James Anthony Gabour was born in October 1913 in Texarkana, Texas. He grew up with five brothers and four sisters. His father and mother were of Lebanese decent and immigrated to the United States before 1912. They both traveled through Ellis Island [Annotator's Note: Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, New York]. As a young child, his mother went to a Catholic boarding school in Texarkana. That is how she came to live there. His father owned a department store with various kinds of clothing, including collars to sell to blue collar workers. The workers loved his father because he treated them like family. His mother stayed at home until the children were old enough to take care of themselves, then soon joined his father to help run the business. Gabour also worked at his father's department store. His father told him that the customer is always right. During the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: The Great Depression, a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1945], Gabour bought day old bread from a local store so his family could have some food. As a boy, his elementary school was very close to his house, so he was able to walk there every day. When he went to high school, his Catholic school joined up with a another nearby catholic school for athletics. His football coach was the town's chiropractor. They practiced at a park close to his school. He enjoyed going to the Catholic school and enjoyed knowing some of the priests. He kept in touch with some of them throughout his life. Gabour was active in the Boy Scouts [Annotator's Note: Boy Scouts of America, scouting and youth organization founded in 1910] from a boy into adulthood. He went camping, built a log cabin, and acted as a scribe with the Boy Scouts. Gabour kept up on the news of the war in Europe and decided in 1941 to enlist in the Army for one year. On 7 December 1941, Gabour was laying down inside of a tent at training camp listening to the radio when he heard the news that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. At first, he thought it was an Orson Welles' [Annotator's Note: George Orson Welles; American director, actor, screenwriter, and producer] radio program, but when he switched to a different radio channel, he heard the same news. He immediately called his commanding officer to tell him the news. His commanding officer was furious at Gabour for waking him up on a Sunday morning. Gabour convinced him to turn on the radio and listen, and after the officer did, he told Gabour to gather everyone and fall in.

James Anthony Gabour enlisted in the National Guard [Annotator's Note: in 1941] and then he was eventually transferred to the Army. He was not given a choice of which branch to serve in. Gabour was a little nervous in the beginning of his military training because he was not used to the yelling and screaming. He parents always disciplined with a soft tone, however he quickly got used to the military way of life. When the instructor told him to do something, he did it. Gabour was sent to Cook and Baker School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma [Annotator's Note: in Lawton, Oklahoma] after he expressed interest in working in the kitchen. When he returned from the school, he was promoted to Mess Sergeant. Before he was sent overseas, he was sent to New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana] and given liberty [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time], so he drank every hour at a club because people were buying him drinks. His unit, the 111th Quartermaster Company which was later changed to the 182nd Depot Company, set sail for North Africa from the Gulf of Mexico. During the voyage, one of the ships that was in convoy with his ship was bombed and sank. His ship diverted to Panama and his unit stayed there for the duration of the war. The General stationed in that area needed men and supplied, so his unit was reassigned for Panama. All of Gabour's personal things went down with the ship that sank. He was stationed at Camp Davis [Annotator's Note: now Fort Davis, Gatun Lake, Gatun, Panama] and his whole outfit was supplied with food, medical, equipment, and vehicles. Gabour's position was Mess Sergeant for the infantry. The Army supplied him with all the ingredients and menus for cooking. Gabour did a lot of fishing at a nearby spillway. He caught enough fish one day to cook for 150 people. After he received approval from his commanding sergeant, he got some volunteers to help him clean the fish and cook everyone a meal. He was introduced to an airman who wanted to go fishing with him. Gabour helped him get his fishing line casted out, and not five minutes later, the Airman caught a 52-pound snook [Annotator's Note: species of fish]. It was a world record. The airman and Gabour became friends, and he often went flying with him, traveling all over Central America. The Army supplied Gabour with a cookbook that he had use to prepare food for his company. He often made pastries, pies, and donuts even though he was not authorized to do it. Gabour remarked how he felt the first he sensed an earthquake and thought it was a strange feeling, but eventually got used to the sensation. He stayed in Panama for three years before returning to the United States. He then was transferred to Camp Lee, Virginia [Annotator's Note: now Fort Lee, Virginia] for another two years.

