John Marshall Holcombe III was born in Connecticut around 1923, the son of John Marshall Holcombe, Jr., an army veteran, and his wife Marguerite. He lived in Farmington, Connecticut, with his parents and six siblings: Allan, Robert, Herbert, Emily, Ada (1924-2009), and Gloria. John Holcombe III joined the United States Army Air Forces before June 1942, and trained at the Army Air Forces Technical Training Command Replacement Training Center in Miami Beach, Florida, and at a training center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, until January 1943, when he was transferred to North Africa. Holcombe served in North Africa, West Africa, and Eritrea during the war.
From the guide to the John Holcombe III papers, Holcombe, John III papers, 1942-1946, 1942-1945, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)
