James Obenshain served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a Major with the VMSB236 (Black Panthers), Marine Aircraft Group 24, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force, during World War II. He was declared missing on June 22, 1943 in a plane crash in the southwest Pacific. His body was not recovered. He is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at Honolulu Memorial, Honolulu, Hawaii. He received the Purple Heart.
