James Bruce Redus was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma in 1947. His family moved to Houston, Texas after he was born. JB attended Kelso Elementary and Spring Branch Junior High.
He attended Memorial High School in Houston. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma halfway through his junior year. He finished high school, graduating from Memorial High School in Tulsa in 1965.
JB enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1966. Boot camp was at MCRD in San Diego. His platoon was 2238. After that, he went to Sea School with twenty-nine other Marines. He graduated at the head of his class.
He became a Flag Marine in early March of 1967. He served as a Flag Marine on the USS St. Paul and the Newport News. Both ships were deployed off the coast of North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. JB transferred to the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines 1st Marine Division, Golf Company. His MOS was 0300; basic rifleman.
He was wounded by a Chi Com grenade on July 28, 1968 in Vietnam. After multiple surgeries on his head in Vietnam, Memphis, Tennessee and Tulsa, Oklahoma, he enrolled in NEO Junior College in Miami, Oklahoma to complete his Associate Degree.