US Navy 1st Class Seaman Sterling Preston Skipper was born in Jackson County, Florida on June 21, 1898, the son of Peter Monroe Skipper (1866-1944) and Nancy Hall (1871-1914). His parents married on November 24, 1892 in Henry County, Alabama and by 1900 had relocated to Geneva County. There, they would spend the rest of their lives in one small community after another and always farming. Nancy would pass away prematurely on February 22, 1914 in Geneva County. Peter would remarry in 1920 to Cornelia Butler (1878-1946) in Houston County. Peter would move to Neal's Landing in Jackson County, Florida where his son Sterling was born. Peter and Cornelia would pass away in 1944 and his step-mother two years later.
At the beginning of WWI, Sterling's brother Hosea (1806-1954) enlisted in the US Army and was assigned to Company "K" of the 167th Infantry Regiment with the 42nd Infantry Division. The regiment entered combat in February 1918 and would fight in such battles as Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, Meuse-Argonne, St. Mihiel, Lorraine, Chateau-Thierry, and the La Croix Farm. He would embark on April 15, 1919 on the SS Montana in Brest, France and land in Hoboken, NJ where he was transported to Camp Merritt. Hosea would marry Pearl Mae Hathaway (1906-2004) on July 2, 1921 in Walton Co., Florida. It appears that he reenlisted in the US Navy on December 31, 1919 and was sent to Pensacola, Florida at NAS where he remained until his retirement as an ACMM on August 22, 1945. Hosea would pass away on October 10, 1954 and was buried in the Plain View Cemetery in Ensley, Florida.
James and Nancy's other son Sterling would enlist in the U.S. Navy in c1916 most likely because of the influence of his older brother Hosea. Sterling was living in Bascom in Jackson County, Florida at the time he registered for the WWI draft and was helping his father on their farm. While serving in Hankow, China he received a honorable discharge on July 29, 1938 and reenlisted for another hitch. He most likely was in Hankow as part of his normal naval duties. He would eventually be reassigned to the light cruiser U.S.S. Marblehead (CL-12) on January 18, 1940 as a cook. The ship was temporarily assigned to the Asiatic Fleet in January 1938 and was permanently assigned there seven months later.
Now a 1st Class, Sterling was transferred off the Marblehead on November 7, 1941 and sent to the U.S. Naval Hospital at Cavite City in the Philippine Islands for medical treatment. We do not know the nature of his hospitalization but his ship left Cavite on November 25 heading to Borneo without him. Fifteen days later, the Japanese attacked Cavite on December 10 completely destroying the Naval Base with over 500 casualties. The Japanese forces took control of the hospital in January 1942, capturing Sterling in the process. First imprisoned in one of several POW camps around Manila, he was finally transferred aboard a "hellship" to Osaka Main Camp, Chikko, Osaka, Japan #34-135. There he would perish during the war with a listed date of March 11, 1944. He was one of thirteen Florida POWs held by the Japanese that died in captivity. After the war, his remains were disinterred and transported back to the states aboard the Army Transport USS Morris E. Crain in September 1948. Also aboard were two other Pensacola soldiers PFC William H. Jolly and PFC Wilson Moss. Sterling was buried with full military honors in Barrancas National Cemetery in October 1948. He is not listed as a Pensacolian but he used his brother's address as his next of kin therefore mistaken for being from here.
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