James Carroll Mitchell Jr. was born in January 1946 in Georgia. He was the son of James Sr. and Vivian Mitchell of Torrance. He graduated from Banning High School in Wilmington and married Rita Edmondson in September 1964. They had two daughters. Mitchell enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1963. He was on his second tour of duty in Vietnam and had been injured previously in early 1969, but recovered and returned to duty. 

Mitchell achieved the rank of Electricians Mate 1st Class and was a Navy river patrol boat electrician. He was killed in action while on duty in Vietnam on January 8, 1970, days before he was to come home. He was a passenger in a UH-1H “Huey” helicopter (tail number 66-16871) that was shot down over the Mekong River Delta, 4 miles from Cao Lanh. All eight men aboard were killed in the crash.

According to an article at the time in the San Pedro News-Pilot, river patrol boat casualties had been relatively light during the Vietnam War even though crewmen were in heavy action, especially against shore-based enemy mortars and sniper fire. EM1 James Mitchell’s awards include the National Defense Service Medal, Navy Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon and the Purple Heart. Services with full military honors were held on January 19, 1970 at the Green Hills Memorial Chapel with interment at the Memorial Park in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.