James E. Childers

JAMES E. CHILDERS, 91, long-time resident of Henderson, Nevada passed away at the Mountain View Hospital, Las Vegas, Nevada on September 1, 2012. James was preceded in death by his wife Edna Childers. He is survived by three daughters-- Deanna Miller, Linda Poff, and Barbara Wardlaw; seven grandchildren—Christine Johnson, David Miller of Texas, James Christensen, Nicholas Christensen, Maria Aguirre, Jason Hayden, and Jeremy Hayden; and 11 great grandchildren all of Henderson; and two sisters Verna Pelphrey and Virginia Conley and one brother Paul Childers of Paintsville, Kentucky.

James was born on June 21, 1921, in Estill, Kentucky. He was the oldest of a family of five children. He graduated from Meade Memorial High School in 1940. When the war broke out in Europe, he was inducted into the military service on August 3, 1940. He served in the United States Army Air Corps and the United States Air Force during the war. He became a tail gunner on an Air Force B-24. Later, he became chief gunner on the larger Air Force B-29 firing two .50 caliber machine guns. On September 21, 1944, flying out of England, the U.S. Air Force 392 Bomb Group of B-24s was on its way to bomb strategic targets in Germany. This was James’ 29th flying mission into enemy territory. Over Koplentz, Germany, after completing the mission, his plane was shot down. He survived the crash only to be captured by German soldiers and was held prisoner of war at Luftwaffe 4. He was also one of the American prisoners in the Death March across Germany, marching 600 miles in 86 days during one of the cruelest winters on record. He was liberated from the POW camp April 27, 1945.

He remained in the US Air Force until his honorable discharge and retirement November 30, 1962 from Lowery Air Force Base, Denver, where he was a control tower operator. James became a resident of Henderson, Nevada, and an employee of the gaming industry. He has been a very active member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Basic Post 3848 since he joined in 1958. James spent time and traveled with friends and family and was a grandpa and great-grandpa to 19 grandchildren.

His funeral service will be held at the Palm Mortuary, Boulder Highway, Henderson Nevada. A viewing will be at Palm on Wednesday, September 5, from 4-7p.m. The service will be Thursday, September 6, at 12 p.m. Grave site services will follow at 1:20 p.m. at the National Veteran’s Cemetery in Boulder City, Nevada.