On December 17th and 18th of 1944 Admiral Halsey was leading the USS Monaghan as well as many other ships with his Task Force 38 directly into the heart of the storm Typhoon Cobra as a result of his weather interpreters misunderstanding weather signals and believing there was a safe path. At the time that Halsey had sent out a Typhoon warning he had already lost the Monaghan along with Spence and Hull. The remaining ships were scattered 3,000 square miles. Future President Gerald Ford recalled that the aircraft were slamming into one other "like pinballs" causing massive fires. The typhoon, in the end had rendered 146 aircraft lost or unusable and nearly 800 lives were lost in the tragedy of the Typhoon. There were only 6 survivors from the Monaghan. In the end some 24 odd ships were severely damaged in the battle against the storm. The bridge tearing spelled doom for the members about the Monaghan . The ship received 12 battle stars for its service.
For his service in the Navy, James was awarded the Purple Heart, which is given to those wounded or killed in war. Of course, as his body was never recovered, James never was properly buried; however, he is honored at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial on the Tablets of the Missing.