Colonel James M. Sellers (June 20, 1895-September 3, 1990) was a highly decorated Marine

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, and served as Commandant

Commandant

Commandant is a senior title often given to the officer in charge of a large training establishment or academy. This usage is common in anglophone nations...

, Superintendent

Superintendent (education)

In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....

 and President

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

 of Wentworth Military Academy

Wentworth Military Academy

Wentworth Military Academy and College is a private four-year college preparatory high school and military junior college. It is located in Lexington, Missouri, part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Wentworth is the oldest military academy west of the Mississippi River, and the...

 in Lexington, Missouri

Lexington, Missouri

Lexington is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,453 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Lafayette County. Located in western Missouri, Lexington lies about 40 miles east of Kansas City and is part of the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area...

 from 1920 to 1990.

Biography

James McBrayer Sellers was born in Wentworth Military Academy’s administration building in 1895. His father, Sandford Sellers

Sandford Sellers

Sandford Sellers served as Principal, Superintendent and President of Wentworth Military Academy from 1880 to 1935.Sandford Sellers was born in Kentucky in 1854, but was raised on a ranch in eastern Texas. As a young boy, he worked in cotton and sugar cane fields, As a young adult, he was a...

, served as Superintendent and President of the school from 1880 to 1935. He graduated from the Academy in 1912, and moved on to the University of Chicago

University of Chicago

The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi

Beta Theta Pi

Beta Theta Pi , often just called Beta, is a social collegiate fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, USA, where it is part of the Miami Triad which includes Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Chi. It has over 138 active chapters and colonies in the United States and Canada...

 and earned Phi Beta Kappa honors. He also was a reserve on Amos Alonzo Stagg

Amos Alonzo Stagg

Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...

's football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 squad, and in 1917 was named as one of twelve marshalls for his senior class.

In April 1917, shortly after the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 entered World War I, Sellers joined the United States Marine Corps and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 78th Company, 2nd Battalion 6th Marines

2nd Battalion 6th Marines

2nd Battalion, 6th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Also known as "The Ready Battalion" or "2/6 Spartans", it consists of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors and falls under the command of the 6th Marine Regiment and...

. He participated in the Battle of Chateau-Thierry

Battle of Château-Thierry

There have been two Battles of Château-Thierry fought near the French town of Château-Thierry on the Marne River:* Battle of Château-Thierry , 12 February 1814, Napoleon defeats Blücher...

, Battle of Belleau Wood

Battle of Belleau Wood

The Battle of Belleau Wood occurred during the German 1918 Spring Offensive in World War I, near the Marne River in France. The battle was fought between the U.S...

, Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge

Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge

The Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge occurred during World War I, northeast of Reims, in Champagne, France. In the battle, the U.S. Army's 2nd Infantry Division and the 36th Infantry Division opposed the German 200th and 213th Divisions, along with portions of six additional German divisions...

, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive

Meuse-Argonne Offensive

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...

. He was shot through the groin

Groin

In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...

 at Belleau Wood on June 6, 1918. He recuperated for three months, then rejoined his troops. When he returned, he found that he was now the senior officer and was given command of the company in time for the Battle at Blanc Mont. The 78th Company engaged in heavy fighting at Blanc Mont, and Sellers wrote up the Citations for two men of his men, John J. Kelly

John J. Kelly

John Joseph Kelly was a United States Marine who was awarded both the Army and Navy Medals of Honor for his heroic actions on October 13, 1918 at the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, France during World War I...

 and John H. Pruitt

John H. Pruitt

-External links:...

, that resulted in their being awarded the Medal of Honor

Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...

. Kelly and Pruitt were his company runners, and Kelly was also his orderly. They were two of only seven Marines to earn the Medal of Honor during the war. For bravery in action, Sellers was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross

Distinguished Service Cross (United States)

The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...

, the Silver Star

Silver Star

The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

, the Navy Cross

Navy Cross

The Navy Cross is the highest decoration that may be bestowed by the Department of the Navy and the second highest decoration given for valor. It is normally only awarded to members of the United States Navy, United States Marine Corps and United States Coast Guard, but can be awarded to all...

, the Purple Heart

Purple Heart

The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

, and the French Croix de Guerre

Croix de guerre

The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

. Discharged from active service in 1920, he remained in the Marines as a reserve officer until his retirement in 1944 with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

He returned to Wentworth Military Academy in 1920 and married Academy founder Stephen G. Wentworth

Stephen G. Wentworth

Stephen G. Wentworth was the founder of Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri.Stephen Girard Wentworth was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on October 10, 1811. He left home at an early age and decided to seek his fortunes in the West. After a short stint in Virginia, he emigrated...

’s great-granddaughter, Rebekah Evans Sellers in 1925. He served first as Commandant, then as Superintendent from 1933 to 1960 and President from 1935 to 1990. In 1951-52, he served as Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

 of Missouri, and in 1953-54 was elected Grand Master

Grand Master (Masonic)

In Freemasonry a Grand Master is the leader of the lodges within his Masonic jurisdiction. He presides over a Grand Lodge, and has certain rights in the constituent lodges that form his jurisdiction....

 of the Missouri Grand Lodge

Grand Lodge

A Grand Lodge, or "Grand Orient", is the usual governing body of "Craft", or "Blue Lodge", Freemasonry in a particular jurisdiction. The first Masonic Grand Lodge was established in England in 1717 as the Premier Grand Lodge of England....

 of Freemasonry

Freemasonry

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...

, the highest state Masonic offices. His son, James M. Sellers, Jr.

James M. Sellers, Jr.

Colonel James McBrayer Sellers, Jr. , served as Superintendent of Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri from 1973 to 1990....

, served as Wentworth's Superintendent from 1973 to 1990, and one of his grandsons, William W. Sellers

William W. Sellers

William Wentworth Sellers is the fourteenth President of Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Missouri, serving since 2008. He is the fourth generation of his family to head the school, following his great-grandfather Sandford Sellers, who led Wentworth from its founding in 1880...

 is the current President of Wentworth. He taught Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

for 70 years, and he gave his last lesson, in his office located directly under the room in which he was born, at the age of 95 in 1990.