James Van Dolton was born in 1919 in Oklahoma to Fred and Edith (nee Vanderwork) Dolton. He resided in Garfield County, Oklahoma and was a member of the Oklahoma National Guard prior to the war.

His National Guard unit was called into full time active Army service on 16 September 1940 from Enid, Oklahoma. At that time, he was employed as a bookkeeper and/or cashier and as single, without dependents.

James (#20833313) served as a Technician Third Grade, 835th Signal Service Battalion, US Army during World War II. The Air Transport Command was responsible for flying supplies to China from bases in India, to help the Chinese ward off the Japanese. This was known as flying “over the hump”, a very dangerous activity not only because of the high elevation but also because of the wind turbulence in the Himalayas. On 6 January 1945 James was a passenger on C-46A "Stork" #42-96721 that was assigned to the 1333rd Army Air Force Base Unit, US Army Air Force. The plane took off with a crew of 4 and 9 passengers from Kunming, China on a cargo mission to Chabua, India. They were last contacted by radio and after that were not seen nor heard from again. It was noted that along the route planes were experiencing severe icing.

James was declared "Missing in Action" on this mission. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines. He also has a cenotaph located in Waukomis Cemetery, Waukomis, Oklahoma.

The crew included: Pilot 2nd Lt Sidney L Murphy, Copilot 2nd Lt Delmar K Brown, Radio Operator Cpl Alvin P Palecek, and Flight Clerk Pfc Edmund T Murphy.

The other passengers were: Sgt Raymond F Brunner, T/3 Lee R Casey, T/4 Pryor D Collins, T/4 Ordney G Dishman, Sgt Kenneth J Hart, 2nd Lt Carl D Moyes, T/4 Robert F Sherman, and 1st Lt William K Scherer.

James V Dolton