James spent his childhood in a military family in Southern California and moved with his father to Comfort when his parents divorced. At 6-foot-8, he excelled in basketball and he also played the trumpet. He joined the Army in hopes of building his computer skills.

He met his wife at an Army training center at Fort Gordon, GA. They married in July 2001. She was pregnant with their first child when he was shipped overseas. Nathaniel Ethan Kiehl was born on May 12, 2003.

James was a member of Pfc. Jessica Lynch's unit, the Fort Bliss, Texas-based 507th Maintenance Company, which was ambushed near Nasiriyah on March 23. The unit was on a supply mission.