"It all comes back to the idea that you love your country, you love your government, you love your people. For that purpose, I’m here." (Video interview, 29:39)

Jack Jones

Jack Jones [detail from video] War: World War, 1939-1945 Branch: Marine Corps Service Location: New Britain; Palau Rank: Private First Class

Jack Jones was born in 1919 at his family home near Montezuma Creek, Utah, within the Navajo reservation. From his time at boarding school, he recalls how students were punished for speaking Navajo, while also having to go through military-style training . After completing his individual training, Jones joined up with the 1st Marine Division for the latter stages of the New Britain Campaign. He remembers how the Code Talkers worked together between operations to constantly improve the Navajo Code and ensure that they were all using the same techniques and procedures. At the Battle of Peleliu in September 1944, Jones landed with the third wave. The Marines met heavy resistance on the beaches, where Jones remembers using the Navajo Code to coordinate the use of air support and naval gunfire support that paved the way for Marine advances. Wounded when a Japanese artillery round exploded close to him, he was eventually evacuated to the United States, and recalls the elation of seeing the Golden Gate Bridge on arrival in San Francisco.