James Anthony Gabour's one year enlistment was extended for four more years. He was stationed in Panama as the Mess Sergeant for three years. He had to wake up at three in the morning most days and went to bed at eight in the evening. There were two additional cooks with him, so they worked out a schedule that they would each take one day working in the kitchen and then take two days off. Gabour also convinced his commanding officer to let him choose men for permanent KP [Annotator's Note: kitchen patrol or kitchen police] duty for exchange of a day's leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time]. The commander agreed and the men that were chosen did their work well and were happy to get their day off. Gabour spent most of his free time fishing and hunting. His nickname was "Jungle Jim." He never wore a shirt when he went into the jungle to hunt, so his skin turned very dark. When he returned to the United States, a young woman that he worked with looked at him funny because she did not know if he was white or black. He married her a year later. Gabour made friends with many of the local population. As he listened to the news of World War 2, Gabour had a map and using ribbon, he marked where the Allies were positioned. He displayed his map out for everyone to see in the orderly room. One day the Colonel came by to look at it and he thought Gabour was a spy. After the Colonel interrogated Gabour, he put him in the secret service. When he wrote letters, they were censored before they reached his mother. Gabour would often go into town and listen from a restaurant booth to some of the local people talking in Spanish. He would write a coded letter giving complete details of what he heard. He wrote two or three letters a day of intel [Annotator's Note: intelligence] he gathered. He began to get tired of being a spy and it began to interrupt his normal duties, so he asked to stop doing it. The military caught several people stealing goods from them because of his intel letters. Gabour was at Camp Lee, Virginia [Annotator's Note: now Fort Lee, Virginia] when he heard about D-Day [Annotator's Note: D-Day; the Allied invasion of Normandy, France on 6 June 1944]. He had an inkling VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945] was going to happen because of the news he heard on the radio. He decided he wanted to sneak out and head to Times Square [Annotator's Note: in New York, New York] for celebrations. He decided to hitchhike and when a car pulled over and Gabour got in, he realized the driver was his commanding officer. He was also sneaking off to see his family in Baltimore [Annotator's Note: Baltimore, Maryland]. When he made his way up to New York City, it was packed with people. When the announcement came that the war in Europe ended, people went ecstatic, and two guys picked Gabour up and brought him to a bar. They bought him drinks in celebration. Gabour had a wonderful time.

After VE-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory in Europe Day, 8 May 1945], James Anthony Gabour was going on his fourth year in the service and was stationed at Fort Lee [Annotator's Note: Fort Lee, Virginia] as the Mess Sergeant. Gabour was ready to leave the military once VJ-Day [Annotator's Note: Victory Over Japan Day, 15 August 1945] came around because he wanted to go home to see his father. His father was having a hard time with all his sons away in the war. One of Gabour's brothers was shot down, and another was in a Japanese POW [Annotator's Note: prisoner of war] camp. After he was discharged from the Army, Gabour never did use the G.I. Bill, but returned to work for the Texarkana Gazette [Annotator's Note: Texarkana, Texas]. He eventually climbed his way up, starting as an apprentice before World War 2, and reaching head mechanical engineer after the war. The publisher sent him to school for teletype so he could run the mechanical work. Later, he was elected as president of the typographical union for three years. After a union strike happened, Gabour found more work with the Daily News Digest in Shreveport [Annotator's Note: Shreveport, Louisiana]. Gabour left the Army as a Staff Sergeant. Gabour was very conscientious of his responsibilities after he returned from the war. He often reminisces about his World War 2 experience. He enjoyed being in Panama because he oversaw the kitchen, and everyone wanted to work for him. He thinks that the war was heaven sent to America, because we would not be here today if it were not for it. He thinks it is wonderful to have institutions like The National WWII Museum [Annotator's Note: in New Orleans, Louisiana] and to continue to teach to future generations. He loves it when people ask him about his experience in the service. He likes to add a lot of humor and many people enjoy his stories. Three of his sons served in the military, but they did not have good experiences like Gabour did. They felt like they were treated like dirt. Gabour did what he thought was right. He enlisted in the service for one year with the support of his parents. Today, he is happy to share his experiences. Sometimes it was dangerous but at the same time it was fun, and he is thankful that he served.