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<em>James Louis LaPrade</em> was born in Kennedy, Texas on 5 April 1914, the son of Lillian B. and James T. LaPrade. He attended Thomas Jefferson High in San Antonio, where he was captain of Company “A,” ROTC, and a member of the National Honor Society. He was in the Army Preparatory School at Fort Sam Houston before entering the Academy.</p>
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As a cadet, Jim was serious, good-natured, a fine friend, and always comfortable to be with. Jim loved football and went out for the team at West Point where, for four years, he persevered as a dedicated “B” squad player. By the very nature of their role, “B” squad football players get bumped and bruised by the stars. But they develop unusual esprit (born of shared misery!). More importantly, they must think and react under adverse conditions, developing qualities that contributed directly to the host of former West Point “B” squad football players who became outstanding World War II combat commanders. Jim was also on the Academy track squad for four years. With four years of football and track, he made the short trip from “M” Company barracks to the gym many, many times. A stalwart “M” Company flanker, he was high-minded and very dependable; he had great team loyalty and he just felt better doing things “right.”</p>
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Jim met Mary Pool about one year before he left San Antonio. That was it! Throughout his four years at West Point, Jim felt very close to Mary, although she spent much of her time attending the University of Arkansas. They were married 15 June 1939 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. During the next five years, with numerous changes in homes and duty assignments, this devoted couple was blessed with two robust sons—James Jr. and Michael. Before Jim went overseas, they bought a home in San Antonio to get Mary settled where she would have friends.</p>
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Following graduation, Jim joined the 29th Infantry “School Troops” at Fort Benning, where he served over a year. In early 1941, well before the United States entered World War II, he became one of the leaders in the Army’s development of airborne forces. These forces added a new role and a new dimension for the US Army. Jim was in on it very early. From 1941-44, Jim had airborne command, staff, and training assignments at Benning and Bragg. When he was an airborne command liaison officer with the Air Force Materiel Center at Wright Field, he volunteered for combat duty with an airborne unit.</p>
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In the summer of 1944, Jim joined the 101st Airborne Division in Europe and commanded the 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He jumped with his men in Operation Market Garden and fought with distinction in battles in France, in the Low Countries—where he was awarded a Silver Star in the midst of the operation—and in the Ardennes. He was killed in action 19 December 1944 at age 30. Jim was posthumously awarded the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Bronze Star, and the Purple Heart. In 1949, his body was moved to West Point to be reinterred with full military honors among his comrades of the Long Gray Line.</p>
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His classmate, Harry Kinnard, recently wrote, “I well remember his last action at Bastogne when he led his battalion (1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment) to Noville to bail out a heavily-outnumbered armored force from the 10th Armored Division on 19 December 1944. Jim agreed to counterattack with his battalion as soon as he reached Noville, but the attack never had a chance, and he was forming a defense of Noville when an 88 round landed just outside his command post, killing Jim and wounding Major Desobry, the armor commander.” Bill Desobry, now a San Antonio retiree, also very vividly remembers: “My force and Jim’s battalion were trying to hold off a very large German armored force that had us badly out-gunned and outnumbered. Both of us were leaning over a map in Jim’s CP when the 88 round detonated. A fragment from the same shell that got Jim hit me in the head. My ambulance was captured by the Germans. I ended World War II as a POW. They finally ran us out of there, but we really cut them up in the process.” Later, the German force was identified as a Panzer tank division.</p>
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Harry, who served with Jim in the 101st Airborne Division, also wrote, “What I recall about Jim as a person was his even, pleasant disposition and his calmness under all circumstances. He was the kind of a guy you immediately wanted as a friend.” Jim’s “M” Company classmates respected him and would agree with Harry’s concise evaluation, except in “M” Company we knew him very closely and for four cadet years!</p>
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In 1962, Jim’s son, James L. Jr., serving as a lieutenant in Korea, heard of General Maxwell Taylor’s appointment as Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and sent General Taylor a letter of congratulations. A few weeks later, young Jim was informed that his presence was requested at Camp Red Cloud by an “unidentified high-ranking officer.” Upon reporting, Jim was led into the Officers Mess and was introduced to General Taylor, who proceeded to tell him that his father was “one of the best commanders I had during World War II.” General Taylor also stated that young Jim bore a very close resemblance to his father.</p>
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What have historians written? They have written a whole lot about the “Battle of the Bulge” and Bastogne. As a commander, Lieutenant Colonel James L. LaPrade was a distinguished participant in Battle, the Story of the Bulge by John Toland, and in Bastogne, the First Eight Days by the noted military historian, S.L.A. Marshall. These accounts have been a source of much pride to Jim’s family and to all who knew him as a cadet or who served with him after graduation.</p>
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Mary, Jim’s widow, still lives in San Antonio. Jim Jr. also lives in San Antonio; Michael is in San Francisco.</p>
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<em>by “M” Company Classmates</em></p>
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