James Berry Motley

A memorial service for Colonel James B. Motley, 82 will be held at 11 a.m., July 24, 2020 at Mt. Airy Baptist Church, 210 Mt. Airy Church Road, Easley, SC. A private interment will be at Fort Jackson National Cemetery at a later date.

Colonel Motley served in the U.S. Marine Corps (enlisted), and the U.S. Army ending his military career in 1983. A 1959 graduate of The Citadel, Colonel Motley was a highly decorated combat veteran of the Vietnam War where he served two tours of duty. During his military service, Colonel Motley received over 30 awards and decorations which included: The Combat Infantryman Badge, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (3 awards), The Joint and The Army Meritorious medals, Purple Heart, Air Medals (6 Awards), Army Commendation Medal (2 awards), The Army General Staff, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Department of Defense Identification Badges. Colonel Motley was an Army Ranger, senior parachutist, and Pathfinder. He commanded airborne, ranger, and mechanized infantry units and was a graduate of the National War College and the Command and General Staff College.

Colonel Motley earned a Master of Arts degree in International Relations from Florida State University and a Ph.D. in World Politics from The Catholic University of America. He was a senior fellow at the National Defense University and with The Atlantic Council of the United States. After retirement from the Army, Colonel Motley worked with a number of Washington, DC defense-related organizations, and became an internationally known author, lecturer, and consultant specializing in the areas of counter- terrorism, low-intensity conflict, and intelligence.

Colonel Motley was a lifetime member of the Citadel Alumni Association and the Retired Officers’ Association, A 32nd Degree Mason, a member of the York Scottish Rite, The Gideons International, an ordained deacon, adult Sunday School teacher, leader of men’s Bible study groups, a member of Mt. Airy Baptist Church, and author of Spiritual Warfare: A Personal Journey.

Colonel Motley is survived by his wife Juanita of 55 years; a daughter, Christina Marie Motley, of Raleigh, NC; a son, James B. (Karoline) Motley, Jr. of Williamston, SC; a granddaughter, Morgan Marie Maccherone of Chapel Hill, NC; grandsons Ryan James Motley and Colton Wells Motley, of Williamston. He is predeceased by his brothers, Robert O. Brasington, and William A. Brasington, and his parents.

Family members will receive friends at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mt. Airy Baptist Church , the American Cancer Society, or the Citadel Foundation, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston.SC 29409.

Please sign the online guestbook at www.mackeymortuary.com .

(Mackey Funerals and Cremations, Greenville, SC 29607. Telephone: 864-232-6706)