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Inverness resident Richard "Dick" Jones exemplifies the steadfast determination of a United States Marine. Born 1927 in Ottumwa, Iowa, Jones, proud of his wounded father's World War I service, enlisted in the Marine Corps as World War II raged.
His enlistment, however, only got him as far as Omaha, Nebraska. When the Marine Corps learned that he was underage, he was returned home to finish his high school education. Determined to be a Marine, Jones immediately enlisted in the Marine Corps following graduation from Ottumwa High School in June 1945.
After completing boot camp at Camp Pendleton near San Diego, California, Jones was undergoing advance infantry training when the war ended on August 14, 1945. With war's end, he was sent to Washington D.C and assigned to the mailroom of Leatherneck, the Magazine of the Marines.
Determined to escape the mailroom tedium, Jones, successfully gained reassignment to the Headquarters Marine Guard Detachment at Henderson Hall, Arlington, Virginia in March 1946. While at Henderson Hall, Jones met his wife of 59 years, Bette.
In June 1948, Jones requested assignment to the Marine Corps' ordnance school at Quantico, Virginia. Upon graduation as a small arms repair mechanic, he was assigned to a troop-training unit at Little Creek, Virginia where he caught the eye of Marine Corps Brigadier General R. H. (Red Hot) Pepper.
Six months following Jones' promotion to staff sergeant, Brigadier General Pepper recommended him for Officer Candidate School (OCS). In March 1950, Jones began OCS. Once again, his determination placed him among the 15 officer candidates from a class of 87 who earned commissions as second lieutenants.
Jones was commissioned on June 25, 1950---the same day the Korean War began. After completing The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, Jones deployed to Korea serving initially with the 1st Ordnance Battalion and then the 7th Marine Regiment.
In 1952, he returned to the United States and was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Training Regiment at Camp Pendleton where he held a variety of jobs to include company command. In July 1954, Jones was assigned to the amphibious troop carrier USS Montross. While assigned to the USS Montross, he was dispatched with a team to northern Indo China to recover American equipment, supplies and ammunition abandoned by the French as they withdrew from Indo China.
From 1956 to 1965, Jones had a number of challenging and varied assignments. The assignments included: company commander and battalion operations officer with 1st Marine Division; a reserve advisor in Oshkosh, Wisconsin; operations officer with the 361st Helicopter Marine Medium Squadron; and Commander, Marine Barracks Kodiak, Alaska when Alaska was devastated by a 9.4 earthquake.
In August 1965, Jones, now a lieutenant colonel, was assigned to Okinawa and commanded the 3rd Force Service Regiment's Headquarters & Support Battalion. In May 1966, he was sent to Vietnam and assumed command of the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, which was forebodingly known as "The Walking Dead" due to its numerous engagements with the enemy.
Jones' battalion command tenure was cut short when he was wounded in action on September 24, 1966. When one of his companies commanded by an inexperienced second lieutenant was engaged by a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) force, Jones rushed to its location to direct the battle. Later, while returning to his battalion's forward command post (CP), his three-vehicle convoy was ambushed by approximately 20 NVA soldiers.
Receiving heavy small arms fire, Jones was shot in the left thigh. The bullet obliterated a five-inch section of his sciatic nerve as it penetrated through his thigh, wounding his driver as well. Jones' determined small force, with the help of devastating Marine artillery fire, enabled it to fight through the ambush and to annihilate the ambushers.
Arriving at the forward CP, Jones and his driver were medevaced to DaNang for emergency surgery and air evacuation to Bethesda Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland. Jones remained hospitalized at Bethesda for three and a half years for additional surgeries and rehabilitation until he was medically retired from the Marine Corps in March 1970.
Jones and his wife relocated to Inverness from Virginia in March 1975 and became active in veterans' affairs. A Life Member of Disabled American Veterans (DAV), he was the DAV Department of Florida Adjutant from 1979 to 1985 and the founding commander of DAV Chapter 139 in Homosassa. He is also a Life Member of the Military Officers Association of America and the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Additionally, he served as trustee and secretary for the 3rd Marine Division Association Scholarship Fund from 1976 to 2002.
Jones' many awards and decorations include: Legion of Merit for Valor; Purple Heart; Combat Action Ribbon (Two Awards); Presidential Unit Citation (Two Awards); Navy Unit Citation; Meritorious Unit Citation; and the Good Conduct Medal.
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