James Thomas McClellan was born on April 25, 1909, in Flora, Mississippi. He was married to Evelyn Mae Brown McClellan. He entered West Point on July 1, 1927, graduated in 1931, and was initially detailed to the Air Corps but soon returned to the Infantry. He served with distinction at Fort Sam Houston, Fort Benning, and the Panama Canal Zone, where, as commander of E Company, 33rd Infantry.

In 1940, he was sent to the Philippines, serving with the 1st Battalion, 45th Infantry (Philippine Scouts) in Zamboanga before joining the G-4 Division, Headquarters, Philippine Department. Captured by the Japanese, he was held as a prisoner of war until late 1944, when he was placed aboard the Oryoku Maru to be transported to Japan. He survived the ship’s bombing but was later transferred to the Brazil Maru, where he died on January 27, 1945, from starvation. His remains were buried at sea and never recovered.

Maj McClellan's name is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, Manila, Capital District, National Capital Region, Philippines.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, alumni.westpointaog.org, weremember.abmc.gov