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Private First Class James Richard “Rickey” Maxwell

A headshot of a young, White man in full Marine dress uniform. There is an American flag behind his right shoulder.
  • Unit: Company G, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division
  • Service Number: 432103085
  • Date of Birth: February 20, 1957
  • Entered the Military: October 2, 1974
  • Date of Death: May 15, 1975
  • Hometown: Center Ridge, Arkansas
  • Place of Death: Koh Tang, Cambodia
  • Award(s): Purple Heart
  • Cemetery: Courts of the Missing, Court A, Honolulu Memorial. National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Contributed by Mrs. Jessica Vick
Bay High School (Bay, Arkansas)
2024/2025

Early Life

James Richard “Rickey” Maxwell was born on February 20, 1957, in Memphis, Tennessee, but grew up in Center Ridge, Arkansas, a small rural community known for its agricultural roots. He was the son of William Lindbergh Maxwell and Ula Mae Louise Maxwell, and he had four siblings: Paul, Gary, Patricia, and Janie. 

James came from a family with a strong military legacy. His father served in the U.S. Army in both Korea and Vietnam. His uncle was a World War II veteran, and his grandfather, William Galloway Maxwell, served in World War I. Tragically, James lost his father at the age of 13, only one day after he retired from the U.S. Army. This may have influenced his decision to enlist in the military a few years later.

A blonde, boy, toddler sits in front of a Christmas tree and a fireplace. He is wearing a red, plaid shirt and black pants.
James Maxwell as a child. Find a Grave.
A flat, bronze plague on top of a marble grave marker reads "William L Maxwell Arkansas SSGT US Army Korea Vietnam May 17 1932 Nov 28 1970"
The grave marker of James Maxwell’s father, William. Find a Grave.

Homefront

Maxwell’s hometown was Center Ridge, Arkansas, a small, rural community deeply rooted in agriculture. During the Great Depression, it experienced a shift from cotton and corn farming to livestock production. 

By the 1960s and early 1970s, the town was primarily focused on cattle and poultry production, which may have contributed to the war effort indirectly through food supplies. However, Center Ridge was not involved in wartime manufacturing, as it lacked the industrial infrastructure to produce weapons or military equipment.

Despite its small size, Center Ridge holds a unique place in history. It is the location of Woolverton Mountain Cemetery, where resident Clifton Clowers, a World War I Veteran who inspired the 1962 hit song “Wolverton Mountain,” is buried. 

A wooden sign reads, “Woolverton Mountain Cemetery.”
The sign at the entrance to Woolverton Mountain Cemetery. Find a Grave.

Military Experience

James Maxwell enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on October 2, 1974, at the age of 17. He was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, and served as a rifleman with the rank of private first class. Maxwell was stationed aboard the USS Okinawa and trained at Camp Schwab Marine Corps Base in Okinawa, Japan.

Maxwell participated in Operation Eagle Pull in April 1975, assisting in the emergency evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel and Cambodian civilians from Phnom Penh as the Khmer Rouge advanced on the capital. Shortly thereafter, he supported Operation New Life, which provided humanitarian aid and resettlement assistance to tens of thousands of South Vietnamese refugees fleeing the fall of Saigon.

Maxwell’s last mission was during the Mayaguez Incident in May 1975, often called the “last battle” of the Vietnam War. The SS Mayaguez, a U.S. merchant ship, was seized by the Khmer Rouge off the coast of Cambodia. In response, Maxwell and 174 other Marines were deployed to rescue the ship’s crew. On May 15, during the initial assault, Maxwell was aboard a CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter that was shot down on approach to the landing zone. He, along with 11 fellow Marines and their Air Force pilot, were killed in the crash. 

A color image of a ship in the middle of the ocean. On the deck are several helicopters. One helicopter is in the sky near the ship.
USS Okinawa in the Gulf of Siam during Operation Eagle Pull, April 1975. NavSource.
A black and white photograph of a large helicopter on the ground. Three men are standing outside the door looking in. There are a few other helicopters in the background.
A CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopter. Sullenberger Aviation Museum.

Commemoration

Lost, then Found

Private First Class James Maxwell was initially listed as Missing in Action after the helicopter crash on May 15, 1975, during the SS Mayaguez rescue mission off the coast of Cambodia. His remains were recovered and identified in 2012, nearly four decades later, through advances in forensic technology and DNA analysis by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA). He was given a full military honor ceremony at Woolverton Mountain Cemetery on August 30, 2012.

