Lieutenant (Junior Grade)
United States Navy Reserve
James Wensalus Beckman, the eldest child of Wensalus Anthony and Margaret Beckman, was born on 19 December 1921.
He graduated from St. Paul the Apostle School and Saint Ambrose Academy (Class of 1940) and attended Saint Ambrose College. While at Saint Ambrose College he took flying lessons as part of the CAA-Saint Ambrose program.
During his second year at Saint Ambrose College, James decided to enlist in the United States Naval Air Service. After his training at Corpus Christi, Texas in August 1943 he received his Wings and was commissioned as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.
In April of 1944, James left for the South Pacific where he was eventually assigned to the USS Enterprise’s Navy Fighter Squadron VF-20. On 2 September 1944, James squadron along with others from the USS Enterprise flew escort during a mission to Chi Chi Jima. James lost his plane during this mission and was forced to ditch. At 12:36 p.m., the submarine USS Finback received word of a rubber boat near the island of Haha Jima. In that boat was James. Three hours later, the USS Finback spotted the rubber boat and sailed for it. With the USS Finback submerged, James hooked one arm around the periscope and the other around the life raft for the next ten minutes. After the USS Finback was safely away from the island, it surfaced to pick up James. Six hours earlier the USS Finback picked up a fellow pilot from the USS San Jacinto who would later become the President of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush. There is a lot of debate about the plane President Bush lost. During his debriefing, James stated, “…it was known that only one man had parachuted from Bush's plane. This decided us to discontinue any further search of that area . . ."
James was not so lucky during a November 1944 mission. On his return to the USS Enterprise, his plane crashed in the sea. His parents received word of his Missing In Action status. However, the January 1945 telegram brought them news that they were not expecting. In that telegram, the family was informed that James was officially reported to have been Killed-In-Action on 14 December 1944, when the carrier based plane on which he was pilot, crashed in the South Pacific area. He was buried in a military cemetery in that area.
James was survived by his parents; brother Thomas M. Beckman (a Radioman Third Class in the United States Navy); and sister Barbara L. Tinsman.
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) James Wensalus Beckman, United States Navy Reserve, is buried in Davenport’s Mount Calvary Cemetery.
Source of Information:
1. Davenport Democrat and times, 21 May 1954, page 13.
2. National World War II Memorial veteran’s registry; http://www.wwiimemorial.com/.
3. USS Finback Logbook for 2 to 5 September 1944; http://www.decklog.com/snugharbor/Interest.asp
4. Personal letters from Barbara Tinsman, James’ sister:
a. Letter from James to his parents dated 12 September 1944
b. Letter from Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Thomas Keene to Mrs. Beckman dated 11 July
1945. Thomas was on the USS Finback when James was rescued.
Letter from James Beckman to his parents about his mission and rescue on 2 September 1944.
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