World War II Honoree

James Best

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Powderly, Kentucky

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

He joined the U.S. Army in 1944 and trained in Biloxi, Mississippi, as a gunner on a B-17 bomber; but by the time he completed his training the war had almost ended, so he was assigned to the Army’s law enforcement section. In the military police, he served in war-torn Germany immediately after the government’s surrender in May 1945. While stationed in Germany, he soon transferred from the military police to an Army unit of actors, who traveled around Europe performing plays for troops.