Lasting Legacy

James Maxwell is honored with a memorial bridge on Highway 9 north of Morrilton, named the “United States Marine Corps Private First Class James Rickey Maxwell Memorial Bridge.” Fragments of his remains were laid to rest with the other heroes who died during the crash, in a single casket at Arlington National Cemetery on May 15, 2013. He is also memorialized on the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi.

For his service and sacrifice, Private First Class James Maxwell was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. 

A small, rectangular headstone reading “Marine P.F.C. James R. (Rick) Maxwell G Co. 2nd PLT 3rd Marine DIV. Feb, 20 1957 May 14, 1975 Killed in action off the coast of Cambodia as a member of the combined U.S. forces who rescued the captured U.S.S. Mayaguez” At either corner of the stone is a Marine Corps logo.
Memorial marker for James Maxwell in Woolverton Mountain Cemetery. Find a Grave.
A brown highway sign reading “USMC PFC James Rickey Maxwell Memorial Bridge”
Memorial sign on Highway 9 in Arkansas. Find a Grave.
A large marble headstone with all of the names of those lost on the mission engraved. At the bottom it says “CH-53A Helicopter. Knife 31 Shot Down - KIA - Cambodia May 15 1975”
The headstone in Arlington National Cemetery of all those lost in the mission. Find a Grave.
James Maxwell’s name is permanently engraved on the Honolulu Memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. American Battle Monuments Commission.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

CH-53 Helicopter. Photograph. Innovation Nation Exhibition, Sullenberger Aviation Museum. https://www.sullenbergeraviation.org/the-evolution-of-the-heavy-lift-helicopter-ch-53/.   

James Rickey Maxwell. United States, Casualties of the Vietnam War, 1956–1998. https://familysearch.org/.

James Rickey Maxwell. United States, Military Personnel Who Died During the Vietnam War, 1956–2003. https://familysearch.org/. 

James Rickey Maxwell. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850–2010. https://ancestryclassroom.com/.

James R Pfc Maxwell and William Lindbergh Maxwell. United States, Obituary Records, 2014–2023. https://www.familysearch.org.

“Update: Marine’s Remains Return to Arkansas 37 Years Later.” KATV, December 1, 2024. https://katv.com/archive/marines-remains-return-to-arkansas.   

USS Okinawa (LPH-3) in the Gulf of Siam during Operation Eagle Pull, 11 to 13 April 1975, conducting an underway replenishment with USS Vega (AF-59). Photograph. 1975. NavSource Online. https://www.navsource.org/archives/10/11/10110315.jpg. 

Secondary Sources

“Center Ridge (Conway County).” Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Accessed January 10, 2025. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/center-ridge-conway-county-7330/.   

“Center Ridge Was Once a Prosperous Community.” Democrat Gazette, July 2, 2023. https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2023/jul/02/center-ridge-was-once-a-prosperous-community/. 

“Conway County, Arkansas Genealogy and History.” GenealogyTrails. Accessed January 31, 2025. https://genealogytrails.com/ark/conway/cohist.html.   

“James Rickey Maxwell.” American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://weremember.abmc.gov/#!/details?id=299240. 

“James Rickey Maxwell.” Honor States. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/286330/.   

Melson, John D. “Defining a War: Indochina, the Vietnam War, and the Mayaguez Incident.” Marine Corps History 6, no. 2 (Winter 2020). https://www.usmcu.edu/Outreach/Marine-Corps-University-Press/MCH/Marine-Corps-History-Winter-2020/Defining-a-War-Indochina-the-Vietnam-War-and-the-Mayaguez-Incident/.   

“PFC James Rickey Maxwell.” Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000pHKxZEAW.

“PFC James Rickey ‘Rick’ Maxwell.” Find a Grave. Updated September 5, 2009. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41605979/james_rickey_maxwell.   

“PFC James Rickey ‘Rick’ Maxwell.” Find a Grave. Updated May 16, 2013. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/110628565/james_rickey_maxwell.   

“Week of May 16.” Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemoration. Accessed February 1, 2025. https://www.vietnamwar50th.com/education/week_of_may_16/.    

“William Lindberg Maxwell.” Find a Grave. Updated April 11, 2010. Accessed May 15, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/50963983/william-lindberg-maxwell.


This profile was researched and created through the Researching Silent Heroes program, sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission.