Bio, Trimble, James M.

Name: James Mitchell Trimble
Branch/Rank: United States Marine Corps/E4
Unit: G/2/26 3 MAR DIV
Date of Birth: 30 January 1949
Home City of Record: EUREKA CA
Date of Loss: 06 April 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates:
Status (in 1973): Killed In Action/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno:

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File. 2020

I'd just like all of you to know the extraordinary lengths some of our
Brothers and their families will go to to insure that someone they never
met personally will not be forgotten.

Bob Nessier and his family came on board quite some time ago and they
have dedicated a tremendous amount of time to researching their adopted
POW/MIA, James M. Trimble. They are erecting a permanent memorial to him
on their property.

They managed to find his family and I am attaching the email I received
today from Bob. You will note that James Trimble was a Marine. Bob was
Army but his dedication to a Brother warrior's memory is something every
Marine can be proud of.

There was very little data available on James Trimble but the following
was gleaned from the CACCF listings.
Date of Casualty: Saturday, April 6, 1968
Age at time of loss: 19
Casualty type: (A1) Hostile, died
Reason: Gun, small arms fire (Ground casualty)
Country: South VietNam
Province: Quang Tri

If any of you were in the Quang Tri AO in April of 68 and can help Jim
Trimble's siblings learn something about their Brother and the unit and
Marines he served with, I would be eternally in your debt. This is a
situation where circumstance is at fault (rather than the government)
for the family receiving no information, as you can see from Bob's msg.

Folks and Brothers like Bob (and of course, all of you) are the reason
OJC is making a difference.
Semper Fi,
Gunny

--
George M. "Gunny" Fallon - gfallon@nji.com
http://whitetail.nji.com/~gfallon
Thank you for caring about America's Missing Servicemen.
"A Man is not dead until he is forgotten!"
For more information on OpJustCause, visit http://www.ojc.org

------------------------------------------------------------
Return-Path: LONEWOLF-GRZLE@webtv.net
Subject: James M. Trimble's Brother

Dear Gunny,
Just a short note to let you know that I just got off the phone with
POW/MIA James Trimble's brother ( who is also named James ).

In short, POW/MIA Trimble was within a splintered family/custody dispute
at time of his entry into the USMC at 17 years old.

The father is bitter over the loss of his son. He misses him terribly
and would like to forget the whole thing. He was against James going
into the service at 17 years old and during a temporary custody
situation, the aunt gave POW/MIA Trimble permission to enter the
service.

The other siblings know almost nothing of the circumstances surrounding
the loss of their brother nor do they have any knowledge of the National
League of Families or even the POW/MIA web network.

Gunny, I treaded real light to say the least and each time I was going
to say that I would not bother them anymore they asked for more info on
their brother.....what a sad state of affairs.

The brother asked, " is anyone looking for my brother"??.....He said the
reciept of my letter to the family was a shock and stirred emotions
coupled with a need to know what happened to James.

The brother said to me, " I am amazed that anyone would even care or
even remember my brother after all these years " Wow..what I would of
given for the power of God to change things...

The brother asked me twice if he could work on the front yard
rememberance site with my family..this to me is an Honor of Honors......

The brother has no access to the web, so I have invited him to our home
and we will cruise the POW/MIA network. He is NOT interested in the
political scheme of things at this point in time, he just wants to know
what happened to his brother ( James ) and the rest.

He asked alot of questions about his brother's platoon that I could not
answer but by the grace of God we will find out....

Gunny, I can imagine that you have rubbed shoulders with the influential
and hero's from all the four corners of the world, but you have one
unsung hero walking point for you and that person is Alan Jackson and of
course his wife Linda. I will make a point in physically meeting this
remarkable couple of American Hero's.

Due to the custody dispute at Trimble's date of entry, it appears that
the Trimble family is NOT listed as his guardians but an outsider is; so
POW/MIA govt. information was not and has not been forthcoming to
them....what a sad state of affairs....Does bad blood exist between the
legal guardian and the Trimble family at this point in time....we will
know shortly.

Linda & I went to the rock quarry and purchased 31/2 ton of granite rock
for our front yard rememberance site, they will be delivered next
Saturday....Hopefully they won't splinter prior to arrival as it about a
70 mile trip....or upon our attempted placement..( that will be the
chore ).

In closing, I wanted to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for
setting the foundation in establishing contact with the Trimble's.
Along way remains but after 26 years it's good for me in a very special
and personal way.

I used to think that hero's were directly associated with the military
but I was wrong they are all around us disguised as George's, Alan's,
Linda's, etc...all we have to do is open our eyes and our hearts...Thanks
for being there for us....

South Vietnam, pre-1975: Investigative Report into Circumstances Surrounding
Eleven Persons Listed as Missing in Action on 6 and 7 April 1968
Country: South Vietnam, pre-1975

Mary - I have a Khe Sanh vet visiting and we've been discussing this loss
incident as he was there. Noticed not much in the d'base about their loss
incidents. With his help I found this short synopsis about the ambush. My
Golf vets says this is accurate except for a few minor details. Tried a
google search but apparently none of the survivors have written about their
experiences.

CPL JAMES MITCHELL TRIMBLE

Return to Service Member Profiles

Conflict
Service
Status

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
Unaccounted For

On April 6, 1968, members of Company G of the 2nd Battalion, 26th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, performed a sweep and destroy operation north of the Khe Sanh Combat Base, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. As they reached the crest of a hill, the group was engaged by a hostile enemy force armed with automatic weapons and hand grenades. During the engagement, witnesses reported seeing two Marines take cover in a bomb crater that then took a direct hit from an enemy mortar. Both men were killed, and their unit was unable to recover their remains before they were forced to withdraw from the area. The next day, Marines returned to the battle area and recovered the remains of eight men killed during the action; however, the remains of the two men killed in the bomb crater could not be located.

Corporal James Mitchell Trimble, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California, was a member of Company G and took part in this mission. He was one of the two men killed in the bomb crater, and his remains have not been recovered. Today, Corporal Trimble is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.

Cpl JAMES MITCHELL TRIMBLE

Unit CO G 2NDBN 26THMAR 3DMARDIV FM
Historical Country of Loss
South Vietnam
Current Country of Loss
VIETNAM
Home of Record CA