James Demas- McKinley Technical High School

James Nicholas Demas was born on September 20, 1919 in Washington DC to parents Nicholas James Demas (1892-1981) and Rachael Love Kingree (1898-1996). He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, in Washington, D.C., when he was 21 years old. At the time, he was working for C.E. Fink and was residing in Washington, D.C. James was ultimately drafted into the military, and on March 17, 1944, he enlisted at Fort George G Meade in Maryland and entered as a Private in the Selectees (Enlisted Men) component of the Army branch. After enlisting, James received training and was assigned to the YMS 110, which was a Yard Mine Sweeper vessel used by the United States Navy during World War II. James served for two years and one month before receiving an honorable discharge on April 14, 1946. He had two partners in his life. He was with Elsie Margarey Fraley (1919-1967) and they had three sons together and he was also in a relationship with Nelle Louise Kinney (-2011).