Jules James, was a career U.S. Naval officer that served a prominent stateside role during World War 2.

Jules James was born in Danville, Virginia, where he studied at Virginia Military Institute

Virginia Military Institute

The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

 preparatory to entering the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. In 1928 he married Eleanor Standish Gamble, niece of U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson.

Commissioned ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1910, James subsequently served as White House aide to President Woodrow Wilson

Woodrow Wilson

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...

 (1912-1913), and Assistant Naval Attache to the American embassies in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 (1923-1926). At times between 1926 and 1934 he was navigator on the ; commanded the , with which he participated in the Yangtze River patrol; served as naval aide for the Governor-General of the Philippines; attended the Naval War College

Naval War College

The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...

; and commanded the Destroyer Division 6, Battle Force, U.S. Fleet.

In 1937 he directed the fitting out of the light cruiser

Light cruiser

A light cruiser is a type of small- or medium-sized warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armored cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armor in the same way as an armored cruiser: a protective belt and deck...

 , which he then commanded. From 1939 to 1941, he served as assistant director and acting director of the Office of Naval Intelligence

Office of Naval Intelligence

The Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland...

. In 1941 he became commander of the newly acquired U.S. Naval Operating Base on Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, where he also commanded the combined U.S. and British local defense forces. In 1943 Admiral James assumed command of the Sixth Naval District, headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston, South Carolina

Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...

, and the Charleston Navy Yard. In 1945 he became commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Mediterranean waters and retired from active duty in 1946.

Following his naval career, James became a special representative in Europe for the National Lead Company.

Trivia

• Eleanor Standish Gamble was the great-great granddaughter of American founding father Roger Sherman
  Roger Sherman
  Roger Sherman was an early American lawyer and politician, as well as a founding father. He served as the first mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, and served on the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and was also a representative and senator in the new republic...
  
  .