned his pilot's wings and flew missions throughout the U.S. When the Korean War broke out, Jim flew the first C119 to cross the Pacific Ocean. Jim flew combat paradrops, the Inchon Invasion, and the evacuation of the Marines from the Chosen Reservoir where he and his crewmates were the first to ever drop a bridge from an airplane. His service record shows 43 combat missions and 225 combat hours during WWII and 92 combat missions and 423 combat hours during Korea. He was awarded 21 medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with seven oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart. He retired from the Air Force as a Lt. Col. in 1962 and returned to Llano to begin ranching on land he inherited from his mother. He became a successful ranch realtor and married Marie Rushing. Like his dad before him, Jim was active in many civic organizations. He served as President of the Hill Country Livestock Association, President of the Llano Area Industrial Foundation, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce, and President of the Llano Golf Association. He also served on the Board of Operation Orphans and was Director of the Exotic Wildlife Association. He was a long time member of the Lion's Club and the Grace Episcopal Church. Jim is survived by his long time companion Sandra Staedtler, Marie Inks, his sister Mildred Inks Dalrymple, his son Roy B. Inks, II, and daughters Suzanne Toombs and Annemarie Hartwig, his step-son John Young, four grandchildren, two step- grandchildren, two great-grandsons, and nieces and nephews. Services are pending at Waldrope- Hatfield-Hawthorne Funeral Home in Llano, Texas, (325) 247-4300.
Published in the Austin American-Statesman on 2/1/2004.