Jim Downing
AUTHOR

Jim Downing

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Jim Downing was born August 22, 1913, (the same year stainless steel was invented), in Oak Grove, Missouri. Jim left home for the Navy in 1932, he had never lived in a house with indoor plumbing or electricity. Jim joined the Navy at age 19, the first ship he was assigned to was the USS West Virginia, where he served as gunner’s mate 1st class and postmaster. Jim later met his future wife, Morena, at a college graduation in 1940. July 1941, they were married in Hawaii, where Jim was stationed. Just 149 days later, the Downing's lives were turned upside down by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. “I lost everything I owned except the clothes on my back. Jim’s life would be forever linked to the “date which will live in infamy.” During the attack, Jim was unable to reach his ship. He jumped on the USS Tennessee slid down its gun barrel, and landed on the USS West Virginia. His ship was hit with 9 torpedoes and on fire. Grabbing a fire hose, Jim started extinguishing the fire. It was then he noticed the fallen sailors all around him. With the fire hose in one hand, Jim went to the fallen and memorized their names. He wrote home to their parents letting them know their sons died as heroes. Jim lost his beloved wife, Morena, in 2010. During his life, Jim has served admirably in the United States Navy, was a devoted husband for 68 years, a father to seven children. In 2013 Jim was entered into the Congressional Record, with a special declaration by Colorado’s U.S. Representative Doug Lamborn. Today, at 104 years of age, Jim Downing is the second oldest known survivor of the December 7, 1941, Japanese sneak attack that killed more than 2,400 Americans. In August of 2017, The Guinness Book of World Records named Jim the World’s Oldest Male Author, having published his book, “The Other Side of Infamy,” detailing his Pearl Harbor experience and in incredible military career.
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