Kettering, OH, US
U.S. Army
CW3, TROOP B, 3RD SQD, 17TH CAV REGT, 3RD CAB, HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD,
03/16/2013, KANDAHAR, Afghanistan
CW3 Groves played baseball while growing up in Kettering, OH. He added football to his activities at Fairmont High School. While working at the student television station, James was assigned to interview the different military recruiters who came to talk with students. These interviews influenced his decision to enlist.
“He talked to recruiters at all four branches and decided that the Army offered the best deal,” according to his mother, Leslie Groves. “He grew up around it. Both of his grandfathers were in the Army during World War II. His father was in the Army Reserve when we were first married.”
James enlisted just after his high school graduation in June 1994. In 2013 he was nearing the end of his 4th tour in the war in the Middle East. “He expected this to be the shortest by far. He left in December and was going to be home by September,” explained Leslie Groves.
CW3 Groves was stationed in Colorado when he met his wife Katie. “They were both runners and loved going on cruises.”
CW3 Groves, attended officer training school and was an instructor pilot. His resume included proficiency in military intelligence and air assault.
“James didn’t say much about what it was like in Afghanistan. He did talk about Iraq. He said the US presence there was necessary and that we were doing some good.”
Tributes on CW3 Groves Legacy.com site speak of a man of extraordinary kindness, dedication, and service to his country. James is praised for his genuine goodness as a human being, as a soldier and as an aviator. One entry simply states how the people who knew him felt:
“You always helped everybody’s spirits get lifted up, you will forever be missed!” Adam Smith, Savannah, GA