Orlando Duncan Jones
"Out ofthe 56 able-bodied Marines in O.D.'s machine gun platoon who
left Camp Tarawa bound for combat, only 4 survived
unhurt; 52 of the 56 were eitherkilled or wounded on the killing fields of lwo Jima."
So what's so special about the life of Buddy Jones? He was never awarded
any medal for combat performance "above and beyond the call."
Nobody among the higher-ups ever singled him out for commendation on what he did in combat.
Yet his service had profound
significance for literally millions of
people in the past, present and future both in the military and throughout the civilian population.
He did what he was intended to do as a Marine.His top priority and guiding starwas duty.
Sergeant Orlando Duncan "Buddy" Jones was born August 19, 1920 in Biscoe, Arkansas,
(population 250) 52 mileseast of Little Rock. At age 12, Buddy moved to DeValls Bluff where he attended seventh grade at the local
school.
The family moved to Conway and Buddy enrolled in the class of 1938 at Conway High School. He then enrolled in the State Teacher's Collegeand was scheduled to graduate, but asthe United States entered World War II, Buddy decided to enlist in theUnited States Marine Corps. On August 13, 1940, he was formally inducted at New Orleans, Louisiana.
Buddy took his 13 weeks of basic
training "Boot Camp" at San Diego, California. Upon completion of his training, he traveled by ship, the USS Arizona bound for Guard Company,
Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. In January 1941,he was transferred to Guard
Company, Port Blakely, Bainbridge Island,
Washington.
In the summer of 1941,Buddy applied for training in the recentlyformed parachute battalion and in October 1941,he reported to Naval Air Station,
Lakehurst, NewJersey toreceive his training. Buddy completed the rigorous training in November 1941 and was assigned to New River,North Carolina. He was now a "Super Marine".
Writing in Battalionof the Damned, an accountof Buddy's 1st Parachute Battalion, author James
F.Christ recognized the special characteristics of Marine parachutists. "All were highly motivated. The Marine Corps characteristics drew determined,
independent-minded, and patriotic
men. The paratroopers were the cream of
that impressive crop,the elite among
the elite. Consequently,a lot of guys washed out. It wasn't
easy to become a Marine paratrooper. Only
the mentally toughest and most physically fit Marines
passed. They always walked with a swagger."
Hetrained at New River until June 1942
and then proceeded with his battalion, by train to
San Francisco, California. There, theyboarded the SS John Erickson and sailed for Wellington,
New Zealand arriving that July. For the remainder of the month, Buddy and his unit practiced making landing maneuvers.
He and his400 fellow Marines sailed for
the islet of Gavutu, about 25 miles north of
Guadalcanal. Buddy was in the second wave to assault the beach on August 7, 1942. After some short, but fierce fighting, the islet was
secured later the following day with
Buddy's battalion having suffered
over 40% casualties. They then pushed on to the island ofTulagi a short distance away where they were
placed on occupation duty.
In September
1942, Buddy's l stParachute Battalion was combinedwith the 1stRaider Battalion, since each of these units had suffered veryhigh attrition. It was a good fit as these two elite units blended welltogether under the dynamic
leadership of Colonel Merritt "RedMike" Edson.
On September gt\ this combinedforce made a hit and run
raid on a large Japanese buildup of men and supplies at Tasimboko. This town was on the coast of Guadalcanal, about 18 miles from the Marine perimeter at
Henderson Field. It was a
complete success with only a few casualties and the
capture of much food, clothing and supplies.
There was a short
respite when this combined
unit wasmoved
to an area one mile south of Henderson Field.From September 12-14, 1942, fierce artillery fire as well as hand
to hand fighting raged until the Japanese
force retreated into the jungle. Buddy received shrapnel wounds near his temple and nose, but declinedseekingmedical
treatment where he undoubtedly would have been awarded the Purple Heart. Buddy's unit lost 128 men and had an effective
strength of 86, half the strength ofa rifle company. The 1st Parachute
Battalion was cited for praise by the Marine Commander, General
Alexander A. Vandergrift and Colonel Edson.
OnSeptember 22, 1942, Buddy and his unit arrived in Noumea, New Caledonia
for rest and relaxation. Theylived in tents at Camp Kiser and had a
chance to unwind after their recent combat experiences. In November,training began in earnest with parachute packing and
jumping; but by January 1943, they were moved to Melbourne,Australia to continue their rest and relaxation. By April, training resumed and intensified and continued through
September. In December 1943, Buddy landed on the island of Bougainville and was assigned the task of raiding a supply dump. After much
fighting, Buddy was relieved and
shipped to Guadalcanal. OnFebruary 4, 1944, he boarded transportation to the States and disembarked at San Diego,California
Buddywas posted at Camp Pendleton, California, near Oceanside after recoveringfrom malaria and taking a
well-deserved leave. He was assigned to the newly activatedFifth Marine
Division and began marksmanship and field training, aswell as advanced amphibious operations.
Buddy's time at Camp Pendleton was short as he andhis
regiment set sail in July 1944 for the island of Hawaii and a training area known as Camp TarawaFor the next six months, Buddy and hisfellow Marines trained hard in a variety of tasks that would prove
very useful
in the coming months. Late in January 1945, Buddy and his regiment set sail for the island of Saipan arriving on February 11th, where they had one day for an invasion rehearsal.
Forthe next four days, Buddyand his unit sailed to an areaoff the island oflwo Jima, also knownas "SulphurIsland". He was amachine gun section leader in Company H, 3rd Battalion,26th Regiment
of the Fifth Marine Division. On February19th, Buddy's unit assaulted the island by sea and his battalionsuffered many casualties. In three days of heavy
fighting, Company H had been nearly
decimated by heavy casualties. Buddy and hisfellow Marines continued the
attack until February 28th when Buddy was badlywounded bya hand grenade. The entire left
side of his stomach was rippedopen bythe force of the explosion and he wasrushed to an aid station. He was operated
on at a field hospital and was then transferred toa recovery
transport. On March 2, 1945, Sergeant Orland Duncan "Buddy" Jones died of his wounds and was buried at sea the following day.Sometime later, a headstone was placed in Huie Cemetery in Choctaw, Arkansas.
Buddy was never awardedmedals for valor, although he certainly deserved to be recognized. He is remarkable as hedid hisduty to thebest of his ability, as any Marine was expected to do.He isunique in thatbe wasa high school graduate as well ashad attended college, when many in the United States at that time had much less formal education. He enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps well before our country was at war.He became a paratrooper,a "Super Marine" at the onset of this new training. Heserved overseas for a combined total of over 28 months, wasin four campaigns and participated in three water assaults. Hewas wounded twice and succumbed to hiswounds.
