WWII Named 505th PIR 82nd Airborne Division Group

[Kadet]

Jones was unique in that he began WWII as a very experienced Regular Army professional soldier. First enlisting in 1936, he did at least one hitch w/ the 19th Infantry in Hawaii as a Corporal. He retired in 1956 as a Reserve Major w/ 20 years of unbroken service. He appears to have ended his career in the Quartermaster Corps of all things...

[manayunkman]

What is amazing is that he made it through many tough campaigns.

 

Thank you Trooper Jones.

[Kadet]

Yes, it is pretty amazing. There is a real story behind this man. Near as I can tell, he made all four of the 505th's combat jumps in WWII; sicily, Salerno, Normandy and Holland. He was from the tiny town of Speedwell, located in SW Virginia. He graduated from High School in 1936, the depth of the Great Depression. The Army was probably a pretty good option.

[Kadet]

I did a little more digging last night. Jone's third enlistment is captured in the WWII NARA files. May 7th 1941. He enlisted at Roanoke, VA as a Private in the Air Corps. He had apparently been lying to the Army about his age. The NARA file reflects a 1917 birth date, but his documents from the late 1940s reflect 1919. The ASN matches on all of this, so it is the same man.

 

Attached is a document from the group. This must have been prepared in 1956 when he retired. It outlines all of his enlistments/service. Interesting too that he apparently lost his commissioned status after the war.

[Kadet]

I'm the current owner of this group and thought I would post an update. Fortunately Jones' record was intact at NARA. Some of the actual records are posted on WAF if anyone would like to see them. They corroborate everything in the group nicely. Jones was a long-serving professional soldier. First enlisting in 1936, his career in the airborne appears to have begun in 1941 w/ the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion...making him one of the first US paratroopers. He served stateside until 1943 at Fort Benning and Fort Bragg w/ the 503rd and ultimately 505th PIRs. He participated in all of the 505ths combat tours and jumps....Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Holland. He also fought in the Battle of the Bulge and in Germany. He was awarded a Silver Star on D-Day, 6 June 1944. He was wounded in Sicily, and again on 3 July 1944 in France. He served as a Company First Sergeant and received a battlefield commission in 1944. When the war ended, he pulled occupation duty in Germany first w/ the 505th and later w/ the 508th PIRs, returning to the US in the summer of 1946. He went on to serve as an officer and paratrooper in various post war airborne units, to include occupation duty in Japan (188th PIR). In 1950 he became a Quartermaster. Jones found himself in combat once again in Korea, serving as a logistician during the Chinese offensive in the winter of 1950 (Chosin Reservoir etc). He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his actions there. Jones also served in the US Military Assistance Group to Iran. His record includes the retroactive CIB Bronze Star citation given in 1949, which tracks perfectly w/ the script-engraved example in the group, and which is specifically mentioned in the documentation.

 

Jones left the Army in 1956 as a Major at Ft Eustis VA, retiring to the local Williamsburg area. He died there in 1981. My gut feeling is that he was a civil servant at Ft Eustis.

[HORSA59]

Hi,

 

your grouping have been sold ?

 

best regards

david

[Kadet]

I still have it....

[501_medic]

great group

[chris3bs]

THERE'S A 505TH GROUPING BEING SOLD ON EBAY NOW WITH SEVERAL DAYS LEFT. BIDDING SO FAR IS OVER $2000.00

[Torch03]

Link to the eBay auction?