Hinds, James R.

James Roland Hinds, better known as Jim, was the Nellis Air Force base historian and a novelist in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma on December 8, 1937. Shortly after his birth, his parents became civil service employees and moved the family to Washington, D.C., where James grew up. He recieved his bachelor's from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and his master's degree from Southern Illinois University in 1964. After that, he served in the United States Army for two years.

After his service, James became a historian for the United States Park Service at the home of Frederick Douglass, the first placement in his twenty years of federal employment. Eventually his work brought him to Las Vegas in 1970, when he took over as the base historian for Nellis Air Force Base. He held this position for fifteen years, retiring in 1985. While he lived in Las Vegas, he founded the Preservation Association of Clark County and helped preserve and restore Las Vegas history, including places like the Mormon Fort. He aslo published military history books and articles, as well as novels. In 1980, he married Yolanda Cruz and the couple had a son, Roland. James died on November 24, 2015.

Source:

Hopkins, A.D. "James Hinds, a Tireless Advocate for History, Dies at 77." Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 24, 2015. https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/james-hinds-a-tireless-advocate-for-history-dies-at-77/.