Obituary for James Robert "Jim" Paxton

Life Story for James Robert "Jim" Paxton

James Robert Paxton
Chief Warrant Officer Two
United States Army

Age 88, former Sidney resident and currently at the Veterans Home, VAMC, Cheyenne, WY
Many Cheyenne County residents would remember this fine Veteran and neighbor. He served on Active Duty in the US Army during WWII, filling a particular niche in communications at the front lines of the war. He went on to serve in the US Army Reserve for an additional 30 years. He progressed through each of the enlisted ranks and into two levels of the Warrant Officer arena. The following is an excerpt of his military career.
After graduation from high school, James Robert Paxton, (Jim) lived in North Platte, NE where he worked for the Union Pacific railroad. He worked in the Big Springs, Nebraska area but lived in North Platte, NE. When he was about twenty years old, he received the familiar letter from the Selective Service Board…”Greetings, “. He was drafted into military service and reported to Fort Logan, Colorado.
Upon successfully passing the physical exam, he was sent to the US Army. He was assigned to the Signal Corps. He trained at Camp George West, Colorado, (near Golden). He met many new people, mostly strangers, who were there for the same reasons as he was. He said he already had a good haircut when he got there!. He learned the basics of marching, drill and ceremonies, and rifle marksmanship. He was very good with the M-1 rifle.
Following basic training, we was sent to Signal Corps training at Camp Bouchet, (near New Orleans) Louisiana, along the Mississippi River. He was at this base for about seven months learning how to send and receive radio and teletype communications. The Army administration took advantage of the fact that Jim was also a railroader. And after his Signal training, he was sent to Fort Wayne, Indiana for further training in railroad operations.
After a three-month training piece, he was sent to New York to await being shipped overseas to Marseille, France, aboard the Mariposa, a ship contracted by the US government to move personnel across the Atlantic. Soon he and his group went to Lyon, France then to the train station at Epinal, France. Soon, traveling by train now, he went into Germany, crossing the Rhine River at Wirsberg, then on to Darnell, and Schweinfurt. He drove a transport truck back and forth to/from the Berlin area. He was soon a supervisor of twelve personnel under his control in the transportation area..
He saw in combat in the Battle of the Bulge. The US Army had no reliable means of sending and receiving message and intelligence information from Berlin. A sizeable transformer (size number 399), transmitters and receivers were obtained and mounted inside a railroad baggage car. Jim and three others were then trained by engineers on how to make this particular set of equipment function. Soon, the baggage car was ready to go. It was merged with other rail cars making up trains that traveled from Frankfurt to the Berlin area daily. The train got as close to Berlin as Helmstadt, Germany, working between the Russian Zone and the British Zone, then returned to Frankfurt at night. The information sent was about observations of troops, troop movements, military equipment, speeches heard, etc.. The train’s engineer was Russian. Jim and his fellow Signal soldiers conducted message traffic from November 1945 to April 1946.
Medals were provided to them in a group ceremony. His included the Good Conduct Medal, European Theater of Operations medal and others he was unable to recall.
He stayed in touch with his family about once a month. He couldn’t say where he was but just let them know he was alive. He received mail about once a week. It was important to him. In Germany, the food was just passable. They were not under a great deal of pressure, just needing to maintain the schedule.
To entertain them selves, he and his associates traveled in and around Germany. They played cards at times. The USO came to the area with Jack Benny as the main entertainer. It was at Wirsberg, Germany so Jim caught a train to go to it. In addition, Bob Hope was at Schweinfurt, Germany so he went to see his as well. Jim and his small group were fairly serious and didn’t play pranks on others or engage in tomfoolery. The three people he soldiered with were all brothers.
At the end of his European service, he and others reported to the Commander’s office in Frankfurt, Germany. They received their discharge papers. He joined others on a liberty ship at Antwerp and sailed to New York. Now back in the United States, he was sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, close to his mid-west home, in North Platte, NE. After the war, he took flying lessons and became a pilot of smaller aircraft. This was funded by the GI Bill. He went back to work for the railroad. He worked the Midwest area, on the extra-board. He joined the VFW in North Platte, NE, and helped by tending their bar once a week. At one time, the President of the United States came to North Platte, NE and joined the VFW soldiers in a bean feed.
He joined an Army Reserve unit in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was a construction unit. (Possible the 244th Engineer Battalion). He taught construction of buildings and built things as well. He served for over 30 years. In time and with much effort, He was the Battalion’s top enlisted man, Command Sergeant Major Paxton. He had known about the Army’s Warrant Officer program, where specialists are/were used in the finer lines of work assignments. He tested to become a member of the Warrant Officer Corps and won a commission in the Engineer Branch. He retired from the US Army Reserve as a Chief Warrant Officer Two. (CW2). He earned the Meritorious Service Medal, several Army Commendation Medals, and Army Achievement Medals, plus many others. These were presented in solemn ceremonies.
His military experiences contributed heavily to the way he thinks and acts. He said his four sons were in the US Navy. The military histories of Veterans like Jim are priceless pieces of selfless service.
Great job and thank you for your service Chief Paxton!
Jim would enjoy hearing from people in the Cheyenne County area. Please write: Jim Paxton, CLC 2360 East Pershing Rd, Cheyenne, WY 82001. He would appreciate it!
Jim Paxton is a participant in the Veteran’s History Project, coordinated by Cindy Stockdale of the Volunteer Office at VAMC, Cheyenne, WY. He was interviewed about his military history. A copy of the interview was sent to the Library of Congress in Washington DC, where his words will live on.