MAINZ, GERMANY (AHTNC) --- Army Sergeant First Class, James Branch, 35, whose wife, Zula, lives at 156 Reynolds St., Clarksvllle, Tenn, recently participated with other personnel from the 8th Division's 504th Infantry ln Operation Jutland Jump, a five-day airborne maneuver Denmark.
   The exercise, the first large-scale airborne drop ever conducted by U. S. Forces on Danish soil, was designed to give U. S. paratroopers the experience of jumping into unfamiliar territory and of organizing and preparing for combat behind simulated enemy lines. Jutland Jump provided Danish soldiers with the opportunity to engage in anti-airborne tactics when they provided mock opposition for the 504th's "attacking" force.
   Sergeant Branch is assigned as a squad leader in Company E of the Infantry, which is regularly located in Mainz, Germany.
  He entered the Army in March 1943 and arrived overseas In February 1961 on this tour of duty.

[The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, TN, 26 Jul 1962, Thu, Page 15]

Sgt. Branch

   Services for Sgt. James Branch, 42, will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Fifth Ward Baptist Church by the Rev. G. C. Jenkins and the Rev. J. H. Rouse. Burial will be in Evergreen Cemetery.
   Sgt. Branch died Thursday in Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C., after an illness of several weeks.
   He was born in Vough, Miss., Dec. 18, 1927, a son of the late Harry and Sallie Green Branch.
   He served 27 years in the Armed Forces and was serving a tour of duty in Vietnam when he first became ill. He was stationed at Ft. Campbell for 15 years.
  Survivors include his widow Mrs. Zula Elliott Branch, Clarksville; three stepsons Charles Holmes, Henry Holmes and Oliver Holmes, all of Jamaica N.Y.; a daughter, Miss Lee Branch, Maplewood, N.Y.; step-daughter, Mrs. Dollie Spencer, Ft. Benning, Ga.; four brothers, George, Lark, Harry and Jasper Branch, all of Chicago, Ill., and a sister, Mrs. Ida Lou Peoples, Chicago.
   Pallbearers will be Ft Campbell, Ky., personnel. Foston Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

[The Leaf-Chronicle, Clarksville, TN, 17 Feb 1969, Mon, Page 17]

James Branch enlisted in the Army in March 1943 ad volunteered for parachutist duty.

He was listed on the "Return of 508th RCT To CONUS" advanced party movement order from Camp Chickamauga, Japan to Camp Campbell, KY via Travis AFB, CA, with his wife and child.