Forest Park Elementary
Years Attended: ca. 1948 – 1955
Tucker was born on June 13, 1943, while his parents were living in Oklahoma. While Jim Guy was still a toddler, the family moved back to Arkansas. In his youth Tucker:
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- Grew up in Arkansas suburbs
- Had two older sisters (Carol and Francis were five and eleven years older than him, respectively)
- Attended Little Rock public schools
- Served as a Cub Scout
Forest Heights Junior High
Years Attended: ca. 1955 – May 28th 1958
Forest Heights Junior High was a brand new public school, opened when Jim Guy Tucker was in 7th grade. As a junior high student he was:
- Active in basketball, football, and track
- Became an Eagle Scout at age 12
- Inducted into the Order of the Arrow, a national honor society
- Spent free time in the woods hunting or fishing
- Toured Washington, D.C., and New York City on a Boy Scout trip
Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida
Years Attended: October 1, 1958 – December 1958
Tucker reached high school right when the Central High School Crisis was disrupting school operations in Little Rock.
While there, was involved in social clubs and athletics:
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- Began playing football at Hall High School in August 1958, prior to the Arkansas General Assembly’s August 26 extraordinary session, which postponed operations of any area schools threatened with desegregation
- Continued playing football from August - September, but moved to live with his aunt Lillian in Tampa, Florida, when the Little Rock Crisis was not quickly resolved
- Attended Hillsborough High School for the Fall semester of 1958
- Within the first week of playing footbal in Florida, Tucker had his nose broken twice
- Was highlighted in the local newspaper while at Hillsborough High School
Harding Academy in Searcy, Arkansas
Years Attended: January – May 1959
Tucker attended school in Searcy, Arkansas, with other students from the Little Rock area.
Hall High School
Years Attended: August 1959- May 30, 1961
Tucker attended Hall High school for his junior and senior years.
He participated in:
- Debate Team
- Kiwanis Club
- National Honor Society
- Football for the Warriors
Harvard University
Years Attended: 1961- 1964
Encouraged by a classmate to apply, Tucker submitted his application to Harvard University late and was accepted. Living in Massachusetts gave Tucker a better idea of how Arkansas differed from other areas.
- Elected Vice President of Freshmen Class and became a member Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.
- Graduated in 1964 after just 3.5 years, with a BA in Government
- Joined the Marine Corps Reserve in the Spring of 1962, but was discharge in the summer of 1964 for a health condition
Following graduation Tucker worked as head of the Young Democrats for Rockefeller to help elect Winthrop Rockefeller as governor in a race against Orval Faubus.
Vietnam
Years Involved: 1965 – 1967
After being discharged from the Marine Corps Reserve, Tucker traveled to Vietnam as a journalist and war correspondent.
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- Correspondent and writer for ABC News, the Saigon Post, and various Arkansas papers
- Traveled to around Vietnam on two trips
- Was subpoenaed back to Arkansas to serve as witness in a murder trial
- Began interviewing and taking notes for Arkansas Men at War book
Completed a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship in 1966 for study and teaching at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon.
University of Arkansas, Fayettville
Years Attended: 1967-1968
Less than three days after returning from his second trip to Saigon, Tucker arrived at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
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- Worked his way through law school at gas stations
- Published Arkansas Men at War in May of 1968
Following graduation, Tucker became an associate attorney with the law firm Rose, Barron, Nash, Williamson, Carroll, and Clay, where he worked before being elected as Prosecuting Attorney of Arkansas 6th District.