devildog34 Posted September 9, 2018 Share #1 Posted September 9, 2018 I would like to reveal my nearly 5-month long project of what I think maybe my best find of 2018. So quick background. About 6 months ago I found a set of Korean War era named dress blues on eBay named to Edward Kresty who was with Wpns Co. 2nd Bn 1st Marines and was wounded at the Chosin Reservoir. I was pretty excited as I have really gotten into Korean and Vietnam War USMC stuff over the past few years and am discovering it to be difficult to find. Anyhow, I bought Kresty's blues for a very good price and as I began to dig and research him I discovered he stayed in the Marine Corps throughout the 1950s attaining the rank of Gunnery Sergeant and sometime in early 1960s was commissioned. In 1966 he went to Vietnam where he commanded a rifle platoon with L Co. 3rd Bn 9th Marines. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his actions during the Hill fights around Khe Sanh in April of 1967. So I went back to the seller and found that he had listed quite a few USMC items including a beautiful officers quality Alpha blouse. Looking at the seller's history it was clear that he was not a militaria seller at all and when I inquired he confirmed that this and a beautiful set of utilities that I bought all came from the same vet which was of course Kresty. The officer's blouse was a $50 buy it now so I jumped on it. Excited to have added a blouse to a vet of the famous Hill fights at a battle that my own father participated in I could not wait to get them in the mail. When they arrived I tore into the box like a fat kid into a pack of M&Ms. Looking for the inside pocket tailors tag to confirm they were named to Lt. Kresty I was shocked to find they were not. In fact, they were named to someone else. My initial instinct was one of disappointment and then when I got deeper into the pocket to look at the tailors tag better I saw that the name on the tag was Brig. General L.R. Jones and it was dated 1947. For some reason, the name jumped out at me and began to search ancestry it hit me. Louis Reeder Jones!!! I know who that is!!!! In working on the book about Belleau Wood that will be out here in a few weeks I remembered who he was. He was commissioned in 1917 as a 2nd Lt. and was assigned to the 75th Company 1st Bn 6th Marines. He was gassed in the Toul sector near Verdun. He was later assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and participated in the battles at Soissons, St. Mihiel where he earned two Silver Star citations and CdGs, and Blanc Mont. Jones remained in the Marine Corps and rose through the ranks. He served in China and various other duty stations that I will have to determine when I get a chance to pull his file. When the Second World War broke out, Jones was chief of staff of MCRD Parris Island. When the 23rd Marines were formed in late 1942, then Colonel Jones was appointed as the CO and commanded them in the battles of Kwajalein, where he earned his first Legion of Merit, as well as Saipan and Tinian. For his actions at Saipan and Tinian, Jones was awarded the Navy Cross. After what remained of the 1st Division returned from Peleliu, Jones, now a Brigadier General, became the division executive commanding officer under Major General Pedro del Valle and was with the 1st Division at Okinawa where he earned his second Legion of Merit. After the war ended, Jones remained the XO of the 1st Division during its subsequent occupation of China. The Division, then commanded by Major General Dewitt Peck, was tasked with repatriating 650,000 Japanese soldiers and civilians as well as dealing with the violent activities of the People's Liberation Army. Jones was awarded his third Legion of Merit for his duties in China and was decorated with the Chinese Cloud and Banner 4th Class that was pinned on by Chiang Kai-shek himself (evidently the Marine Corps Archives personal papers section has photos of the ceremony which I have yet to obtain.) In June 1946, Jones was appointed the president of Marine Corps Equipment Board at Marine Corps Schools. On June 30, 1949, Jones retired and while on the retirement list he was tombstoned to Major General. He resided in his home state of Pennsylvania until his death in 1973. I have no explanation why BGen. Jones' uniform was with Kresty's stuff but looking very very closely at the sleeves under just the perfect light, you can barely see the outline of where GySgt. Chevrons were on this uniform at one point so it was clearly worn by Kresty as his enlisted uniform and likely retained as his officers blouse upon his commissioning. It's a pretty cool story that 2 very special Marines wore this uniform. When I got this it was completely stripped. The belt is sewn in but everything was added. The Cloud and Banner 4th Class being the obvious impossibility to find I actually found a ribbon bar that had this decoration sewn on the end. Thanks to a good buddy whose hands are much steadier than mine, we were able to surgically remove the ribbon and apply it to a 1/2" Viking Kwik set bar and mount it to the ribbon bar. I am absolutely thrilled to be the caretaker of this one and share the General's story as well as that of Captain Kresty. Semper Fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #2 Posted September 9, 2018 Another view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted September 9, 2018 Closeup of the restored ribbons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #4 Posted September 9, 2018 view of the collar birds and fourragere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #5 Posted September 9, 2018 . . . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #6 Posted September 9, 2018 Tailors tag with the Brigadier General's name and date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted September 9, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted September 9, 2018 Image of the General at the end of WWII still bearing the 1st Division SSI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Jack Posted September 9, 2018 Share #8 Posted September 9, 2018 Very impressive! If you ever decide to part with this gem, please keep me in mind. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLeo Posted September 9, 2018 Share #9 Posted September 9, 2018 That is a very nice find and good job on restoring it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dskjl Posted September 10, 2018 Share #10 Posted September 10, 2018 Looks really nice, and the 4th class order of the cloud and banner looks amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teufelhunde.ret Posted September 10, 2018 Share #11 Posted September 10, 2018 Bravo Zulu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieony Posted September 10, 2018 Share #12 Posted September 10, 2018 Kevin, A really great addition to your collection...congratulations! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger Gunner USMC Posted September 11, 2018 Share #13 Posted September 11, 2018 Superb restoration! That is a killer WWII Generals Alpha blouse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kurt Barickman Posted September 11, 2018 Share #14 Posted September 11, 2018 Kevin, That is beautiful! Kurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobgee Posted September 11, 2018 Share #15 Posted September 11, 2018 Outstanding job, Kevin! And a great collector's story. Ain't it fun? Semper Fi.......Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dg0223 Posted October 31, 2018 Share #16 Posted October 31, 2018 I'm curious as to why you would have used an oak leaf instead of a gold star on his Silver Star ribbon. Additional Navy and Marine Corps awards are denoted by gold stars, not oak leaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremiahcable Posted November 1, 2018 Share #17 Posted November 1, 2018 I'm curious as to why you would have used an oak leaf instead of a gold star on his Silver Star ribbon. Additional Navy and Marine Corps awards are denoted by gold stars, not oak leaves. They were awarded while the general was with serving in France during WW1, in the 4th Marine Brigade. Since he was part of the army's 2nd Division then it is correct. You can see that he wore an oak leaf on it in his WW2 portrait photo that is posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devildog34 Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share #18 Posted November 1, 2018 Jeremiah hit it exactly on the head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now