James (Jim) Francis Stolinski was born on August 6, 1947, at St. Joseph Hospital in Omaha, NE. He was the oldest of four children of Art and Dorothy Stolinski. His sisters, Mary and Melinda, and his brother, Stephen, all live in Omaha. His father owned and operated the Stolinski Livestock Commission Co. in South Omaha.

Jim graduated from Archbishop Ryan High School in 1965. He loved to work on cars – especially his red 1963 Chevy Bel-Air convertible. He was also an avid duck and pheasant hunter and spent many hours at the family cabin on the Platte River southeast of Springfield, NE.

After graduating from high school, Jim attended UNO for one year and then volunteered for the draft. He was called up in 1966 and completed basic training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO, and he completed AIT at Ft. Bliss, TX. He was sent to Vietnam in April 1967, and served in “A” Company, 1st Platoon, 1st Battalion (Mechanized), 50th Infantry.

On March 26, 1968, Jim was on patrol with the 4th Infantry Divisionin the Binh Dinh Province. He was driving an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in the point position, moving to set up a night position when their APC struck a large land mine. The resulting blast killed Jim and two other soldiers and wounded several others. He served in Vietnam for 349 days and less than 30 days from going home. He was 20 years old.

Jim was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Omaha, NE. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.