Croft, James, “Croft, James (Interview outline and video), 2012,” Digital Collections, accessed April 23, 2025, https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/document/28747.
James Croft was born in Gainesville, Florida, in 1977 and enlisted in the Navy after high school in 1996. He was assigned to the guided missile destroyer USS Cole and sailed with her to the Mediterranean. The ship then went on to Yemen, and was attacked by Al Qaeda bombers there. He remained assigned to the ship while it was under repair, and completed his enlistment at Norfolk, Virginia.