Staff Sergeant Jim Flippo Quinlin was born on January 31, 1912 at Goshen, Virginia. When Jim was drafted on August 14, 1942, he was living in Burlington, North Carolina. He was assigned to the Army Air Force. After his training as Aircraft Engineering Technician, he was sent to England and  as part of the 461th Air Service Squadron. Soon after D-day his unit was deployed to Normandy. Once there, he became a crew chief for a P-51 Mustang. In addition to Normandy, he served in Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe. He returned to the United States arriving at Fort  Bragg Separation Center on October 3, 1945 and was discharged on October 22, 1945. He returned to Burlington North Carolina where he lived till shortly before his death on July 21, 1998.

His awards include The Good Conduct Medal and The Europe-Africa-Middle East Medal.

Jim married Elise Hockaday prior to being drafted. After his discharge, he worked at Copeland Fabrics as a knitter until his retirement. Jim had two brothers and three sisters: Tom and Norris Quinlin, Agnes Holland, Thelma Quinlin and Katherine Mears.