He was born in the Mount Olive community near Summerfield, Louisiana, as one of eight children to Clifton and Lucile Franklin Buggs. James helped his father on the farm, hitching the mule at 7 a.m. each morning and working until sundown, raising corn, cotton, potatoes, and peanuts. He attended Mount Olive School, a rural elementary school for which parents cut wood to heat the building, then went on to Fellowship High School near Lillie, Louisiana. James was drafted into the U.S. Army in July of 1943 and was sent to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, for basic training. Placed in the 4^th Air Cargo and Supply, he served in a company composed of African-Americans. He was sent to MacDill Field in Tampa, Florida, where he worked in cold storage for mess hall supplies. He was next sent to an air base near Greenville, South Carolina, then to Tallahassee, Florida. After more training in Salt Lake City, he was dispatched to Camp Stoneman in Pittsburg, California, and from there sailed on a 21-day voyage to New Guinea. Sent to the Philippines, his unit supplied front-line troops. James sailed to Okinawa, and then into the occupation of Japan, where he found the civilians "very nice." Discharged on January 26, 1946 at Camp Fannin in Tyler, Texas, James entered a trade school in Bastrop, Louisiana, to learn automotive mechanics. However, he spent most of his career as an agent for People's Life Insurance Company. James retired in 1982 and joined Caddo Parish Assessors Office where he remained until 2003. James married Johnnie Allen on July 5, 1947. They have two sons, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.